South Washington County Schools’ Adult Basic Education

As graduates cross the stage to grasp their certificates and diplomas, teachers stand in the rear wiping away tears. The students of South Washington County Schools Adult Basic Education (ABE) program have returned to school after dropping out, finding themselves in jail or needing English skills, while the teachers that helped them achieve are overcome with joy. “They are so proud of the people that have struggled and succeeded,” says Susie Evans, the adult basic education coordinator. The ABE helps about 300 students each school year in General Education Development (GED), a High School Diploma Center (HSDC) or English as a Second Language (ESL) through a variety of morning, afternoon and evening classes at the R.H. Stafford Library and East Ridge High School in Woodbury. The ABE program has about 30 percent of its enrollment from parents of students in the South Washington County School District, with others coming from workplace development centers, veterans and just about anywhere else.A common misconception, Evans says, is that the High School Development Center is only for non-graduating seniors. “We have people from (age) 17 to 65 coming back to get their diploma after life just happened and it took them off the road,” Evans says. “They are ones with the biggest smiles at our graduation ceremony.” Here are some success stories: SHOW HIM ‘MY DIPLOMA’Curt Houseman was so focused on girls he gave up on gym class during his senior year at Henry Sibley High School. “Believe it or not, I failed gym somehow,” the now 28-year-old says.He didn’t graduate with his class in 2003, but regrouped nine years later to enroll in the HSDC program in Woodbury, earning his diploma in spring 2012. “It has been the best program you could possibly ask for,” Houseman says. “It has really understanding teachers. They just want to see us succeed. They will do anything they can to get you there.”The chance to earn his diploma and not just his GED was a main reason to enroll in ABE. “It was very meaningful to have the option to get your full diploma; that opportunity right there is fantastic,” Houseman says. Houseman, inspired by his two-year-old son, Corey and fiancé, Naomi, is now enrolled at Anoka Ramsey Community College and is pursuing an associate’s degree in criminal justice. When Corey needs some guidance, Houseman says he’ll show him “my diploma” and will say, “It’s a tough road, and it’s hard when you are young, but you have to strive for a goal. … You can’t slip up; you have to get it done.” RESISTING TO DREAMINGThe Lee family moved from South Korea to Nashville, Tenn., in 2000, then Minnesota in 2005, and for the first decade, mother Eun Lee said she was “afraid of speaking with anyone.” But two years ago, the homemaker with two boys enrolled in the ESL program at ABE in Woodbury, and watched her world change. “I think I get more confidence,” Lee says. “My writing is better … I think that I’ve improved a lot.”Before ABE, Lee’s husband, Yoonho Lee, encouraged her to return to college and become qualified in the U.S. to be a nurse, like she practiced for years in South Korea.         But that was out of the question. “He first encouraged me to go to college, but I was hesitating because I didn’t want it,” she says.After ABE, she is now enrolled at Metropolitan State University and working toward finishing her bachelor’s degree in nursing. “After more confidence in English, I dreamed to be a nurse again,” she says. OVERCOMING MAJOR OBSTACLESOne student was a mother to three children and survivor of domestic abuse. A second student was a mother of one and survivor of a traumatic brain injury. Both women, in their 30s, overcame daunting odds to earn their GEDs from the ABE program in Woodbury. They declined to be interviewed.“People are embarrassed that they don’t have their diploma, and they don’t really want to put it out there,” says Shane Mueller, the ABE’s GED teacher. “I don’t think they should be embarrassed. I think there are a lot of different circumstances out there.”Mueller says about 50 students have earned their GEDs in the last three years, with both of those women leaving a mark on him. The woman who overcame domestic abuse, “managed to get away from her husband, come back (to school), and she was successful,” Mueller says. The woman, who overcame a brain injury, “sometimes couldn’t come. Her pain medication was too much she was too drowsy. … She was very persistent about it. She was very dedicated to it.”For those that veer off, Mueller texts, calls and emails to get them back on track. And he does so again when they succeed. “I send them a message letting them know how proud of them I am,” Mueller says.