The program will provide education to enable “New Americans” to enter the workforce and build sustainable futures
All Nations has announced that it will offer Career Online High School (COHS) to the “New American” population it serves in the St. Louis, Missouri area. With the exception of a refundable deposit, the program will be provided at no cost to immigrants and refugees, to help them gain the education and workforce training needed to build viable futures in the United States.
All Nations provides refugees and immigrants in St. Louis guidance and mentoring and supports their acclimatization to American culture. COHS will afford those served by All Nations with the opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma and workforce training certificate. These are vital credentials to help them succeed in—as well as contribute to—the economy.
“We discovered that an education gap was dramatically hurting new immigrants and refugees, and the GED/HiSET was not a good fit for this community,” said Matt Clark, Executive Director of All Nations. “Even if some of them have a comparable level of education in their home country, it isn’t always recognized in the U.S. Offering educational attainment to new Americans is a critical part of what we do. We discovered COHS to be the perfect partner to accomplish this goal.”
Mr. Clark illustrated an example of how COHS will support the refugees and immigrants his organization serves:
“I recently met a family from Tanzania—a mother and her grown daughter. The mother had adopted the daughter after she was found abandoned by the bank of a river within hours of birth. As a senior government official, the mother had the resources to provide and took her in, but shortly thereafter an assassination attempt caused them to to flee the country.
For various reasons, the daughter was never able to complete school. I asked her to tell me her goals and she said she wanted to study Business Management. I asked her if she’d let me help her finish school, and she said ‘yes.’ We expect to enroll her in our first COHS class in January.
Her story started on the banks of a river, and we hope to play a part in helping her write her story—her way. At All Nations, we help refugees and immigrants pursue their dreams and chart their paths. And Career Online High School is a crucial part of those paths.”
Every newcomer at All Nations is assigned a personal mentor to show them the ropes, assess their goals, and help them create a path to achieve them. For those needing to improve their English before starting COHS, All Nations will also provide National Geographic Learning’s MyTime English program.
Once enrolled in COHS, students will choose a Career Certificate to gain knowledge and skills in areas such as retail, food services, hospitality, child care, and health care. They will also have access to an Academic Coach as well as certified instructors.
“We are thrilled to be working with All Nations to engage their clients in education, and prepare them to join the workforce,” said Dr. Howard Liebman, District Superintendent of COHS. “It is crucial to give them the tools to succeed. We look forward to supporting the contributions that these refugees and immigrants will make not only within our national economy, but within our society as a whole.”
COHS is offered by All Nations in part thanks to local funding efforts. To learn more or contribute, visit allnations-stl.org or contact All Nations’ Development Director, Alex McLain, at alex@allnations-stl.org.
About All Nations
Launched in St. Louis in September 2018, All Nations’ mission is to help refugees and immigrants acclimate to the American culture and improve their chances to succeed in their new environment, removing the feeling of displacement, so they can contribute to the welfare of their community.
About Career Online High School
Career Online High School was developed in 2012 through a partnership by ed2go, a division of Cengage that provides students with online continuing education and career training, and Smart Horizons Career Online Education in an effort to provide affordable, career-based online education opportunities for the millions of adults in the United States without high school diplomas. For more information, visit careeronlinehs.org.