The evidence is clear: Higher education leads to greater lifetime earnings. A high school equivalency degree can be a crucial step to rising above the barriers of poverty, and to a better life.

When life’s storms damage a young person’s well-being and prospects for graduation, young people can count on the tools and resources they will accumulate in a high school equivalency program to help rebuild and put them in a position to complete their education.

Finding the Right Path

Children’s Aid offers a number of programs that help youth and adults obtain their High School Equivalency diploma. Programs are free and accessible to non-native English speakers.

NGC Education

Based at the Next Generation Center in the Bronx, the NGC Education track supports young people (ages 18-24) who are out of school and many of whom are involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Students meet with instructors to create an individualized study plan, focusing on the areas where they need the most reinforcement. The teaching design is based on an interdisciplinary model that addresses the many instructional approaches students may need—small group, tutoring, lecture, ESL support, and more.

Pathways to Graduation

Children’s Aid is proud to partner with the NYC Department of Education to offer students (ages 18-21) free full-time or part-time classes to help them earn their high school equivalency diploma. Placements are made through Referral Centers for High School Alternatives.

Adult Education

Adults (21 and older) can enroll in high school equivalency courses through the Ercilia Pepin Parent Leadership Institute at a Children’s Aid community school in Washington Heights. Classes are currently offered in English and Spanish.