Colusa County Library to offer high school diplomas, career certificates through program

The Colusa County Library is offering high school diplomas and career certificates through Career Online High School, an accredited learning program.

Since the program opened last month, two residents have begun classes and six others have shown interest.

“It is going really well,” said literacy coodinator Alissa Morrow. She said the program gives the students an opportunity to transform their lives. “Earning a high school diploma is a life-changing achievement. We are empowering our residents to seek new opportunities,” she said.

The library has awarded a scholarship to each current student but will only be awarding four additional scholarships unless the California State Library releases additional funds.

Classes and schoolwork, supported by board-certified instructors, are done entirely online. Each student is designated an on-call academic coach to help them through the process, Morrow said.

Morrow said although students are given up to 18 months to complete the coursework, some have transferable credits from previous high schools and can finish within three to six months.

“We have had a lot of interest but only eight have applied,” Morrow said. The average person that applied is 30- to 60-years-old, but applicants can be at least 19, have a Colusa County library card and an email address they can check regularly.

Currently, 48 state public libraries are participating in the program, including the Yolo, Woodland and Sacramento County libraries.

Residents can contact the literacy coordinator at 458-0373 or visit http://countyofcolusa.org for more information. Registration is still open and admission is on a rolling basis, Morrow said.