2007.11.13
Dropped out? You can drop back in
In 1990, Dale Carroll dropped out of Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, a half-credit shy of earning his diploma.
In late September, thanks to a program offered by Roanoke schools, he dropped back in.
Twice a week for three weeks, Carroll, now 37, took a government class in the evenings at Patrick Henry High School.
Last week, he received his diploma. Yes, it was that simple. Carroll took advantage of a little-utilized program that Roanoke schools offer to adult dropouts who were short of graduating by only a class or two.
Evening High School for adults has been in place for at least 30 years, but few people know about or take advantage of it, said Hallie Carr, Roanoke schools' director for adult education.
Last year, the program awarded diplomas to a dozen graduates. Funded by the state and generally free to adults, Evening High School is based in Roanoke but is open to adults throughout Western Virginia.
"It always crossed my mind," said Carroll, who lives in Roanoke and largely has worked construction since he left high school nearly two decades ago. "The jobs I had I didn't need it. At the same time, I'd wish I could go back and get that half a credit."
In an urban area where one in four adults over 25 is a high school dropout, the program is an essential step in reviving personal goals as well as driving the region's economic prosperity. Attracting businesses and their higher-paying jobs hinges on having an educated work force.
Evening High School is different than pursuing a General Educational Development certificate. The GED is for dropouts who left school many classes short of a diploma. Students pursuing a GED take preparatory courses and then take an equivalency exam that tests their competence in math, science, social studies, reading and writing.
Evening High School is designed for adults who were within a whisper of graduating high school when they left, usually in their senior year.
They take only enough credits in the subjects they need to earn their diplomas. The program offers geometry, 12th-grade English, U.S. government, U.S. history. Students earn a high school diploma through the Roanoke adult education program.
Students can get their diplomas through their original high school, if it agrees to accept the adult school credits.
Carr said many people believe that once they drop out, they have to get on the GED track. But they could be just a couple of credits short of a diploma.
"People get to the 12th-grade year, they fail a subject and they get stubbornitis," she said, adding that they get frustrated and bolt school. "And then it doesn't take very long for them to realize, "Wow, was that a mistake."
That's what happened to Carroll.
"I messed up in government [class]," the manufacturing employee said, recalling the last semester of his senior year. "I did a report, and it wasn't right or something, and it affected my last half of my grade."
He could have gone to summer school, made up the credits and gotten his diploma. But by then, he had gotten a job and didn't go back. His decision haunted him when he applied for jobs. It also kept him from reaching his earning potential.
"When you go and get another job it's harder to get one because you never got that half-credit," said Carroll, who is engaged to be married in June and is the father of a 3-year-old daughter.
He decided to go back to school because he wants to move up on the job.
Carr said that's the reason most people come into the program. To enroll, students must be at least 18. They must meet the graduation requirements, except physical education, that were in effect when they entered ninth grade.
Classes meet from 7 to 10 p.m. Mondays and Wednesday and are taught by certified classroom teachers. Students can start the program at their convenience.
"That's what makes it nice, that they will accept people like us who are older," Carroll said.
