BRATTLEBORO — On a rainy Friday the 13th, students of Vermont Adult Learning's (VAL) Class of 2014 celebrated their graduation at VFW Post 1034 with a sunny and hopeful ceremony.
VAL is a service to all Vermonters over 16 who lack a high school diploma. Students can either prepare for the General Education Development test (GED) or else complete their high school education by offering the help that they might not have been able to receive at public high school.
Aside from those services, VAL offers English Language Learner (ELL) classes for non-English speakers who have difficulty learning the language.
Seventeen students were awarded diplomas in the main hall of the VFW, backed by family, friends, and VAL teachers and staff.
VAL Executive Director Pixie Loomis spoke about a new VAL program called Flexible Pathways, where participating high schools offer diplomas for student work on projects akin to independent study. These include internships with local artists and learning trade skills.
Cathryn Hayes, the regional manager of VAL in Brattleboro, said getting a GED has become a computer-based process, and is much more difficult. VAL aims to simplify that process by providing tutors and classes in the likes of math and English.
When asked about the ages of students involved in the program, Loomis explained that it is different all over Vermont; in Brattleboro, 50 percent of participants are younger than 21; St. Albans sees more over 21.
At the graduation ceremony, which captured much of the pomp and circumstance of a traditional high school graduation, speakers included Hayes, Loomis, and Cindy Holden, the high school completion program manager.
What stood apart were the graduate speakers themselves:
Two of the three planned speakers shared their own stories; the third was unable to attend because she was working at the time. Stephanie Larabee, 43, a mother of three, received the adult learning diploma - and was the last student to do so, as this offering is to be added to the general diploma system.
Speaking proudly but with some nervousness - this was her first experience as a public speaker - she explained how she had come to leave high school, and then what inspired her to pursue this diploma: her family.
After the graduation, Larabee explained that she was happy as well as proud of herself for meeting this goal. She's looking toward community college to further her education.
Another graduate, Carrie Allen, 25, was the main speaker, and shared her story as well. Also braving the audience as a novice public speaker, she nevertheless delivered much of her speech from memory, and talked about the importance of VAL and how the teachers showed her how to be a part of the world around her.
Allen, as well, was excited about her graduation. She also mentioned feeling at peace with herself for her accomplishment and how she's overcome hardships along the way. Her dream is to have her own radio show.
One of the important services of this program, according to Loomis, is how it helps those not succeeding in traditional public schools. During her speech, she told the graduates “You really matter.”
Loomis said VAL is a nonprofit organization that runs mostly on public funding. When she first started working with the program, she said, it felt “a bit like Alcoholics Anonymous,” with a bit of stigma attached to those who needed help attaining a high school diploma.
Now, she said, students feel more confident - and realize the importance of sticking with their education.