‘It will change your life’: Free diploma program returns to Cartwright
CARTWRIGHT, Oklahoma (KXII) - A free program to help adults earn their high school diploma is returning to the Cartwright Community Resource Center for a third year.
All classes, materials and testing are free for Bryan County residents.
Veteran professor and class instructor Connie Briggs said the program has a simple message for anyone who never finished high school.
“It will change your life and the lives of your kids and your family,” Briggs said. “It’ll make a difference in the amount of money you make over a lifetime.”
She said a diploma also opens doors beyond employment.
“It allows students to get better paying jobs, and statistics show that people with high school diplomas are healthier,” she said. “And if you score high enough on the HiSET, they’re able to go straight into college if they need to.”
Fully funded, no cost to students
The program is grant-funded and covers all costs for Bryan County residents.
“Classes are free, materials are free, testing is free,” Briggs said. “Not everybody passes the test the first time they take it, and the retakes are free too, so we just keep working.”
Briggs said the Cartwright Resource Center is the only place in the area where students can receive face-to-face instruction.
“The thing about the grant is that it pays for their books and materials, it pays for their teacher to teach and also all their testing fees. So essentially, they just need to get here,” she said.
The program has grown each of the past two years. Briggs said every student who attended regularly has passed.
“Those that come and attend regularly, everyone has passed. Never had anybody fail that has attended class,” she said. “They become a real community and support each other and encourage each other.”
Briggs said she works to accommodate students with busy schedules.
“I know they have families, some of them are working, they all have things to do and I try to accommodate them as much as I can,” she said.
Former students have gone on to a range of opportunities after earning their diplomas.
“This girl went to beauty school. She’s enrolled at Grayson County College in the nursing program,” Briggs said, while looking at photos of past students. “These two now have daycare jobs with the Choctaw Nation.”
How to sign up
Classes begin Aug. 3 and meet Mondays and Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The program is free for all Bryan County residents, and all ages are welcome.
You can register for the class here.
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