The Los Angeles Public Library will now be helping high school dropouts to earn high school diplomas.
According to this Associated Press piece by Julie Wilson, the library has an agreement with an online education company to grant high school diplomas:
The library hopes to grant high school diplomas to 150 adults in the first year at a cost to the library of $150,000, [Library Director John] Szabo said. Many public libraries offer programs to prepare students and in some cases administer the General Educational Development test….
But Szabo believes this is the first time a public library will be offering an accredited high school diploma to adult students, who will take courses online but will meet at the library for assistance and to interact with fellow adult learners.
It’s unclear the extent to which the library will actually be educating students. Student here appear to be taking online classes, but the library is serving as the platform where students can use the computers to take their online classes.
Many public libraries offer adults preparation for the General Educational Development (GED) test, but in this case it appears the library will grant a real high school diploma to adults who successfully complete the program. [Image via Wikimedia Commons]
