Another democrat success story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A high school dropout, Nicole Dickey adds fractions in math class at a charter school for adults, hoping to earn her high school credentials and find a good paying office job.
“My life has changed, I am here to make it better,” said Dickey, 39, who left high school after she became pregnant and spent the next two decades working low-paying jobs, raising five children, living on government assistance and struggling with alcoholism.
Faced with high illiteracy rates among city residents and an extremely competitive job market, the nation’s capital is experimenting with adult education. The district is running more than a dozen adult schools, both charter and traditional public ones that together serve about 5,100 students, both disconnected youth and older adults. And despite the political controversy surrounding Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ push to expand school choice, the charter and the traditional public school sectors in the District of Columbia cooperate in adult learning.
Dickey’s story is part of a larger picture nationwide. Even though high school graduation rates have been rising in recent years, 10 percent of American adults aged 25 or over don’t have high school credentials, according to government data.
With 9 out of 10 jobs today going to college graduates, not having a high school credential is strongly associated with unemployment, poverty, poor health and eventually similar problems for one’s children.
Across the country, adults looking to earn high school credentials usually take classes at community colleges or community-based organizations to pass the General Education Development test, known as the GED.
Unlike those options, which often carry fees, the adult schools in the District of Columbia are free and open to residents age 16 or 17, depending on the school, and older who want to earn high school credentials or further their skills. One student hunched over a math problem at Community College Preparatory Academy on a recent morning was 85 years old.
That’s where Dickey labors on math and sees new possibilities. “I want to work in an office building,” she said. “I want something different. I want to have options.”
In the city, more than 72,000 residents 25 and older don’t have high school credentials, according to 2016 census data.
The first adult school in the city opened in the 1970s, and the sector has been growing in recent years. The D.C. Public Charter School Board has opened four new schools since 2012 and the D.C. Public Schools this year spent $4 million to revamp its four adult schools.