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Orientation Changes for Incoming GED Students at Seeds of Literacy

[PRESS RELEASE]

Cleveland, OH (7-6-2022, revised 5-1-2023) – Seeds of Literacy (Seeds), the FREE one-to-one basic education and GED tutoring program for adults, has made changes to the Orientation process for new students in Northeast Ohio.

For 25 years, Seeds has offered educational services to adult learners in the Greater Cleveland area. The change in local orientation procedure was prompted by the global launch of the Virtual Classroom, and feedback from students attending in-person orientation.

“When we reopened our physical classrooms following the pandemic, we found that many of our local students were still attending Virtual Classes,” said Dr. Carmine Stewart, Vice President of Programming. Also, students attending our in-person orientation provided valuable feedback, and we wanted to listen to that feedback.   Previously, the local orientation process took two days and included the Test of Basic Adult Education (TABE) to determine a student’s current proficiency level. 

“We trimmed that down to one day,” Stewart said. “Many of our incoming students face transportation and childcare barriers that made coming on-site for a two-day process challenging. Now they have the option to take the TABE all at once, or return at a more convenient time to complete that assessment.” 

The organization offers Orientation for new students weekly at 1pm on Tuesdays at Seeds West (West 25th & Clark Ave) and Wednesdays at Seeds East (139th & Kinsman). Once a month, Seeds will offer evening Orientation, beginning at 5pm, on the second Tuesday (West 25th & Clark Ave).

“A hallmark of the Seeds program has always been flexibility and addressing the challenges most adult learners face head on ,” said President & CEO Bonnie Entler. “As we enter our 25th year of operation, now is the time to assess what we’re doing and how we are doing it. This change to our process is in direct response to trends we’ve seen and testimonials from incoming students.”

Seeds of Literacy serves approximately 1,000 adults annually, ages 18 – 89, by providing FREE basic education and tutoring for high school equivalency tests such as the GED. Unlike other adult education programs, the Seeds program accepts all students, even those below a 4th-grade reading level. The program welcomes new students weekly and provides year-round programming with a “come when you can” attendance policy. Learn more about the Seeds Difference.

Click here for more information on the new Orientation process. 

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