Better late than never

By Emily Richmond

Friday, June 16, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

Carmella Wood was 16 when she dropped out of high school to help support her family, eventually finding work in an airplane factory during World War II.

"I was Rosie the Riveter," Wood said.

On Thursday - about 67 years later - she finally became Carmella the high school graduate.

And her short speech drew some of the loudest applause at the Thomas & Mack Center during graduation ceremonies for the Clark County School District's Adult Education program.

"See - that's why adult education rocks," said Jeff Russo, 19, who graduated from the same program and is bound for community college in the fall. "It doesn't neglect anybody."

More than 1,000 students completed their high school requirement through Adult Ed this year, an increase of 163 percent over four years ago. And enrollment in Adult Ed totaled 15,572 for the 2005-06 academic year, up 60 percent since 2002.

Students who earn diplomas from Adult Ed within a year of their original high school completion date are counted toward the district's graduation rate under the accountability formula required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. But students who return to school later in life are statistically ignored by the district, despite their belated accomplishment.

But Mary Ramirez, director of the Adult Ed program, isn't about to shrug them off.

"The students who come back to us after being out in the real world, and recognizing the value of an education, tend to be very successful and make an important contribution to this community" after earning their diplomas or passing the General Education Development test, she said.

Although completing high school is an accomplishment in itself, Gena Edwards said, the extra steps her son and the other Adult Ed students have taken merit special recognition.

"He went back on his own," said Edwards, tears pouring down her cheeks as 19-year-old Stephen Koehler found his seat with the other graduates. "Some kids, you can't push them. They have to find out for themselves that they have to do it themselves."

Sheila Wheaton, 36, is the last of her father's five children to graduate from high school.

"I did it for a personal sense of completion - 18 years late, but I'm here," said Wheaton, who danced a little jig as she waved victoriously to family and friends in the crowd.

On Monday Wheaton will begin her job as an ambulance driver. Her friend Rachel Jones - who at 40 is the mother of three children ages 22, 19 and 5 - also graduated Thursday and is preparing for a real estate career.

"I've always managed to emphasize the importance of education to my children, but I felt like there was this big void in my life, here - inside myself," said Jones, tapping her chest . "You can't get a good job without a diploma, it's just not going to happen."

Wood, who said she's 83 going on 40, remembers working the graveyard shift at the airplane factory, earning $1 an hour.

She was 18, lifting the heavy sheet metal and attaching it to the airplane frame with her riveting gun. On Thursday she imitated the sound as if it was yesterday: "Brrrp-peta, brrp-peta, brrp-peta!"

Wood married and had five children, losing two sons to wartime service. It was while watching her granddaughter graduate at Thomas & Mack two years ago that Wood made the decision to return to school.

She passed her state-mandated proficiency tests on the first try. More than 1,400 Clark County high school seniors will receive certificates of attendance at graduation ceremonies this month rather than diplomas because of failing scores on the math portion of the test.

The Clark County School District's Adult Education program offers classes in over 40 locations, including Desert Rose Adult Education High School. The program is free, and students attending regular Clark County schools may earn credits through adult education for a fee.

For retired telephone company workers Moises and Graciela Pedraza, Adult Ed offered the opportunity for the husband and wife to earn their diplomas together. They followed their youngest son's footsteps across the Thomas & Mack stage. Matthew Pedraza graduated Tuesday from Centennial High School and was the campus chess champ.

"Our kids were almost grown, so it was our time," said Graciela Pedraza, who with her husband was chosen to lead the graduates in flipping their tassels at the completion of the commencement ceremony.

"Now we want to go to college."