Three-year-old Mason balanced on his grandfather’s lap, perking up as a row of people in bright red caps and gowns filed to the front of the room.
“Momma!” he exclaimed.
Kristy Baker, 21, smiled back at her son and waved. As she stood at the podium, she looked toward her parents. “I did it, Mom!” she said.
Baker was one of 11 adults who received their General Educational Development certificates Thursday in a ceremony at Everett Station.
It’s not a diploma, and it won’t fully make up for the high school years many of them missed, but the GED is an important step in the searches for a better job – and a better life.
The ceremony comes as part of a pilot project by the Everett-based WorkFirst office, a welfare program that helps people in Everett and northern and eastern Snohomish County find work. The agency got a one-year waiver of state job-search requirements to allow some clients to focus solely on earning their GEDs.
The project is called EAGER, for Entry Assessment GED Employment Retention, and is believed to be the first of its kind in the state.
Certification ceremonies are held each month as people pass the GED tests. Most finish within two months. The 11 who celebrated on Thursday were the largest group yet, joining 35 others who have earned their GEDs since the project began in August.
In all, 108 students have enrolled, with 78 percent of them sticking with the program.
At Thursday’s ceremony, there were congratulation cards, cake, camera flashes and lots of cheers and applause as, one by one, each graduate stepped forward to receive a certificate.
Some plan to enroll in college. Others said they will move on to job training programs, and some plan to look for work.Baker is training to become a dental assistant and hopes to graduate from the program this summer.
“It was a little embarrassing standing in front of everyone,” she said after the ceremony. “But I’m just proud I did it.”
The Everett woman said she had struggled with school since her elementary years. After dropping out, she tried for a GED but fell just short of passing. That was five years ago.
It meant a lot to pass all the GED tests, she said. “The day I found out, I broke down and cried.”
Few employers today will hire someone without a GED or high school diploma, said Marilynn Abrahamson, the local WorkFirst coordinator.
“They want that piece of paper,” she said. And that’s why the EAGER project was started.
A GED is not equivalent to a high school diploma. At best, it is a measure of a typical high school sophomore’s capabilities, Abrahamson said. “But it is a benchmark.”
In all, about one-third of adults on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families have not graduated from high school or earned a GED. WorkFirst tests for academic abilities before people enroll in the program. Instructors also test for learning disabilities.
“You would be amazed,” Abrahamson said. Basic arithmetic can be difficult for some of the clients. “Most of them can’t do division,” she said. “Basically, it really limits their employment possibilities.”
The pilot program ends in June, but Abrahamson said the project is likely to be continued, and she hopes other WorkFirst offices follow Everett’s lead.
Jason Skyta, 30, said he felt a sense of accomplishment as he took part in the ceremony. He said he is sick of low-paying jobs, and the EAGER program was the confidence booster he needed.
“I finally feel part of society,” he said.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
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