Dropouts get second chance at Adult Ed

By Herb Uzzi and Anne-Kathryn Bultman
Edited by Erinn Causey

Students who dropped out of high school gain a second chance to finish through the state's Adult and Community Education program.

Offered by the S.C. Department of Education, the Richland District I Adult and Community Education program is open to anyone who is at least 17-years-old. Students in the Adult Ed program may earn a diploma or pass the General Education Development test.

"Pretty much a person can walk in off the street, and if they qualify, I'll take them," said Faye Houston, director of attendance, dropout prevention and adult education at Richland County School District One's Adult Ed program.

"Two years ago we graduated an 83-year-old. And we have a 68-year-old right now," Houston said.

The diploma program is longer, taking most students about a year and a half, and the GED program, that usually takes four to six months to complete, is usually for students trying to move through high school quickly, Houston said.

The diploma program has about a 70 percent graduation rate, and the GED program graduates about 80 percent of its students. The low graduation rate for the diploma program is misleading, Houston said, because students tend to switch to the GED program to finish faster.

The Adult Ed program will not solve the state's dropout problem, said Cherry Daniel, South Carolina director of adult and community education. But it does help the state's economy by producing students who can get better paying jobs.

 "We should be the pipeline to jobs, the armed forces or further, postsecondary education," Daniel said. "All this is to increase and accelerate the economic development of South Carolina."

Trell Collins, 19, was expelled from Brookland Cayce High School, just four credits shy of graduating, for physical violence against staff. He was out of school for a year before enrolling in the diploma program at Adult Ed.

"I was always a good student, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Collins said. "But I needed a diploma for the Marines."

Collins plans to graduate from Adult Ed in December and leave for boot camp at Parris Island. He wants to go to college after his stint in the Marine Corps.

Angela Williams, 25, said she was expelled from Keenan High School. for allegedly stealing batteries. She spent the next few years working but realized she could not support herself and has the life she wanted without a high school diploma.

Williams likes the self-paced nature of Adult Ed's courses, "it's up to you if you finish," she said.

Before beginning the GED or diploma program at Adult Ed, students must take the adult basic education test that evaluates math proficiency and reading levels. Students must be able to read on a sixth-grade level to be eligible for either program.

A person who doesn't read on that level can take an adult basic education class to improve and eventually move into one of the programs, Houston said.     

The Adult Ed class schedule is designed to accommodate students with jobs and other obligations. Houston said half of the students are parents.

The average student is in class four hours a day, from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. There are day classes for those students who don't work and night classes for those who do.

"It puts more flexibility in their schedule," Houston said. "They're dealing with things I didn't - abuse, economic situations, some are parents. We've had students living out of their cars."

Makail Lawrence, 17, briefly went to Spring Valley High School after being home-schooled. She said she went to public school, but didn't like it and dropped out.

Lawrence found public school difficult because she was used to the self-paced nature of home schooling.

Adult Ed doesn't have a dropout problem, mainly because students are paying to attend, Houston said.

The diploma program costs $50 for a full course and a 10-week GED session is $60. There is no charge for textbooks or other materials.

Houston said student tuition doesn't cover the full costs of certified teachers, but it helps. Adult Ed is run on grant money and state and federal funding. Houston writes eight to 10 grants per year.

Last year Richland District I Adult Ed was awarded eight grants totaling $546,000.

About six years ago Adult Ed was awarded almost $800,000, the most they have ever received.

Two important grants are applied for each year. The first is a federal grant to fund adult literacy and the second is from the state Education Department. Other grants are specific to certain programs, such as the English Literacy Civics grant, that helps students in the English as a Second Language program.

Students may choose which school they wish to attend because, unlike typical S.C. schools, they are not limited to school sites based on where they live.

Adult Ed graduates 200-250 students a year, said Houston who credits the program's success to her staff.

"I listen to my staff," she said. "I have to support what they do, because the job gets done in the classroom."