The City Colleges of Chicago Adult Education Department offers:

ABE and Literacy	Improve reading, writing, and math skills
GED	Earn your General Educational Development (GED) diploma
ESL	Learn English as a Second Language
Citizenship	Prepare for the citizenship exam
Career Bridge	Identify employment options, improve job skills
Alternative High School	Earn your high school diploma

Mission statement:

The mission of the Adult Education Division of the City Colleges of Chicago is to provide adults with preparatory and developmental instruction in Adult Basic Education (ABE), Citizenship, English as a Second Language (ESL), and/or General Educational Development (GED) to meet students’ individual goals.  Individual goals may include post-secondary education, employment skills training, and/or personal and career enhancement.

Cost: All Adult Education courses and materials are FREE.

Eligibility:

A student wishing to enroll in adult education courses must be an Illinois resident.  International students and visitors are not eligible for adult education.

English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are open to adults who are not native English speakers and who wish to improve their English language skills.  You may have a high school diploma and enroll in ESL classes.  Adult Basic Education, Literacy and GED preparation classes are open to adults who do not have a high school diploma or a GED certificate.

All Adult Education courses are open to students age 19 and over.  Persons who are 16, 17 or 18 years of age may enroll only if they are not attending traditional high school.  These students (age 16 to 18) must provide proof of separation from high school, which can include:

• transcript with withdrawal date from the last high school that the student has attended;
• a letter from the last school of attendance, stating that the student is no longer enrolled; or
• a letter from the high school within the student’s district that states that the student does not attend that school.