Federal grant supports education for farmworkers at CBC

PASCO, Wash. – A grant from the U.S. Department of Education will allow Columbia Basin College to continue a program that helps migrant and season farm workers earn a GED.

The 5-year, $2.3 million grant will support the school's High School Equivalency Program (HEP), assisting migrant and seasonal farm workers in efforts to improve their futures by earning a GED certificate, enrolling in college, entering the military, or upgrading their employment.

With the grant funds, many students in the program are able to earn their GED certificate for free. The program is available for those who have worked on an agricultural farm, warehouse, orchard or vineyard in the past two years, or the immediate family members of those workers.

The program is free to participants, providing GED classes in English or Spanish, personalized college and career advising, tutoring, visits to college campuses, cultural enrichment opportunities, and financial support to pay for GED practice tests and official GED exams.

CBC started the HEP program in 2000, serving more than 3,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers in that time. The grant from the DOE is expected to provide services to 107 participants each year over the next five years.