Program Services

• Career pathways programs provide post-secondary education and training that is organized as a series of manageable steps leading to successively higher credentials and employment opportunities in growing occupations. Each step is designed to prepare individuals for the next level of employment and education and provide a credential with labor market value. To effectively engage and retain trainees, and facilitate learning of a diverse population, programs integrate promising instructional strategies, supports, and employer connections.

• Although steps in actual programs vary with their target populations, focal occupations, and service strategies, the broad training and employment step levels are shown in the figure. The bottom two steps (I and II) represent so-called “on ramp” and “bridge” programs, designed to prepare low-skilled participants for college-level training and lower-skilled jobs with a career focus. Basic skill levels differentiating these two steps vary across programs but generally correspond to the 6th-8th grade and 9th-11th grade ranges, respectively.

• The next two steps (III and IV) provide college-level training for so-called “middle skills” employment—that is, jobs requiring some college but less than a bachelor’s degree (e.g., an associate’s degree or shorter certificate). The final level (V) includes interventions promoting completion of bachelors’ degrees and more-advanced credentials. The career pathways model is designed to allow initial entries, exits, and re-entries at each stage—depending on skill levels and prior training, employment prospects, and changing personal and family situations.

The HSDO Program is designed for Alabama public school students who have previously dropped out of the traditional high school setting or for students who have completed all of the required credits needed for graduation but were unsuccessful in completing one or more sections of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination.

The program provides two options:

Option 1

• For a former student who attended an Alabama high school and completed all of the required credits needed for graduation; however, the student did not pass all sections of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE).

Eligibility for Option 1

• Participant must have completed the required number of credits to graduate from an Alabama public high school. Wallace Community College services Dale, Houston, Henry, and Barbour County School Systems.  The graduation requirements established for when the participant was enrolled in high school will be those used to determine eligibility.
• Did not receive a passing score on one or more sections of the AHSGE
• Student must be a minimum age of 19.

Option 2 

• For a former student who earned a minimum of 10 or more credits from an Alabama high school and requires additional credits needed for graduation.

Eligibility for Option 2

• Participant must have completed a minimum of 10 credits required to graduate from an Alabama public high school. Wallace Community College services Dale, Houston, Henry, and Barbour County School Systems. The graduation requirements established for when the participant was enrolled in high school will be those used to determine eligibility. 
• Student must be a minimum age of 19.
• Participant must be assessed on the Test for Adult Basic Education (TABE).
• Score must be in the High Intermediate Level (grade equivalency 6.0 or higher).

HSDO FORMS

HSDO Procedural Guidelines
HSDO Step-by-Step Guidance
High School Transcript Audit Form
HSDO Eligibility Determination Form

Become a Volunteer 

• For many men and women throughout the Dothan area, literacy is a luxury that they’ve never been able to enjoy.  At Wallace Community College, we strive to fix this problem by providing an accessible literacy program for local adults.

• Volunteer tutors, who wish to make a difference in the community by teaching adults to read, are required to complete a 12-hour workshop to earn a certificate.  In this workshop, tutors are trained in the Laubach Way to Reading series, which was designed specifically for volunteer tutors working with adults who have extremely limited skills.  We provide all the books and teaching resources to ensure success in the course.

• During our initial consultation with a student, the tutor/student coordinator will administer a reading assessment that will help us determine the approximate reading level of the student.  The tutor and the coordinator will then discuss tutoring sessions and arrange a time and place to meet for instruction.  Most of our tutoring sessions last for 90 minutes, taking place twice a week.