About Basic Skills

  GED - ESL - ABE - Basic Skills Success Story

GED

The GED test provides a high school equivalency for individuals who did not complete a high school diploma. Completion of the GED meets criteria often required for employment, promotion, or acceptance into either a two-year community college or a four-year university.

Students pursuing a GED may be recently out of high school or may have been out for many years. The course work is individualized, allowing students to move at their own pace, with the constant support of an instructor. The day and night class offerings allow students to schedule their class time to work within their personal schedules.

Click here to see a diagram of the steps to earn a GED.

With the support of their instructor, students gain the skills necessary to successfully complete the 5 tests that compose the GED. These tests cover Reading, Writing, Social Studies, Science, and Math. Students may work through one subject at a time and can take the test for each subject as they become competent.

Prior to completing the final test for their GED, students meet with the Assessment and Retention Specialist to discuss their plans after graduation. Students are provided with the contacts and resources available through PCC for continued support in their education and pursuit of employment.

GED classes are offered:

Monday - Thursday - 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Room 410 - PCC main campus

Mon, Tues, and Wed evenings - 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm at PCC Bayboro Center

Click here to obtain a copy of your GED transcript.

GED classes are free. There is a one time charge of $7.50 to take the GED.

Contact: Valerie Jones, Director of Basic Skills 252-249-1851 ex. 3082 or
vjones@pamlicocc.edu.

ESL English as a Second Language

ESL classes are offered to provide non-native speakers of English a competency in the English language in order to allow them to function comfortably in their communities. Our culturally sensitive instructors work with a diverse student body, from countries such as Mexico, Russia, Yemen, China, the Philippines, and various Central/South American countries.

Instruction focuses on English language acquisition, meeting the student wherever his/her fluency is. Students with little or no comfort with the English language as well as students working to improve their conversational fluency are welcomed.

Aprenda ingles. Ofrecemos clases gratuitas los dias lunes y miercoles a las seis de la tarde.

ESL classes are offered:

Monday and Wednesday evenings 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Room 410 at PCC main campus

**If your organization or institution sees a need for this service, please contact PCC about establishing satellite locations for your group: Valerie Jones, Director of Basic Skills 252-249-1851 ex. 3082 or
vjones@pamlicocc.edu.

ESL classes are free.

ABE Adult Basic Education

The ABE classes focus on the student whose competency in Reading, Writing, or Mathematics places them below the 9th grade level. Through individualized instruction and support, when a student's proficiency reaches the 9th grade level, he/she may move into GED classes.

Our instructors work with students to overcome their academic hurdles in order to reach a competency level necessary to function in society, on a job, or in the family. Students are welcome to take the class in order to improve their reading or writing skills, even if they do not choose to pursue a GED.

ABE classes are offered:

Monday - Thursday 10:00 am - 12 noon at the Senior Center

Monday - Thursday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Room 410 at PCC main campus

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Bayboro Center

ABE classes are free.

Contact: Valerie Jones, Director of Basic Skills 252-249-1851 ex. 3082 or
vjones@pamlicocc.edu.

Basic Skills Success Stories

"You can't get a good job without education."

Those sound like the words of parents and teachers trying to instill into the minds of young people the critical need to do well in school and stay in school to obtain the highest level of education and training possible. These words have much more significance coming from the proverbial "horse's mouth."

Brandon Tabarrini, now in his late twenties, admits that when in high school he was travelling a path that was not the best path for him to follow. Leaving school before he graduated, he worked as a logger for five years and then followed family members in utility construction. Later he formed his own company, Tabarrini Water Utility specializing in water line construction and maintenance.

"My business was really very successful. But I saw the handwriting on the wall with the slow-down in the economy. I knew that my early success might not hold up if business dropped off so I figured I better be able to find a really good job if I needed to. I wanted to be able to maintain the income and standard I have had in my own business. In looking for jobs at reasonable pay based on what my business had done, I found out in a hurry that you can't even get considered for a good job without education," he observed.

He added, "I learned that without the GED, you couldn't get any type of good job with any government, county or state. But now I'm set to finish my GED and do it with honors."

Amanda Bennett, Basic Skills Assessment/Retention Specialist at PCC, has worked with Brandon and followed his progress. "So many people are like Brandon. There are great numbers of intelligent, motivated people, who, for one reason or another, did not graduate from high school. We did our job for Brandon and but more important is the fact that he did the job he needed to do for himself. Even with self-employment, his future is much brighter now. The GED can be just the beginning for him to continue to grow," she said.

Tabarrini concluded, "Amanda, Valerie, and Nicole – anything you say positive about them is the truth. They go out of their way to help. They kept me motivated and on track all the time."

Valerie Jones is Director of Basic Skills at PCC. Nicole Gibbs is a Basic Skills classroom teacher. Jones said, "So many people think of a community college as simply a two year college either preparing people for a vocation or offering the first two years of a four year degree. We do much more than that. In Basic Skills, we help people get ready for vocational and academic programs. In essence, in Basic Skills we open the door for so many people to make their way into more education and more training. The GED is one way we do that. We're proud of Brandon and we’re proud of all the success stories that begin in Basic Skills."

To learn more about Basic Skills programs at Pamlico Community College, contact Amanda Bennett, abennett@pamlicocc.edu, 252-249-1851 x 3083.

Callie Polaski

Callie Polaski is breaking through, which is what Breaking Through is all about. Pamlico Community College is one of only 22 colleges in the nation initially invited to participate in Breaking Through, a national program established by Jobs for the Future and the National Council for Workforce Education to help students break through barriers to meaningful employment. There are now 31 colleges working together to achieve this goal.

Seven years ago, in October 2001 when Polaski was a ninth grader at Pamlico County High School, she learned that her father was terminally ill with just a few months to live. She dropped out of school. After her father died in February of 2002, she worked in fast food restaurants to help her mother pay bills.

Married with a toddler son, in the summer of 2008, Callie Polaski decided that a GED would be her ticket for better employment and better pay. She enrolled in the GED program at Pamlico Community College and later simultaneously also enrolled in the Nurse Aide I Continuing Education classes. She became the classic client of Breaking Through, obtaining a high school diploma while at the same time learning marketable job skills. Still enrolled in the GED program with only the writing and math sections to complete, she has established several career training goals.



Callie Polaski, flanked by Basic Skills instructor, Nicole Gibbs, left, and Nurse Aide instructor, Dale Holadia, combines Occupational Health classes with her studies for the GED.

Noting her love for meeting and interacting with people, she said, "I love to talk to people and help them. That's why I'm planning to enroll in Nurse Aide II when I finish the first course. Then I want to enroll in Medical Billing and Insurance. I believe you can do all things through Christ. Because of Him, I have stuck to my goals."

All of the classes Polaski currently plans to take are Occupational Skills classes offered through PCC's Division of Continuing Education. Some people enroll in Basic Skills classes for the sole purpose of acquiring the GED for higher pay. Breaking Through is designed to help those who obtain the high school equivlalency via this route to go beyond just the diploma and obtain job skills for better jobs as well as better pay. Success in these endeavors provides a better life for the graduates and a better workforce for industry and commerce.

Nicole Gibbs is one of PCC's Basic Skills instructors who has worked personally with Polaski. Gibbs observed, "Callie is a very good student who is adamant about wanting to work and accomplish her goals. When she sets a goal, she goes all the way, she doesn't stop."

Polaski praised college personnel for the compassion they have for students who have situations similar to hers. "They actually care about the future of the students. That's why all of this is so important to me," she said.

According to Clark Dimond, Dean of Institutional Advancement, "We have learned that the Breaking Through initiative might be expanded with assistance from the Bill Gates Foundation. Callie Polaski's story is the classic example of what this initiative was designed to do. Repeat this success story from Pamlico Community College on campuses all across the nation and it is easy to see how so many lives can be changed while at the same time providing a better trained and better educated workforce."

At a recent conference in Austin, Texas billed as a peer learning event for Breaking through participants, Pamlico Community College was one of five colleges cited for specific successes. PCC was praised for working individually with many students at many levels within in one Basic Skills classroom. Dimond says this is similar to the one room school approach but in Basic Skills it allows our students to move more quickly through the GED process into other training. The college was also cited for creating Continuing Education classes paired with curriculum classes to give additional skills to students at different levels and different stages in their educational plans.

Continuing Education At PCC

Continuing Ed at PCC offers an amazing range of course opportunities - from First Aid to Computers to Boat Building. Continuing Education schedules can be downloaded by clicking here. For updates to the Small Business Center seminars click here.

Continuing Education staff members are Glenn DeMunck, Misty Rasmussen, Valerie Jones, Mindy Moore, Amanda Bennett and Jerry Prescott. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please call to share your ideas with us at 252-249-1851, extension 3019.