RAPID CITY, S.D., March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking
advantage of Taco Bell's partnership with Career Online
High School, Stephen Irvine
became the first team member to earn his high school diploma
through an innovative program supporting team member success
through education. A graduation ceremony honoring the achievement
was held at the Rapid City Taco Bell franchise location where Mr.
Irvine works.
"We're so proud of Stephen and his commitment to graduate from
Career Online High School," said Taco Bell's Global Chief
People Officer Frank Tucker. "We
believe every Taco Bell team member should have the opportunity to
earn a high school diploma and continue their education. That is
why we have partnered with our franchisees to offer programs like
Career Online High School."
Career Online High School was developed in 2012 through a
partnership by ed2go, a division of Cengage Learning that provides
students with online continuing education and career training. The
Smart Horizons Career Online Education program provides affordable,
career-based online education opportunities for the millions of
adults in the United States
without high school diplomas.
Taco Bell, Taco Bell franchisees and the Taco Bell Foundation
for Teens™ are committed to delivering a range of education
resources to team members and teens that inspire and enable them to
achieve más, starting with graduation from high school. Last year,
Taco Bell, Taco Bell franchisees and the Taco Bell Foundation for
Teens™ partnered with Cengage Learning and Smart Horizons to
provide team members an opportunity to earn an accredited high
school diploma and career certificate through Career Online High
School. Nearly 200 team members are expected to be awarded
scholarships in the full amount of tuition (valued at $1,295) by the end of 2015. Providing the
opportunity for its team members to go back to high school to get a
diploma is one of many ways Taco Bell, Taco Bell franchisees and
the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens™ are giving team members skills
they can use to grow and achieve más.
With a high school diploma and career training under his belt,
Mr. Irvine plans to continue his education and has enrolled in a
local cosmetology school. His advice to others is "just do it and
stick to it. It is so worth it, just even without all the extras
that I'm being blessed with, just the diploma in itself is a huge
blessing. It's going to open so many more opportunities, and it's
totally worth the time and the effort."
"We are focused on broadening access to education for all
learners, and it is exciting to see the positive outcomes we're
able to influence through Career Online High School," said
Ron Stefanski, Executive Director of
Strategic Alliances at ed2go.
"Stephen Irvine represents
everything we've hoped to achieve by establishing Career Online
High School and teaming with Taco Bell and ed2go, he has a
bright future ahead of him after earning his diploma and is
continuing his education beyond COHS as he pursues a post-secondary
degree," said Dr. Howard Liebman,
Superintendent and CEO of Smart Horizons Career Online Education.
"We're very proud of Stephen and congratulate him on earning his
diploma from Career Online High School."
Images from the graduation ceremony held at the Rapid City Taco
Bell location are available upon request. For more information on
this partnership and the Career Online High School program,
please visit http://www.ed2go.com/tacobell/.
About Cengage Learning and ed2go
Cengage Learning is a
leading educational content, technology, and services company for
the higher education and K-12, professional and library markets
worldwide. ed2go, part of Cengage Learning, is the largest
provider of turnkey online training and education solutions serving
the adult education, career and corporate training markets. With
over 2,000 colleges, universities, community based organizations
and other training providers, ed2go has served more than 2.5
million students. ed2go's ever-growing catalog of Online Courses
and Career Training Programs makes it simple for students to enrich
their lives or reach professional goals in a supportive and
engaging environment. For more information: www.cengage.com and
www.ed2go.com.
About Smart Horizons Career Online Education
Smart
Horizons Career Online Education, founded in 2009 and located in
Pensacola, Florida, is a private,
AdvancED/SACS accredited online school district. AdvancED/SACS
District accreditation signifies that SHCOE and all of its schools
are fully accredited and that SHCOE is recognized across the nation
as a quality school system. Smart Horizons Career Online Education
offers 18-credit, career-based high school diploma programs that
are designed to prepare students for entrance into the workplace.
Career certificate offerings include Childcare Education, Office
Management, Protection Services, Homeland Security, Transportation
Services, Professional Skills, Retail Customer Service Skills, and
Food & Customer Service Skills.
About Taco Bell
Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum!
Brands, Inc., (NYSE: YUM), is the nation's leading Mexican-inspired
quick service restaurant. Taco Bell serves made to order and
customizable tacos, burritos, and specialties such as the
exclusive Doritos® Locos Tacos, gourmet inspired Cantina
Power Menu and lower calorie Fresco Menu. The company
encourages customers to "Live Más," both through its food and in
ways such as its Feed the Beat® music program and
nonprofit organization, the Taco Bell Foundation for
Teens. Taco Bell and its more than 350 franchise organization have
nearly 6,000 restaurants across the
United States that proudly serve more than 36 million
customers every week.
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SOURCE Cengage Learning