Hollister
– Whether they are young single parents or have had to put their
education on hold for work, nearly 40 students overcame their
challenges this year and completed San Benito High School’s Adult
Education program.
Hollister – Whether they are young single parents or have had to put their education on hold for work, nearly 40 students overcame their challenges this year and completed San Benito High School’s Adult Education program.
The accomplishment was formally recognized Thursday evening during a special graduation ceremony where 38 students received the diplomas that some of them thought they would never get.
“This was the best thing for me,” said graduate Art Hernandez. “And it feels really good to have graduated.”
The Adult Ed program is designed, primarily, for students older than 18 who have fallen so far behind in their high school work that obtaining a conventional high school diploma – which at SBHS would mean completing 235 credits – is near impossible.
“Some of these students have come back to finish their education three, four or five years or more after leaving school,” said SBHS Superintendent Jean Burns Slater. “It’s a great opportunity for them.”
Julie Graham, the program’s guidance technician, said that there are many reasons why students choose Adult Education as a route to a high school diploma.
“Some of them have personal health issues or take care of family members, some of them dropped out, some of them needed to take some more ESL (English as a Second Language) classes before they were able to come back and finish,” she said.
Still others are young parents struggling to keep up with work and raising a child, are in the foster care system, or have other personal issues that have interfered with schoolwork, according to Grahm.
“When these students open up to you, it’s amazing what they’ve been through,” she said. “And their accomplishments are amazing, too.”
Adult Education can take many forms: some students do most of their work on an Independent Study contract while others take a few classes during the regular school day or at a community college. Many, however, choose to take advantage of the night classes held at the SBHS campus because they work or raise children during the day.
Instead of completing 235 credits, Adult Education students focus on 190 credits – giving up elective courses like drama or ceramics. Sometimes they forego an extra year of English. While an Adult Ed diploma is almost the same as any other SBHS diploma, Adult Ed graduates can’t go directly to a four year university after graduating. After completing 60 general education credits at a community college, however, they can transfer to a four-year school like any other student.
“I want to study computer graphics, Photoshop, that sort of thing, I think I’d be good at it,” said graduate Art Hernandez Jr. “But I don’t know what I would have done without Edie Achterman or Julie Graham, they were really supportive of me.”
2006 is only the third year Adult Ed students have enjoyed a graduation ceremony all their own, and alternative education teachers and staff worked extra hard to make sure their graduates knew they were valued.
“Some of our students don’t want to walk because they don’t think its the real thing,” said Graham. “But it is and we want it to be special for them.”
The event included speeches from staff and inspirational songs. Several graduates took the podium to thank family members and teachers who had helped them along the way to success.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com
