Young men and women who join the Army know that Army education means basic military skills, like how to shoot an M-16 rifle. Yet for some new Soldiers, they'll also be getting reading, writing and arithmetic thrown in with the bargain. In an effort to widen the pool of eligible recruits the Army has begun a pilot program at Fort Jackson to help high school dropouts get their GED. The school is called the Army Preparatory School and consists of a four-week curriculum, which is expected to expand to eight weeks in the coming months. Civilian contractors will teach the academic classes, while NCOs will be on hand to teach Army customs and courtesies. At the end of their education, the Soldiers will then enter basic training like any other new Soldier entering the Army. The school is the result of Army concerns that the eligible pool of young people who meet the Army's requirements are drastically shrinking. It's estimated that there are as many as 300,000 young people who could benefit from Army GED schooling. And once Soldiers get their GED, they can then go ahead and take advantage of Military Tuition Assistance, which helps Soldiers pay for vocational and college courses while they serve. In many ways this Army continuing education allows service members to both, contribute to their military career, as well as prepare for the day when they separate from the service. Service members can also take advantage of military distance learning classes, which can be taken 100% online as long as an individual has access an Internet connection.
Young men and women who join the Army know that Army education means basic military skills, like how to shoot an M-16 rifle. Yet for some new Soldiers, they'll also be getting reading, writing and arithmetic thrown in with the bargain.
In an effort to widen the pool of eligible recruits the Army has begun a pilot program at Fort Jackson to help high school dropouts get their GED. The school is called the Army Preparatory School and consists of a four-week curriculum, which is expected to expand to eight weeks in the coming months.
Civilian contractors will teach the academic classes, while NCOs will be on hand to teach Army customs and courtesies. At the end of their education, the Soldiers will then enter basic training like any other new Soldier entering the Army.
You must qualify:
• Be 18 years old and withdrawn from high school for at least one year
• Not be able to return to high school to fulfill your high school diploma requirement
• Must be in good moral standing (ie, requires no moral waivers).
• Score 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test
• Score 46 or higher on the Assessment of Individual Motivation (AIM) test
• Possess a letter of enrollment into a GED program with a start and completion date
• Not require a Drug and Alcohol waiver
The school is the result of Army concerns that the eligible pool of young people who meet the Army's requirements are drastically shrinking. It's estimated that there are as many as 300,000 young people who could benefit from Army GED schooling.
And once Soldiers get their GED, they can then go ahead and take advantage of Military Tuition Assistance, which helps Soldiers pay for vocational and college courses while they serve. In many ways this Army continuing education allows service members to both, contribute to their military career, as well as prepare for the day when they separate from the service. Service members can also take advantage of military distance learning classes, which can be taken 100% online as long as an individual has access an Internet connection.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/army-education-now-enables-ged-plus-program-1356339.html
About the AuthorJonathan Malvin is an agent writer for military correspondence course. To learn more about Military Tuition Assistance and Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts.