High school students will now have the opportunity to earn credit towards graduation through Driver’s Education and the YES Certificate program.
Gillingham has made a strong commitment to career readiness and will now offer the YES (Your Employability Skills) Northeast Certificate Program, through the Northeast PA Manufacturers and Employers Council. The elective course is geared for juniors and seniors who are ready to make the jump from education to employment directly after graduation. Students in YES will participate in business and plant tours during the year, hear from guest speakers and learn interview, communication and financial management skills. The certificate is recognized by over 500 businesses in Schuylkill, Luzerne, Erie and York Counties across a variety of industries and YES graduates. Penn State University also offers a one time scholarship to YES students who chose to attend their Schuylkill or Hazelton campuses. Gillingham joins 11 other Schuylkill County High Schools to offer the YES program to its students.
“We believe that students should be able to explore the various options available to them after they graduate high school,” said Nicolle Hutchinson, CEO & Director of Education of Gillingham Charter School. “The YES program will show our students the importance of earning a credential after high school graduation.”
Gillingham has partnered with DriversEd.com by eDriving, the worldwide leader in driver training and risk reduction. All high school students can enroll in the online course that teaches the essentials when it comes to driver safety. The class is approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and provides teens and parents additional support tools, readiness assessments and even an app where parents can monitor how safely their teen is driving after they receive their license. Students will receive course credit towards graduation upon completion and can take practice permit tests through the program to help them ace the real DOT exam when the time comes.
Relative to the Driver’s Education program, Hutchinson added, “Earning a driver’s license is a symbol of freedom for teenagers, and we want to ensure they acquire that freedom in the safest and most responsible way. The course we have selected is one of the highest ranked online driver’s education courses and provides education to a half a million new teenage drivers each year.”
Gillingham was founded on the principal of providing different educational opportunities to the students in Schuylkill County and prides itself on small class sizes that allow for individualized instruction. Both the Driver’s Ed course and the introduction of the YES program will take programs that are only offered in some area schools and ensure that Gillingham students are given the opportunity to succeed by learning in their own unique ways. Gillingham began as a K-9 school, and slowly added higher grades, graduating its first class of seniors in 2015. Since then, the school has taken steps to add programs into the high school curriculum as the needs of the students have evolved.