Earn high school diploma, and study another field, at Placer School for Adults

The Placer School for Adults was back in session this week, and students who enrolled to complete their high school diploma were probably met with another question: What do you want to do with it? "Most people never really make the next move forward, but have they thought about the skill set they need to go to the next level?" Assistant Principal Steven Casperite said recently. "What else can we help you with? Or if we don't have it, what post-secondary school can we help you get to?" PSA students can work toward a high school diploma while studying another field such as clinical medical assistant or certified nursing assistant. PSA collaborates with a local vendor to provide skills to help students get into those programs after earning their high school diploma. "While you're working on your high school diploma, you want to get into the medical field," Casperite said. "We have that entry level to get them started." With its construction boot camp, Casperite said PSA teaches basic skills such as math and communications and vets people so the school can tell providers, "Yes, they're ready to start work." PSA also offers an office training program to learn basic skills. Casperite noted as many as 80 percent of adults are deficient in basic math skills: fractions, decimals, percents. PSA does an assessment that looks at each skill aligned to career force readiness and gets, according to Casperite, "the math you need for the job you're going to do." "I don't think the community understands what we provide," Casperite said, noting PSA is part of the Placer Union High School District and collaborates with its continuation school to do a soft handoff for students who don't finish in four years. "My goal is to work with local schools to say, 'No, you didn't fail, you just need more time. Come to the adult school, we'll give you that time.' It's just extending the amount of time someone may need to finish school instead of saying, 'You failed.' " Casperite said 25 million adults over the age of 40 don't have a high school diploma. He also described adult schools as "the best-kept secret in America," saying adult education dates to "the very founding of our democracy. We're as old as the country itself, yet you never hear about adult education. Everywhere else in the world, adult education is a very robust measure. "We're one of those uncut gems in the foothills when people start to look for new careers, they go to an adult school and make the transition." And, "It's either free or low cost." Casperite said the Clinical Medical Assistant program costs about $1,500 while a trade school would cost upward of $12,000. He added CMAs make up to $55 per hour, "and that's with a high school diploma." Visit placeronline.org for information.