SECOND CHANCE GED Fair OVERVIEW

Background

The Second Chance committee is a sub-committee of the Committee for Dropout Prevention and Recovery.  With a purpose of creating an open exchange of information among GED preparation program providers in the WNY area, the committee provides “Recovery” alternatives for Western New York individuals without a high school diploma.  Chaired by representatives of the Buffalo Public Schools Adult Education Division, the committee will host a region-wide conference in October, 2010; the first of it’s kind in the nation. 

Goal

The goal of the Second Chance Conference is to provide a forum for Western New York residents without a High School Diploma to explore - and enroll in - one of the GED preparation programs in the WNY area. 

Objectives

The objectives of the Second Chance Conference are:

• To effectively communicate the value of education as it relates to an individual’s quality of life;

• To provide a relaxed, non-threatening environment for the exploration of direct educational service providers;

• To introduce support service providers such as child care, transportation, healthcare, mental health service providers, and other agencies that can assist an individual in obtaining their educational goals;

• To create a sense of participant empowerment and the belief that one can take responsibility for one’s own education and economic self-sufficiency; 

• To uncover any real and/or perceived barriers to obtaining an educational credential;

• To engage the underrepresented individual who may be disconnected from the safety net of human service providers in the area; 

• To help create better citizens who add resources to society and the economy rather than draw from the social service system;    

• To enroll participants in one of the available GED preparation programs.

•  To quantify the latent demand for GED program providers in the area;

• To identify any new or emerging demographic profiles of individuals without a High School Diploma. 

• To compile a report of findings to be utilized in accessing funding for future programs; and

• To compile a contact database of potentially transient conference participants.