The Durham Literacy Center's youth GED program has found a place to call its own -- and a new partner as well.

The Shodor Education Foundation Inc. has offered a rent-free house adjacent to its main building at 923 Broad St. In addition, students seeking GEDs will be able to use the foundation's computer lab and possibly make use of the mentors and volunteers who work at the foundation.

The Shodor foundation is a Durham-based nonprofit focused on improving math and science education through enrichment programs.

"I am really excited that the students will be coming to a place where gifted students come, not just dropouts," said Lucy Haagen, executive director of the Durham Literacy Center.

The youth GED (General Educational Development) program, one of the few available locally for 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts, could open its doors in as soon as two weeks, Haagen said. The house, which has two small classrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen, is in use only during the summer.

The GED program previously operated in the downtown Golden Belt complex, in space donated by the Center for Employment Training. When CET consolidated its services onto just one floor at the complex, the program lost its room.

The Herald-Sun featured the Literacy Center's plight in an article Thursday, noting that Haagen had sought program space, or $32,000 to find a facility for the program, earlier this week from County Commissioners. The commissioners had delayed addressing the problem until their Aug. 25 meeting.

But Thursday morning, Shodor Foundation employees contacted Commissioners Chairwoman Ellen Reckhow, whose son Michael has volunteered with Shodor, for help getting in touch with Literacy Center officials.

It's not the first time the Literacy Center has been helped by a corporate partner. Measurement Inc., an educational testing company also located in downtown Durham, has helped to cover the salary of GED program instructor Sandee Washington.

In addition to the offer of help from Shodor, the Literacy Center received about a half-dozen calls Thursday from people offering space to the GED program. Offers came from a private GED class, the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, a recreation center and even Triangle Boxing on Alston Avenue, among others.

Said Haagen: "It shows Durham at its best."

The GED program has enrolled 35 students for its next session. According to Durham Public Schools, there were 631 dropouts in Durham during the 2002-03 school year, down 8 percent from the previous year.

© Durham Herald Company, Inc.