Beginning next month, there will be a new adult-education center in Ludowici.
Altamaha Technical College and Okefenokee Technical College will merge into Coastal Pines Technical College, a new school that will serve 13 counties. Counties where classes will be offered include Long, Glynn, Wayne, McIntosh and Ware.
On Thursday, Betty Baker, academic-support instructor for the Ludowici branch, spoke at the Long County Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours meeting and gave information on the local center. She said her office provides free instruction for Georgia Education Diplomas (GED), English as A Second Language certificates (EASL), and Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) tests.  
In addition to offering those courses, the center provides math and English classes for prospective or current employees who need help in these areas.
The classes also can help prepare a person who has been out of high school for several years and wants to go back to college, Baker said.
“These classes help prepare people for both college and the workforce … and for you, as business leaders, the more we can help your employees, the better job they can do for you,” she said.
Baker said she encourages all young people to stay in high school and earn their diplomas. However, if a person has dropped out of school, she said they can come to the center and begin work on their GED.
The current GED has four areas of aptitude: science, social studies, math and language arts/reading, Baker said. Many people go online and get what they believe is a GED certificate, she said, but most of those programs are not certified by the state.
Baker said that if these people apply for a job requiring a high-school diploma or a GED, or if they apply for acceptance into an accredited college, these certificates will not meet the standard.
All classes offered at the center in Ludowici are free, but that there are fees to take the actual tests.
The center is open from
8 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Thursday and also from 5-9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.
So far this year, the center has served 100 students in Long County, she said.
The center has an advisory committee, Baker said, and its goal is to receive input from local citizens. Members meet quarterly, and she encourages anyone who wishes to serve on it to drop by the center and submit an application.
For more information, call 545-2913 or stop at 118 N. McDonald St. in Ludowici.