If you live in the City of Racine and are ready to go back to school to earn your high school diploma,
fill out this application for a City HSED Scholarship and begin your journey!
If you’re a City of Racine resident who is ready to go back to school to earn your high school diploma, fill out this application to earn up to $1,500 in City HSED Scholarship to help you pay the bills while you go through YWCA SEW’s FREE, supportive program. That’s right, their program is FREE, successful, and supportive, AND, for a limited time, you can earn up to $1,500 from the City while you do the work of going through this program. You can use the City HSED Scholarship for The City of Racine believes in the potential of all our residents! For a limited time, we are offering scholarships of up to $1,500 to adult City residents who go back to school to earn their high school degree through YWCA SEW’s HSED program.
We know that for many City residents, high school was not a good experience and life may have gotten in the way of getting that diploma. No matter what happened in the past that kept you from earning your high school diploma, we don’t want it to hold you back from your future. If you are ready to go back to school and earn your high school degree, we want to help you do that!

YWCA SEW’s FREE HSED program is based on schoolwork, not tests! It is a supportive, engaging program that will allow you to earn your high school credential in 20 weeks or less.
We know that going back to school requires a lot of time, effort, and sacrifice, so the City of Racine is now offering scholarships of up to $1,500 to City residents who enroll in and graduate from this program. If you live in the City of Racine and are ready to enroll in YWCA SEW’s HSED program,

HSED Scholarships Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Eligible for These HSED Scholarships?
- All City of Racine residents!
- Age 18+
- Enrolled in YWCA SEW’s HSED program
What if I Don’t Live in the City of Racine?
- These scholarships are offered by and funded by the City of Racine and are only for people who live in the City of Racine.
- You can check to see if your home address is actually in the City by looking up your address at https://myvote.wi.gov – if that site says people at that address vote at a City of Racine polling place, it’s in the City. Otherwise, it’s not.
How Do I Apply?
- Complete the City of Racine HSED Scholarships Application
How Much Are the Scholarships?
- You can earn up to $1,500 if you enroll in and graduate from YWCA SEW’s HSED program.
- The total amount you’ll receive in scholarship payments depends on your progress in the program.
What Can I Use the Scholarship For?
- The City’s HSED Scholarship is meant to help support you and your family while you focus on earning your HSED.
- You can use the scholarship payments however you’d like: to pay the rent, child care, car payments, utilities, buy a laptop, etc.
- Please note that receiving up to $1,500 from this Scholarship may affect your eligibility for public benefits and your taxes. Please reach out to the City’s Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) to get free, 1:1, confidential, professional help to achieve your financial goals and address any impacts from receiving the scholarship.
How Many Scholarship Payments Will I Receive?
- You can earn a total of three separate scholarship payments, one after each completed milestone.
- The total amount you can earn in scholarship payments depends on your progress in the program that you make AFTER you submit your HSED Scholarship Application. We cannot award scholarships for progress made in the program BEFORE you applied for the HSED Scholarship.
What Happens After I Apply?
- You must enroll in YWCA SEW’s HSED program. Get started here www.YWCASEW.org/grow
- After you have completed enrollment, you’ll be contacted by the City of Racine via email to complete these final steps for the scholarship. Make sure to check your email!
- You will need to:
- Sign a Scholarship Acknowledgement Form;
- Complete a W9 form;
- Provide verification of your City of Racine residency; and
- Complete a short online survey
- You will not receive any scholarship payments until after all of your documentation is complete.
What is the Application Deadline?
- If you have not yet enrolled in YWCA SEW’s HSED program, you can apply for the City HSED Scholarship at any time. Funding is limited, though, so don’t wait to get started!
- If you’re already enrolled in YWCA SEW’s HSED program, you will only be eligible for a partial scholarship amount based on the milestones you complete AFTER applying for the HSED Scholarship.
- While you can apply for the City HSED Scholarship at any time, we recommend you apply sooner rather than later, especially because you can only earn scholarship payments for milestones you complete AFTER you have applied for the scholarship.
Once I’ve Applied for a Scholarship and Enrolled in YWCA SEW’s HSED Program, How Do I Get My Scholarship Payments?
- You can earn a total of three scholarship payments.
- You will earn one scholarship payment each time you achieve a milestone in the program after your scholarship application date. The City will be notified when milestones are met and verified. Those milestones are:
- Completion of Health and Career Courses ($400 scholarship payment);
- Completion of Science and Math Courses ($700 scholarship payment); and
- Completion of Social Studies and Language Arts Course ($400 scholarship payment).
How will I Receive My Scholarship Payments?
- You will receive checks by mail from the City of Racine.
- You may also pick up your scholarship checks from the Mayor’s Office at City Hall.
- You will be contacted by the City when your scholarship check is ready for mail or pick up.
How Long Will the City Offer These Scholarships?
- The City has approved a set amount of money for these scholarships; once that funding is gone, the City will not be able to offer additional scholarships.
Who Do I Contact if I Have Additional Questions about YWCA SEW’s HSED Program?
- Contact Tammy Seleski, Program Support Specialist at 262-898-5532 or tseleski@ywcasew.org
Who Do I Contact if I Have Additional Questions About the City of Racine HSED Scholarships?
- Contact City of Racine Mayor Mason’s office at 262-636-9104 or email grow@cityofracine.org
Thanks to all of the City staff and nonprofit partners who made City of Racine Day such a success yesterday! #GROWRacine ... See MoreSee Less
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Tomorrow! Join us for this great City of Racine day event at the Bryant Center. Apply for jobs, get resume & interviewing help, connect with City and City-funded partner resources, enjoy lunch on us, giveaways, and more! Help spread the word.
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Did you know that GROW Racine is helping City residents launch great careers in the construction and building trades? It's true!
Super proud of these three City residents who graduated on Friday from WRTP / BIG STEP's Southeast Wisconsin Roadbuilders Program. All three received City of Racine, On the lake GROW Racine pre-apprenticeship scholarships to encourage & support them while they were enrolled in this training program.
Up next for these residents? Great careers with family-supporting wages, lifelong learning, and benefits!
Learn more about how the City is investing in our residents to rebuild and grow our City! www.growracine.org/careers-in-the-trades/
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Our Youth Employment Program is one of the many ways the City of Racine, On the lake is investing in our residents' futures. Applications are now open for this summer's 8-week paid youth jobs with the City! Learn more and get the application here www.growracine.org/youth-employment/
#GROWRacine #CityofRacineMeet Tihane A.! Tia is a former Summer Youth Employment Program participant who was then hired to continue working for the City of Racine. Read more about Tia’s experiences in the interview below:
*The YEP application is OPEN! Learn more here: www.growracine.org/youth-employment/
Q: What was your position with the City of Racine?
A: My position in the city was a Summer Youth Employee in the Human Resources department.
Q: What motivated you to apply?
A: I needed an internship for one of my classes at Gateway Technical College. The application was sent to me by a classmate. I figured if all goes well, I will have an internship and a pretty unique experience.
Q: What were some skills you learned?
A: I gained a better understanding of what the different departments in the city do from an insider’s point of view. And I (of course) got to see the process behind how someone is hired and interviewed, setting up benefits and a glimpse of what goes into setting up the wellness activities for the city employees.
Q: What’s it like working in city government as a young person?
A: It’s a little weird… I feel like I should have had office experience and have been in school for something business related to work here, but I work here without it.
Q: How do you explain your job to other people at school?
A: I just explain that I help the hiring process along, I file part-time applicants, set up interviews, pre-employment drug screenings and orientations, run background checks, then call applicants to offer them the job.
I have also been helping create the wellness calendars, bingos, and word searches.
Q: What do you wish you knew before this job?
A: I wish I knew that it’s not as intimidating as I thought it would be and the experience is going to be whatever you make it. Before starting I assumed working in an office (especially for it to be the city), it would be really dull, strictly work, and no room for mistakes.
It’s not like that at all, I work with a very nice group of people who are very patient and understanding. They would rather me ask a lot of questions and do the job right, than to not say anything at all and do it wrong.
Q: How will this internship impact your future goals?
A: The Youth Employment Program has made a very big impact on my future plans. Before coming into the program, I was at a point in school where I did not really know what I wanted to do. I just knew the demographic I wanted to work with and a few careers I thought I would be good at or could see myself doing.
But after the program and now working here for a while I have a clear understanding of what I want to do career-wise and feel confident that when the time comes I will be able to do my job well 🙂
Q: What advice do you have for other students who are applying for any internships?
A: My advice for applying for any internships would be to choose something that you think would be the best fit for you. Also that internships are pretty low stakes, you’re just doing it to get experience in the field and get your foot in the door. It will teach you the things you do and do not like about the field you may go into or that company/organization. Which can be a tool when choosing the rest of your classes, another internship, or figuring out what you want to do as a career.
Getting to work with the city while in this program, is such a new and fun experience and can open a lot of doors to new opportunities.
Another thing I would want those applying to YEP to know is that Kischa tries to make sure that everyone is having a good experience from this and includes activities that are fun and beneficial to the employees. For example, for one of the cohort days we went canoeing then had a lunch from the fire department or people from Gateway came to help the employees build their resumes. ... See MoreSee Less
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Thanks to Racine County Eye for highlighting the enrollment event the City of Racine, On the lake's GROW Racine team, YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, and Gateway Technical College are hosting this Saturday!
Know a City resident who's ready to go back to school to earn their high school credential? Make sure to tell 'em about this event, where we'll help them with every step of the enrollment process AND they can apply for the City's $1500 GROW Racine HSED Scholarship. #GROWRacine #CityofRacine ... See MoreSee Less
High School Equivalency Diploma enrollment and $1,500 scholarship event this Saturday in Racine | Racine County Eye
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RACINE — The City of Racine is hosting a 5.09 High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) event to recruit and enroll interested individuals for classes that begin0 CommentsComment on Facebook
We're GROW-ing Racine's future success by helping adult City residents earn their HSEDs and transform their futures!
Spread the word about this Saturday's enrollment session! #GROWRacine #CityofRacine ... See MoreSee Less
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