Adult Education Director Greg Warren, who is also assistant principal for House 3 at Londonderry High School, reviewed the district’s program for adult students for the school board, and thanked the board for attending the recent graduation.
“Your attendance is an integral part of the students celebrating their accomplishment, and I know that students appreciate it,” Warren said.
Warren said he is proud of each adult learner.
“This program pays dividends that just have no end,” he told the board at its meeting last week. “You don’t always see the students that we have that take credit recovery classes. It’s basically summer school in the evening that allows them to earn credits that they may not have been able to earn in the school year, and that allows them to graduate with a 24-credit diploma.”
Warren said he had 44 Adult Education students and 13 students doing credit recovery in the spring program, for a total of 57 students.
The spring program offers 13 classes.
Of the few who drop out, attendance issues were the main problem, he said, noting the spring program had a 92 percent success rate.
A program offered in the summer had four classes and 49 students, with 11 taking the online program.
Warren said the Londonderry LIFT (Londonderry Incoming Freshman Transition) Program had 15 students, and 100 percent of them earned credit.
“They were outstanding individuals,” he said. “They participated in some outdoor activities. They hiked Mount Monadnock and they all made it to the top, and they really worked hard as a group in the World Studies Program. There was 93 percent success rate in that program.”
This past fall, the Adult Education program had 64 students and 13 classes were offered. Eleven students graduated Jan. 13, as previously reported in the Londonderry Times.
School Board chairman Nancy Hendricks said she was proud of the program and took pride in discussing the program.
“We are in the business of graduating students,” she said. “We are in the business of helping students get over the line, and that’s what this program does. After graduation a couple of weeks ago, I spoke with numerous parents that told me that without this program, their student would not have made it over the line.”
Board member Steve Young asked whether, if an out-of-district student fails, it affects the Londonderry graduation rate. Warren said it affects the district the student comes from. The program has 15 percent to 20 percent out-of-district students.
“We’re helping other communities by having these classes,” Warren said.
Young said in the past seven years, at its worst, Londonderry had graduated 99.3 percent and is currently graduating at 99.88 percent.
Board member Leitha Reilly asked how Warren measured success.
“From a cost/benefit analysis, when you look at these classes that you offer and the energy that you put out to make this happen, how do you measure success? Is it just the graduation rate, is it following these kids?” Reilly asked.
Warren said he measures success by the fact that students are comfortable coming back to school.
Superintendent Nathan Greenberg said the program receives a grant from the state. The students also pay tuition.
“It started out very small, about $4,000, and is now about $75,000 a year from the state,” Warren said.
Greenberg said the program was originally free, but they found that if a cost were involved, students didn’t drop out as much.
Board member John Robinson said that if the graduation rate is 99.88 percent for day enrollment, that means one or two students were slipping through. He asked if anything was being done to offer them opportunities at night.
Warren said they try to reach those students any way that they can, with GED or night classes.