Jimmy Burroughs (Christ Central Pastor), Wendy Wright (Center Operations Manager), Lucas Vance (Christ Central Associate), Rich Nash (Christ Central Associate), Bonnie Austin (Director of Midlands Workforce) and Roger Floyd (Vice President of Christ Central GED Program) gather to kick off the new GED Fast Track program.
The Christ Central Fast Track GED program is coming to Winnsboro next month. Pastor Jimmy Burroughs hopes to have classes starting in April and will use mass advertisement with signs and flyers to attract as many people as possible. Those interested can call 815-HELP or just visit the administration building at 108 Moultrie St. Students drop out of high school for multiple reasons varying from pregnancy, drugs or being forced into the workforce.
According to statisticbrain.com, over three million students dropped out of high school last year and those dropouts are not eligible for 90 percent of jobs available in the United States. The GED classes will be all day classes where lunch is provided. Training and instruction will take place in the morning with the after lunch hours consisting of practice tests. In addition, there is no cost to students. The classes, materials and $80 exam fee are all paid in full. The Vice President of Christ Central’s GED program, Roger Floyd, believes the program can make a positive difference in an individual’s life.
“There is such a great need for this service,” Floyd said. “It is just so hard to get any type of job without a GED or its equivalent.”
From Wagner all the way to Aiken, the Christ Central Fast Track GED program has a 90 percent pass rate since 2011 and their average score of 2,619 ranks higher than the state average of 2,532. In fact, they rank higher in every section from science (538-521) to social studies (533-515), reading (564-542), writing (489-481) and math (495-473). This past month, Christ Central had their best month ever with 13 graduates from Columbia, nine from Wagner and 20 from Aiken. The town of Winnsboro has high hopes to join those ranks in the coming months. Bonnie Austin is the Director of Midlands Workforce and she is looking forward to the prospect of educating high school dropouts.
“We are very excited to have this resource available to assist our residents,” Austin said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for all of Fairfield County.”
Transportation will be provided for those individuals in need to take the placement test. Classes will hold up to 15 students and be held mostly on Saturdays with an emphasis on math, writing and test taking skills.
