Want to get your GED? Adults can get free coaching at Sacramento State
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- Sacramento State’s Project Rebound launched free weekly GED coaching for adults.
- Sessions include one-on-one tutoring, assessments and support for next steps.
- Tutors aim to raise test scores and guide participants toward higher education.
Starting Wednesday, Sacramento State’s Project Rebound recently announced it will launch a free weekly GED coaching program for adults, offering not only tutoring but also guidance on how to build on that credential.
Outreach coordinator Michael Love conceived the idea because, when he would tell people about Project Rebound, he would regularly meet individuals who dreamed about improving themselves with a higher education but who didn’t have high school diplomas.
That education gap ate at him, and when he discussed it with Project Rebound Executive Director Aaron Greene, he urged him to find a way to close it. Love said he found a number of GED preparation programs had closed, and there was plenty of room for one more.
“What I want to do is get them to a community college because I have counterparts in all Los Rios Community Colleges from Sierra to Cosumnes River College to American River,” he said.
Studies have shown that a GED alone will not help most people achieve financial stability, but it is helpful as a gateway credential to a higher education that can move people into middle-income jobs where they earn enough to build a financial cushion.
Project Rebound, a program housed at Sacramento State and other CSU campuses, supports justice-impacted individuals as they pursue higher education, but Love stressed that the GED coaching is open to anyone age 18 or older.
With this new GED program, the support network is expanding to meet people even earlier in their educational journeys. Coaching sessions will be held every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Room 161 of Sacramento Hall. Parking is available in Lot 5 for a fee.
Ten participants already have signed up, and there are enough volunteer tutors to work with them one-on-one. At the first session, students will take an assessment test to determine their academic strengths and the areas they need to improve.
“We want to share with them that these are your strengths,” Love said, “and these are areas that can be brought up, not necessarily saying a weakness, but areas that can be brought up.”
Love has compiled comprehensive curriculum materials for each section of the GED — reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. The goal is for students to score at least 10 points above their assessment scores before taking the official test. A sponsor has offered to pay exam fees for those who are ready.
The coaching sessions aim to break away from traditional classroom dynamics, which Love believes often leave adult learners behind.
“It’s a blanket approach that the whole class is supposed to understand, but oftentimes it doesn’t work like that,” Love said. “That’s why many people fall through the cracks.”
Tutors, many of whom are Sac State students or alumni, are donating their time. Some are affiliated with Project Rebound, while others simply want to give back. “Our model is ‘Each one, teach one,’” Love said. “We believe education lifts the whole community.”
Love himself is a testament to that philosophy. He served time, but he’s now a Sac State alum with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He recently completed coursework for his master’s and is working on his thesis. He hopes to pursue an Ed.D. in educational Leadership.
Love said he’s hoping some people in the GED course will have a full-circle moment, one day attending Sac State and signing up to tutor in the GED classes.
For more information or to sign up, email Love at michaellove@csus.edu. Walk-ins are welcome, he said.
