August 8, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
If you didn’t complete your high school education, you can go back to school through the adult high school program. Students age 18 and older graduate and receive a diploma as they finish their course work.
“We are not a GED Class. Our Adult High School is strictly regular diploma. We teach the regular classes,” said Susan Hinton, who is the DeKalb County Adult High School Coordinator and teacher .
“The DeKalb Adult High School serves students from age 18 and older and some 17 year olds with special permission who dropped out of school for various reasons or left high school without sufficient credits to graduate and want to come to school in a more flexible setting which enables students (who are working or have families to take care of) to return to school and complete a regular high school diploma,” said Hinton.
How long will it take to complete the class? “This is a frequent question asked by potential students. The amount of time to complete a high school diploma will depend on how many credits a student has on their individual record from previously attended accredited schools. The amount of credits is also dependent upon the year a student started high school and what classes were required during those years,” Hinton continued.
“Some people are able to complete a course per month, but it depends on the hours a student is able to complete classes at school or online. A student is able to complete classes from any online computer as well as attend classes at the adult high school but they are supposed to finish the class they began within one year,” she said.
“Interested students should get in touch with the DeKalb County High School Guidance Department. The student must turn in information that will allow the staff in the guidance department to send for previous records of completed classes from any schools attended. Then individually, the guidance counselor will meet with the student and outline a plan of action to complete necessary classes required for graduation,” said Hinton.
“The student must pass each course with a 70 or above to receive each credit and a certain number of subjects must be completed in specific courses. When the student has successfully completed his or her individual program, a diploma is ordered and presented to the student”.
“Each student works at his or her own pace and receives individual attention when possible. Students who do computer classes must meet periodically with the teacher of the Adult High School to receive extra help or make sure the student is on track for completing the course within a reasonable amount of time,” Hinton said.
“You don’t have to be 17 or 20 years old to enroll. I have had someone as old as 30 plus and in the class and that person only needed about four classes. They came in and did their four classes and got a job as an EMT,” added Hinton.
The Adult High School is located at 242 Tiger Drive directly behind DeKalb Middle School. The classes meet Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a one hour lunch break each day from noon until 1 p.m. For more information call 615-597-2254.