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Free GED Program for Pittsburghers

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More than 1.6 million people in Pennsylvania do not have a high school diploma or equivalent degree.  A free program being offered by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and Everest Institute-Pittsburgh aims to change that statistic.  

The, again, free Urban Empowerment College-Bound Program hopes to get more people a secondary education and allows students to get a GED at their own pace.  There's a track expected to take about 10 weeks for people who test at a 9th or 10th grade level, and five-month track for people who test at at least a 6th grade level.

But Nena Ansari, project coordinator for the Urban League, said the program provides more than just a GED certification.

"They have a financial literacy coach so they do individual and group financial management workshops," Ansari said.  "We also have a career coach who will coach them in their career doing group sessions, also doing individual sessions and case management."

Participants are being recruited by Everest and the Urban League.   Ansari said the non-profit Urban League is approaching the program as a way to serve the community, despite teaming up with the for-profit Everest Institute

"You can get together with two different entities and really make a good collaboration," Ansari said.  "The focus is on helping people who normally would be delayed in getting into college, it's helping them to get their GED, so that's how the Urban League is looking at it."

Most of the course classes, tutoring sessions, and weekly meetings will be at Everest Institute on Forbes Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh starting in January.  Anyone interested in the program should contact the Urban League.