Overview Class Schedule Tests Books [Back to JEEP]

GED/ABE PROGRAM OVERVIEW Philosophy The philosophy of the Jobs and Education Empowerment Project (J.E.E.P) is to endow our students with the basic knowledge and analytical skills that are necessary to be successful in college or in the workplace. While current political and social trends emphasize placing people in jobs, we firmly believe that adults cannot perform effectively unless they possess the core educational building blocks that can help them become productive workers and articulate college students. The GED Preparatory Program seeks to achieve a balance between the immediate goal of helping our students earn their GED diploma and the more long-term goal of producing students who are critical thinkers and articulate speakers and writers. Community Impact has been running GED classes successfully since 1987. Range of Services The Program offers an evening and a morning course for English GED and an evening course for Spanish GED (for times please refer to the schedule of classes section). Three classes are offered in both, the morning and the evening English GED courses, classes A, B, and C. Class A is a pre-GED Adult Basic Education class and uses a pre-GED series of textbooks. This class is for students who will need at least several semesters to prepare for the official GED examination. Short-term goals for students in the pre-GED class will be to improve their basic literary skills, rather than earn their GED. Class B is an intermediate class and class C is an advanced class. Students in class C will be looking to take the official GED examination at the conclusion of the preparatory course. There is one Spanish GED preparatory class for all levels. Our range of classes, allow us to offer valuable learning services to a wide range of applicants, at different stages of their professional, academic, and personal lives.   Curriculum Each day the students will study a different subject of the GED curriculum. For example, on Mondays students will learn Math, Tuesdays, Social Studies, Wednesdays Reading and Writing, and Thursdays Science. Books have been chosen to accompany and compliment each section of study (please refer to the book section for more information regarding textbooks). Each class will have a different teacher for each section of the curriculum. Teachers Our GED teachers are all volunteers and are carefully selected from a large pool of applicants. All of our teachers are dedicated and skilled professionals and go through a series of training workshops both prior and during their time within the program to ensure that our students are afforded the highest level of education and service possible. Staff J.E.E.P’s GED Program is run and organized in large part by part-time work-study students and volunteers from Columbia University. These students form a team of “Program Specialists” who oversee the day-to-day operations of the program. The GED Program also has two Program Coordinators to supervise the Program Specialists and coordinate activities and assignments. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Age To be eligible for the GED Preparatory Program, candidates must be nineteen years of age or older. Candidates who are eighteen years old may also apply, but will have to successfully pass an additional interview process before being accepted into the program. United States citizenship is not a requirement. Tests All students must take a pre and a post-test. The pre-test is used to determine the student’s level and class. The post-test is used to monitor and evaluate the student’s progress and readiness to move-up to higher levels and official examinations. Pre-tests are offered over a period of two-four weeks prior to the semester start date. Students should bring a photo i.d., a pencil and pen, and should prepare to spend up to three hours on the test. Post-tests are administered during the final week of classes.    Commitment The GED Program is a twelve-week course of study. Classes meet four days a week. Attendance is given a very high priority and students who fail to attend class on a regular basis will be taken off the class roster. Before signing up for classes, therefore, students must make sure that they can meet these attendance requirements. Lastly, candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment and desire to learn the material being taught. This requires completing homework assignments on time, obtaining copies of all text books assigned, and participating in a positive and conscientious manner in class discussions. Books The pre-GED students (class A) use five different textbooks. The GED students (classes B and C) use a set of six textbooks. Each student is required to obtain a copy of each textbook no later than the second-week of classes. For a full-list of books and information of where and how books can be obtained please review the GED “books” section.        OFFICE HOURS AND CONTACT INFORMATION The Community Impact office is open Monday – Thursday between the hours of 9am – 8:30pm, Friday 9am – 5pm. Community Impact houses twenty-seven different programs. As a result, make sure that you state your interest is GED/ABE Programs when speaking with a CI representative. Sign-Up Information Applicants may sign-up or receive information about the GED/ABE Program via phone or by visiting the central office at the address listed below. A GED/ABE specialist will not always be available during hours to assist you. However, you may always leave a message and your request will be answered in a timely fashion. Community Impact Columbia University 105 Earl Hall, MC2010 New York, NY 10027 Phone (212) 854-1492 Fax (212) 854-5951

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