When Tawana Brown dropped out of high school, she found her life to be unfulfilled and didn’t like the example she was setting for her daughter Jayla, who is now six years old.

“I looked at it and said, when she grows up she could look at it like ‘If momma doesn’t have her (degree), I don’t have to get mine.’

“But if I did this it might help her to process through school all the way,” she said. “When I dropped out, I really wasn’t doing anything but sitting around the house being bored. But when I started going back to school it motivated me to do things that I really wanted to do.”

Now in her mid-20’s, she decided to take courses at the Richmond County Literacy Council in downtown Rockingham, to work toward her GED.

She feels like she is finally setting a positive example, and working toward goals she has set for herself.

She is taking the last of her five GED tests Monday, recently accepted a position at a local restaurant and now plans to enroll at Richmond Community College and join the Naval Reserves so she can provide a better life for her daughter.

“When I used to apply for jobs, they’d ask is I had my GED or high school diploma,” Brown said. “I realized at a certain point that if you have it, you have a better opportunity in life.”

International Literacy Day September 8 highlights the goal of providing a primary education, including the ability to read and do basic arithmetic, to everyone on the planet.

The Literacy Council believes that without a high school diploma or equivalent, a good job is nearly impossible to get, which is why it offers free classes year round to help each citizen get a high school equivalent.

Literacy Council basic skills program coordinator and lead instructor Sharon Harris explained the organization’s primary purpose Wednesday.

“The focus is to build them up in their basic skills, so they can get their GED, and have them work ready for those who may need to get a job while they continue to pursue their higher education,” she said.

The Council’s facilities on East Washington Street in downtown Rockingham have approximately 70 students currently studying to get their GED there, she said. Since launching its partnership with Richmond Community College in May, the Council will serve all students who read at a fourth grade level or below, while those who test higher will study at the college.

“These are mostly the kids who slipped through the cracks,” Harris said. “We see a lot of issues, and these kids have a lot of struggles they have to overcome.”

She said many of the stories she hears include single parenthood, unemployment, alcohol and substance abuse in the home or neighborhood and mental and physical abuse during their formative years.

“In school, they adopted an attitude that they couldn’t do it, so many of them said they became class clowns, as a way to deflect attention away from the fact they weren’t achieving at school,” she said. “It’s very rewarding to see when they come here and finally get it. It usually takes two or three months, but then there’s a moment when you can tell they finally get it. It’s like a lightbulb goes off over their head.”

In addition to providing the basic skills that will allow these students to read and do math on an adult level, Harris said there is a strong emphasis on students getting a Career Readiness Certification through RCC. This certification encompasses basic skills and lets employers know a potential employee has the skills that are required in the modern workplace.

Among other employers, the newly opened Big Rock Sports Distribution Center requires all applicants to have this certification.

“Our current economy allows employers to be more picky about who they hire, and turnover is expensive,” Richmond County JobLink Coordinator Mike Railton said. “Employers are finding that better educated employees stay longer, so improving your education level increases your chances for better paying, longer lasting employment.”

He said the competitive job market that now exists allows the people who do the hiring to require it in writing.

“Employers these days won’t take your word for it that you know how to perform basic math and reading skills,” he said. “The Career Readiness Certificate proves to them that you can.”

For more information about utilizing the free services at the Richmond County Literacy Council, you may contact Sharon Harris at (910) 895-0338, or stop by to visit at 316 E. Washington St. Rockingham.