Published: May 10, 2006

About 250 migrant and seasonal workers who have earned their general education diplomas, or GEDs, through the University of Colorado at Boulder's High School Equivalency Program will graduate on Friday, May 19.

The ceremony starts at 7 p.m. in the University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom on the CU-Boulder campus and will include graduates from the High School Equivalency Program site in Brighton.

"This is the first time we are holding the graduation on campus and we are very excited to be hosting it here," said Leonard Baca, executive director of the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education in the CU-Boulder School of Education.

The BUENO Center coordinates CU-Boulder's High School Equivalency Program, which has helped more than 9,000 people earn their GEDs. It is the nation's largest High School Equivalency Program for migrant and seasonal workers, according to Baca.

The High School Equivalency Program has centers in Sterling, Fort Morgan, Greeley, Longmont, Brighton, Alamosa and La Junta, and currently graduates more than 600 people per year, according to Baca. Graduations also will be held at these locations later in the spring.

The program provides assistance in career development and placement, vocational skills training, counseling, tutoring and academic advising.

The BUENO Center was established in 1976 to improve educational opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students through teacher training, research projects and staff development and training. Since its creation, the center has brought in more than $50 million in private and federal funding.

For more information about the HEP program visit the Web site at or call (303) 655-1806.

For more information about the BUENO Center visit the Web site at .