Earn An Accredited High School Diploma At Somerset County Library System Of New Jersey

According to the Somerset County Library System:

Somerset County Library System of New Jersey (SCLSNJ) is one of six libraries in the state of New Jersey that will be offering qualified community members the opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma and credentialed career certificate through Career Online High School, a program brought to public libraries by Gale, part of Cengage Learning. Part of the world’s first accredited, private online school district, Career Online High School is specifically designed to reengage adults into the education system and prepare them for entry into post-secondary career education or the workforce.

Currently, more than one million adults in the state of New Jersey - approximately 12% of the state’s population - lack a high school degree or equivalent. According to the 2010 Census, two towns and one borough within the SCLSNJ library system have higher drop-out percentages than the state average: Bound Brook with 20.1%, Manville with 15.8%, and North Plainfield with 15.1%.

“The New Jersey State Library’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development Literacy Innovations grant is responsible for making 25 Career Online High School scholarships available through Somerset County Library System of New Jersey,” said Brian Auger, SCLSNJ Library Director. “According to the grant, people lacking a high school diploma are estimated to cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars nationwide in lost earnings, welfare and medical costs. Somerset County Library System of New Jersey wants to be a part of a solution.”

SCLSNJ will award scholarships for Career Online High School to qualified learners looking to earn a high school diploma and advance their careers. Once enrolled, Career Online High School pairs each student with an Academic Coach, who assists with developing an individual career plan, offers ongoing guidance and encouragement, evaluates performance, and connects the learner with the resources needed to demonstrate mastery of the course material. Classes are supported by board-certified instructors and students have 24/7 access to the online learning platform. Coursework begins in one of eight high-growth, high-demand career fields (across a wide spectrum from child care and education to certified transportation), before progressing to the core academic subjects. Many students are able to graduate in as few as 4 to 6 months by transferring previously earned high school credits.

“New Jersey is the first to offer the Career Online High School program on a state level and Somerset County Library System of New Jersey is proud to be selected to be a part of the initiative,” said Selwa Shamy, Head of Adult Services at SCLSNJ’s North Plainfield Memorial Library Branch and SCLSNJ Career Online High School Project Coordinator. “Somerset County Library System of New Jersey is not only making this program available, but we’re also supporting the students who are participating. We will be providing laptops specifically for Career Online High School students to use while doing their coursework in the library and we will make necessary arrangements for students to use Internet workstations to complete coursework. We will also work with SCLSNJ partner Literacy Volunteers of Somerset County to make sure that any students needing a tutor will have one. We want to see all participants succeed.”

Residents can learn more about Career Online High School at SCLSNJ by visiting http://www.careeronlinehs.gale.com/njsl/ or by attending the Career Online High School Open House at SCLSNJ’s Bridgewater Library Branch, located at 1 Vogt Drive, on Wednesday, October 29 at 7:30 pm.

For more information or questions, please call 908-864-7950, email careerhs@sclibnj.org or visit SCLSNJ.org.