These high school grads traveled a longer road, some with lots of turns and seeming dead ends, to hold a diploma.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published September 14, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Eric Barnes traveled a rocky road on his way to a high school diploma.
On the path, he encountered homelessness, illegal drugs and jail.
Several failed attempts convinced him he lacked what it took to earn the elusive credential. That's why the 24-year-old's short walk across the Mahaffey Theater stage Wednesday night was especially sweet.
Clad in a black cap and gown, Barnes was among 162 graduates who received diplomas at Pinellas County Schools' 19th annual countywide graduation ceremony. Another 3,273 completed graduation requirements this year through the district's department of workforce development.
Most of them passed the General Educational Development test and received a state of Florida high school diploma. Twenty completed high school classes and received regular high school diplomas.
The ceremony originally had been scheduled for Aug. 12, but was postponed because of Hurricane Charley. The four-week delay only increased Barnes' eagerness to participate.
"This is something I thought I would never accomplish," he said shortly before taking his seat at the front of the theater. "I really doubted myself. I just sort of gave up."
Like many dropouts, Barnes thought he had valid reasons for leaving school. He found his classes at 16th Street Middle School, now John Hopkins Middle School, boring. His teachers failed to inspire. He wanted to be out in the world making money.
But a break with his family led to a life on the streets. A series of odd jobs ended in frustration. Seemingly easier ways to make money landed him in jail.
He tried taking GED classes in jail, but soon realized it was more difficult to study math there than in a regular classroom. He decided to give school one more try after his release.
Kathy Paeplow, a GED instructor for the Dixie Hollins adult education center, gave him an individualized academic prescription after the Test of Adult Basic Education pegged him at a fifth-grade level. With encouragement from his wife, Natalia, Barnes stayed the course and passed the five-section GED test last fall. Now he has his sights set on a degree in business management from St. Petersburg College.
Typically, students who return to school take GED preparation courses at one of several adult education centers districtwide, then take the GED exam to receive a state of Florida high school diploma. Adult education instructors agree that the test, which was revamped several years ago, is not an easy out.
Students must receive a minimum score of 410 in each of the five sections, which test writing, reading, social studies, science and mathematics. They must receive an overall score of 2,250, which means they could pass each of the individual tests but not necessarily earn a diploma. Those who fail a section or two or who are short on points can retest.
An enthusiastic standing-room-only crowd cheered the graduates at Wednesday's ceremony. Marilyn Riker was there to see her son Michael Bickel get his diploma. Bickel had dropped out of Gibbs High School as a junior after several failed attempts to pass the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The state requires students to pass both the math and reading portions of the test in order to receive a standard high school diploma.
Bickel, who is 19, enrolled in adult education classes at Lealman Avenue Elementary School and passed the GED test on his 18th birthday. He already has completed a semester at St. Petersburg College.
Diana Chambers' parents and boyfriend rose to their feet as the 17-year-old accepted her diploma from associate superintendent Jan Rouse and shook hands with school superintendent Howard Hinesley. Chambers, who had dropped out of Northeast High after missing 45 days because of an extended illness, repeated ninth grade but was never able to catch up with her classmates. The individual attention she received from the adult education teachers at Northeast Community School readied her to take the GED test last spring.
Many of the graduates were years past graduation age.
Saleemah Johnson, 27, left Gibbs High when she was 15. She enrolled in adult education classes in the hope of attaining a higher-paying job to support her three children. James Ivester, 34, dropped out of St. Petersburg High School in 1986. He wore the goldbraid of an honors graduate over the gown his mother had worn for her college graduation. Richard Heiser, 54, left school in Chicago at 15 but decided to give it another try when the company he worked for laid him off after 17 years. He was unable to attend the ceremony Wednesday because he had to work for his new employer, Brinks Armored Cars.
While district officials would rather see young people stay in school, they encourage individuals of all ages to explore other avenues for receiving a high school diploma, said Laura Sargent, a supervisor in the district's department of workforce development.
"We're giving them the option to move forward with their lives," she said.
