A Free Path to a Diploma, Every Monday Night
Starting September 14, adults across Wylie and Collin County who need a high school equivalency credential have a no-cost option a short drive from home. The Rita and Truett Smith Public Library at 300 Country Club Rd., Building 300, is hosting free GED and HiSET preparation classes on Monday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 pm — and the sessions run all the way through May 2027, totaling 30 classes across the academic year.
The program is funded by a donation from Project Judy, a local initiative that underwrites adult literacy work in the area. Instruction is led by Michelle Bellamy, who will guide students through the material covered on both the GED and HiSET exams, the two primary pathways to a state-recognized high school equivalency diploma in Texas.
What the Schedule Looks Like
The structure is straightforward. Classes meet every Monday evening — no weekends, no early mornings — from 5:30 to 7:30 pm inside the library at the Country Club Road campus. The first session is September 14, 2026. From there, the program continues on that same weekly cadence through the spring, giving students consistent, predictable time to build skills without rearranging a work schedule around an inconvenient class time.
Thirty sessions over roughly eight months is a meaningful commitment of instructional hours, and the Monday-only format keeps the calendar manageable for adults balancing jobs, childcare, or other obligations.
Who This Is For
The GED and HiSET are both accepted by Texas employers and colleges as equivalent to a high school diploma. Adults who left school before graduating — for any reason — can use either credential to qualify for jobs that require a diploma, apply to community college programs, or pursue certifications in skilled trades.
Wylie has grown rapidly over the past decade, and that growth has brought a wide range of residents with different educational backgrounds. A free, locally accessible prep program removes two of the most common barriers to earning a credential: cost and distance. Participants do not need to drive to Dallas or pay for a commercial test-prep course. The library is already a familiar, low-barrier community space, and the classes are held there at no charge.
Practical Details Before You Go
The library is located at 300 Country Club Rd., Building 300, Wylie, TX 75098. That address sits within the same Country Club Road campus as the Wylie Recreation Center, so if you have been to either facility before, you already know the general area.
Classes begin September 14 and run through May 2027. The Monday evening window — 5:30 to 7:30 pm — is designed to work around a standard workday. Because the program is funded by donation rather than tuition, there is no fee to enroll.
Anyone interested in registering or confirming details before the first session should contact the Rita and Truett Smith Public Library directly. Library staff can confirm enrollment steps, answer questions about which exam — GED or HiSET — might be the right fit, and provide any updates to the schedule.
A Broader Fall at the Library
The GED prep series is the most substantive new offering this fall, but it sits alongside the library’s broader September and October programming, which includes story times, author events, and reading challenges for children, teens, and adults. For a single municipal building, the Country Club Road campus is doing a lot of community work this season.
If you know someone in Wylie who has been putting off finishing their diploma because of cost or access, the September 14 start date is the practical moment to act. Thirty free classes, one library, every Monday evening — the logistics are about as low-friction as a credential program gets.
