In this October photo, Leslie Estrada Burgos stands outside the Boyle Education Center where she took courses to earn her GED at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. She received her GED in May 2022. 

Thanks to a $2.2 million grant, Central Oregon Community College will continue funding its high school equivalency program aimed at helping migrant and seasonal farmworkers earn their GEDs.

The grant will allow COCC to continue its high school equivalency program designed for farmworkers and their families. The last grant helped 50 participants earn their GEDs.

The program is not limited to farmworkers, but encompasses whoever meets the guidelines, including those working in various jobs related to food production, Anton Gonzalez Jennings, regional director for the Central Oregon High School Equivalency Program, said in a press release. 

With the grant, participants will receive stipends for necessities like gas and child care so they can attend evening classes four days per week at COCC’s Redmond campus.

COCC took over the program from the High Desert Education Service District, which led the program the last five years. 

— Bulletin staff report