Family, friends, administrators and students gathered Friday to witness what has not taken place at Greenwood High School for many years - an official celebration for students receiving high school equivalency diplomas through the General Educational Development program.
Demetrius M. Ellis and Terry G. Williams Jr. became the first two recipients of a GED diploma, which was awarded to them at the Career and Technical Center by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Margie Pulley. Ellis was also presented the Student of the Week award, and Williams received the Student of the Month Award.
The diploma certifies that the students have taken the GED test and received test scores comparable to those made by high school graduates. It further states that the GED is the legal equivalent of a high school diploma as determined by the Mississippi State Board of Education.
Demetrius says he has big plans now that he has officially completed high school. “I plan to go to Delta State and major in architecture. I’m very happy.” He encouraged the other students enrolled in the program to study hard and believe in themselves.
His sentiment was echoed by GED instructor Dorothy McMorris, Pulley and Dr. Jennifer Wilson, director of instruction and curriculum. McMorris said she is pleased that two of the students have completed the program and she is positive other students in the program will be successful.
Wilson said she, too, is pleased and believes additional students will be successful as well.
“Terry came into the program in August and passed the test in one semester,” Wilson said. “We have four students who will take the (GED) test in April. And, by the end of the school term, we could have six students who have been successful in the program.
“This program is very important,” she said. “It is in direct alignment with the two major goals of the State Board of Education, which is to reduce the dropout rate by 50 percent in the next five to seven years and to improve academic achievement as measured by national assessments.”
GHS Principal Percy Powell praised the students for their hard work. “The two of you have reached a milestone in your lives, and I hope you further your education, and we look for you to do wonderful things,” he said.
Pulley encouraged and challenged the students to choose college as their next step. “You have opened the door. I encourage you to step inside the door and take advantage of every opportunity there is - whether that door is college, trade school or the workforce. But I encourage you to open the door to college.”
