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Supporters rally to save Waukesha County Technical College high school diploma program
Posted: 9/4/2009 3:53:54 PM
Students, graduates and community leaders will rally on Tuesday to urge the Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) Board to save a 30-year program that has helped more than 2,000 adults earn a high school diploma.
The supporters of the National External Diploma Program (NEDP) will speak about how vital the program is for area adults who have not completed high school. They will speak at the WCTC Board’s meeting at 5:45 p.m. in the RTA Center on WCTC’s main campus, 800 Main St., Pewaukee.
“WCTC has cited budget constraints and reduced grant funding as the reason for cutting the $110,000 program,” said Leigh Barker, director of the United Technical College Council. “Yet the need to provide adults access to a high school diploma has never been greater than it is right now. Adults who have lost jobs they had for 10, 15 or 20 years are finding they need to have a high school diploma to find new work.”
“Isn’t it worth this small cost to build a more educated workforce?” Barker asked. “Isn’t this what the technical colleges are about? The need to provide adults access to a high school diploma is a crucial aspect of WCTC’s and the Wisconsin Technical College’s mission.”
The NEDP is geared toward adults who have been out of school for a long time and were not successful with traditional classrooms, Barker said. These adults either did not do well with formal testing and/or had undocumented learning disabilities.
WCTC works in conjunction with 10 Waukesha County high schools that award high school diplomas upon completion, Barker said. Muskego, Mukwonago, Waukesha East, Waukesha West, Waukesha South, Hamilton-Sussex, Hartland-Arrowhead, Pewaukee, Oconomowoc and Wauwatosa West issue the high school diploma.
“The NEDP has the lowest attrition rate in the country for any adult high school completion program and the highest retention and completion rate in the country, with 84% of students either graduating or returning,” Barker said.