decade, general educational development (GED) courses are being offered in Cedarville. In the past 10 years, Les Cheneaux residents who wanted to enroll in adult education courses and earn a GED were directed to courses offered in Pickford. With an increase in local interest, the courses are now offered at the Les Cheneaux branch of Consolidated Community School Services (CCSS).

Kate Ter Harr, CCSS coordinator in Cedarville, said many doors open to those student who return to school to earn their GED. The high school equivalency certificate provides graduates with the skills and knowledge that are required by employers and colleges everywhere, as well as the military.

"A high school diploma is good for all those things, and so is a GED," she said. "It's basically the passport to your future."

In Cedarville, however, only the educational courses are offered at CCSS. When a student and the instructor there both feel the student is ready, the student will then travel to the CCSS main office in Kinross to take a series of five tests administered by trained staff to actually earn a GED. Ms. Ter Harr said it typically takes students 90 hours of instruction before they are ready to take the mathematics, science, language arts, writing, and social studies tests.

Some students who left high school early on may require more instruction before taking the GED examinations, while others may only need a few weeks instruction because they dropped out during their senior year. When students enroll in the program, they are given a locator test to see what their level of comprehension is and to see if they need additional adultlevel education courses. Those who test below a ninth-grade level have to take the additional courses.

"You take five tests that are aligned with high school [equivalencies]. If you pass all five tests with a certain score, you are granted a GED," she said. "It kind of depends on your skill level."

Students can also take a pre- GED test to see if they are ready to take each of the five GED tests.

Students only have to retake any individual tests that were not passed. That stipulation will remain the same after 2011 when state GED requirements are updated and the program will become more challenging.

"They will be more in line with No Child Left Behind requirements," Ms. Ter Harr said. "In other words, it's going to get harder."

Students enrolled in the Cedarville program meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the CCSS building on Meridian Street. Ms. Ter Harr said she sees promise in the seven students enrolled in the course, which began Monday, September 14.

"I don't know what made them decide to go back," she said, "but many of them have plans to go on to further their education."

CCSS is a consortium of schools in the EUP that provides community education opportunities for local districts including preschool, adult, and alternative education programs. Along with Cedarville, CCSS provides services in Newberry, Kincheloe, Sault Ste. Marie, Pickford, Bay Mills, Engadine, Drummond Island, Strongs, and St. Ignace, as well as in the Chippewa and Mackinac County Jails.

There is no set start and completion date for students enrolled in the GED program, and new students can enroll at any time. For more information about GED courses in Les Cheneaux, contact Kate Ter Harr at 484-2256, extension 221.