Gift from N.C. Black High School Alumni to benefit HSE students at VGCC
The North Carolina Association of Black High School Alumni recently presented a gift to the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund to help students obtain a High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma. The donation will help offset the cost of testing fees for students in the Adult Basic Skills program at VGCC’s Franklin County Campus .
The NCABHSA was established in 2008 in order to maintain the history of former African-American high schools in central and eastern North Carolina, while also supporting education and young people. Among the high schools represented by the organization is Franklin County’s Gethsemane High School, which graduated its last class in 1968 during the era of desegregation. Making the presentation to VGCC were Gethsemane alumnus Jordan Sills of Mapleville, the parliamentarian of the association, and William Knight of Battleboro, the treasurer and a Swift Creek High School alumnus.
The recent gift was the association’s second contribution to VGCC. The group has also supported HSE students at three other North Carolina community colleges that serve communities where the former high schools were located.
“We greatly appreciate the continued support of the North Carolina Association of Black High School Alumni, because of what it means for our adult students,” said Bobbie Jo May, dean of the Franklin County Campus. “Completing a High School Equivalency diploma is a life-changing event that gives a graduate a host of new educational and career opportunities.”
Earlier this year, the name “High School Equivalency” (HSE) replaced the program’s former name: General Educational Development, or GED ®. To complete the current version of the HSE program, a student must pass four tests, in the subject areas of Reasoning through Language Arts; Mathematical Reasoning; Science; and Social Studies. VGCC is a Pearson VUE Authorized Test Center and is approved to deliver these tests on computers at two locations: Main Campus (Vance County) and Franklin County Campus. Although VGCC classes that prepare students to complete the HSE are free of charge, students must pay fees of $20 per subject-area test (or $80 in total).
For more information about the High School Equivalency program at Franklin Campus, call (919) 496-1567, ext. 3618.
For more information about the VGCC Endowment Fund , call (252) 738-3409.
Above: Pictured above, from left: North Carolina Association of Black High School Alumni Parliamentarian Jordan Sills of Mapleville in Franklin County, VGCC Franklin Campus Dean Bobbie Jo May, and William Knight of Battleboro, the treasurer of the association. (VGCC Photo)
