Detroit Young People Get Chance To Earn Diploma Online
Detroit residents who may have dropped out of high
school will
now have the chance to earn either a high school diploma or an
entry-level
workforce certificate online.
In an announcement June 10 at the Clinton
Global Initiative
America meeting in Denver, Cengage
Learning said that, as part of the Detroit
Collective Impact Initiative, it will provide the online education and
training
programs centered around its Career
Online High School (COHS). The goal is to
graduate 1,350 youths and adults over the age of 16 during the next two
years.
"More than 70,000 adults in Detroit, a staggering 15
percent
of the city's total population over the age of 21, do not have a high
school
diploma," said Ron Stefanski, executive director of strategic alliances
at
Cengage Learning and a Detroit resident. "This is a disheartening
statistic and
we must work together within our community to make a difference."
Cengage's COHS, an accredited online program created
in 2012
and aimed at disengaged youth and adults who never earned their
diploma,
typically costs $1,300 and takes the average student six to eight months
to
complete.
In this case, Cengage is partnering with Matrix Human
Services, Michigan
Virtual University, McDonald's
and Kinexus, all of
whom have
committed to contribute to the general educational goal of the
initiative. McDonald's, for instance, will make COHS available with
free
tuition to all eligible employees in their franchised and corporate
restaurants
in the Detroit area, which could include more than 1,200
people.
"As a champion for online learning, we are so proud
to be a
part of the Detroit Collective Impact Initiative," said Michigan Virtual
University CEO Jamey Fitzpatrick. "By providing access to an accredited
high
school diploma and career certificate, we are helping people to excel,
opening
doors to employment opportunities that once were not attainable."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.