OIC Receives Funding from Carolyn Watson Rural OK Community Foundation
Online GED Classes Planned for Fall Launch
Oklahoma City, OK – Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County, Inc. (OIC), is pleased to announce it has received a $15,000 grant from the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation and its Community Grant program. The grant will be used to assist in funding Diploma Prep 24/7™, an online face-to-face learning platform which helps adults earn their high school equivalency diploma. Online classes will be offered on location with the BIA/BIE Adult Learning Center, located at 1302 E. Central Boulevard, Anadarko. Classes are offered at no cost and are open to the public. Students interested in enrollment should contact Sharon Horse at (405) 247-2839. Limited seating is expected.
“We are so excited to have received this grant,” says DesJean Jones, Executive Director of OIC. More high school graduates in the community equates to more jobs, more auto and home sales, less crime, decreased health care costs and lower illiteracy rates of children. Our neighbors in rural counties often have limited access to literacy services, so we appreciate the support of the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation.”
Having successful onsite courses during the daytime and evening in Oklahoma County, OIC launched Diploma Prep 24/7™ in May, 2018. The Caddo County launch represents an expansion into rural counties and is planned for Fall 2019. The virtual classroom will deploy customized, self-paced and instructor-regulated GED instruction online, with classes meeting virtually each week. The target population is working adult learners who need a high school diploma but may have limited options for prep classes. Adult learners must be 18 years old or above, need a high school equivalency diploma, and must reside in Caddo county.
The Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation was founded by the late Carolyn Watson, CEO and chairman of Shamrock Bank, N.A., in 1995 to improve the quality of life in rural Oklahoma communities. Through its two grant programs, the organization promotes education, health, literacy and arts and the humanities in 20 Oklahoma counties. Since its inception, the Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma Community Foundation has awarded more than $1.3 million in grants to schools, teachers and communities in rural Oklahoma. Additionally, the Carolyn Watson Opportunities Scholarship offers awards of up to $10,000 per academic year for high school seniors graduating from 62 rural Oklahoma counties to attend college. For more information, please visit www.ruraloklahoma.org.