Class size is typically 8 to 12 students and may be either single-sex or coed. A full-time instructional and community service program with the completion of a high school curriculum and employment as the ultimate goal. The program combines academic instruction with community service and provides services not found in traditional adult education programs. Students divide the day between academic instruction and community service work. The program uses an individualized instructional approach.
Instructors diagnose skill areas and design individual educational plans with career-related goals.
Instruction and service interrelate, with new skills and experiences shared between the two components. Curriculum is GED driven. Staff are full-time and programs operate year round at a minimum of 5 days a week. Staff development, monitoring, and evaluation are integrated into program management. Data support claims that participants are three times more likely to receive a high school diploma than those in traditional programs, five times more likely to be placed in jobs or job training, and likely to complete four times the hours participants in regular adult programs do.