High school grants are a critical source of funding for people who are trying to better their prospects of employment. Current statistics paint a poor picture of the state of our education at school leaving age. Around 70% of the U.S. school educated population have graduated with averages for low income families, African-American and Hispanics a sorrier story at around 50%.
Thankfully there are grants for school available to help people graduate with a high school diploma or get your GED (General Education Development) diploma. Many people past school leaving age want to do what they feel they should have done the first time around. This is why your local state welfare worker will be able to help direct you to low cost or free courses at a community high school. Here are just some places that can help:
- The Department of Labor and Workforce Development
- The Office of Migrant Education High School Equivalency Program
- The High School Graduation Initiative (HSGI) Part of the Dropout prevention program
- American Association of Cosmetology Schools
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development can offer help as they try to help reduce the number of people without a regular job. They will have information on free courses in your area and will sometimes pay for books or provide you with a grant.
The Office of Migrant Education provides support to people who are seasonal migratory workers like farm workers or their children to gain a high school equivalent qualification. The High School Equivalency Program or HEP, helps people that are past sixteen years old gain a high school qualification. The Discretionary grant is to prepare people for postgraduate education or employment.
For those that are already in high school, The High School Graduation Initiative (HSGI) is designed to help as part of the Dropout Prevention Program. If a student is recognized as being at risk of not completing their education then there are some services which can be provided to combat this. These grants are discretionary and are awarded to the local education authority or the state education authority. They are implemented and provided through the school of the student at risk. It’s not set in stone what the grant is for so communication with school bodies is the key here and negotiation is possible for students needs.
If you are already attending High School, you can get a grant to help you train in something that will give you a career. Many industries are set up so that you can begin training professionally at school age. The American Cosmetology Education (ACE) Grant is an example of a professional body helping high school students from a young age. You should ask your high school student finance representative what programs your school works with.
There are many more grants that are available to people who want to better themselves. If you’re in school already then the best person to speak to is a career advisor or student finance worker. If you have left school then you should speak to a local welfare worker who will have knowledge of any high school grants available. Generally the departments involved in reducing welfare recipients and responsible for employment will have resources that can help.