At Findley, School’s Not Just for Kids Anymore
Jaclyn Dehner teaches a HiSET class at Findley Elementary School.
It was almost 5:00 PM on Monday and Findley Elementary School was virtually empty except for custodians making their rounds and tidying up the residues of a full day of learning. Then, one by one, the last class of the day trickled in. By the time they dismissed it would be dark outside.
Besides educating 32,000+ students, more than 6,000 of whom are English Language Learners, Des Moines Public Schools goes above and beyond the call of its primary mission by also equipping some parents for the High School Equivalency Test. HiSET, formerly known as the GED, is an opportunity for adults to obtain the high school diploma that can often be a means to improving the lot of entire families.
Jaclyn Dehner is a counselor at Findley who also teaches the HiSET program that’s offered there thanks to the collaboration of the I Have a Dream Foundation and DMACC. Right now she is working with a class of 19 students on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:00 – 8:00, prepping them to take the HiSET exam.
The class started meeting on February 29th and will continue through May 25th. This is the second year the HiSET program’s been available at Findley and Dehner says it’s making a difference.
“I Have a Dream and Findley are all about college readiness,” she said, “and this extends that emphasis to whole families. When we were having parent-teacher conferences one little boy pointed to a chair in the computer lab and told his mom, ‘That’s where I sit during Tech class.’ She said, ‘That’s where I sit for HiSET!’”
Most of the HiSET students are parents of students at Findley or Harding Middle School. Dehner instructs them in five areas: math, reading, writing, science and social studies. About half of the time every session is devoted to math. On Monday the topics were fractions and decimals. The pace was quick, a free flow of Q&A.
To remove one potential obstacle to class attendance, this year’s HiSET includes the availability of free on-site child care in the Findley library right next door to the computer lab where the class meets. It’s provided by students from North High School who earn credit towards their silver graduation cords for community service. Sophomore Jonathan Praseutsack finds time to man that post by juggling it in with his schoolwork (“that always comes first”), his work with the Findley Drama Club, his involvement with tennis (he brought his racket with him on Monday night) and band at North and a paying part-time job at a restaurant.
“Usually there are three or four kids here to watch,” Jonathan said. “They range from a two year-old to a second grader.” He draws upon his experience with younger siblings at home for this assignment.
When this semester’s class winds up late in May some of the students will be ready for the HiSET exam at DMACC. Those who are not will continue until Dehner feels they are ready. She gets paid for the extra six hours per week she’s in front of her class at night school but, as is the case with regular, fulltime teachers, lots of lesson-planning happens on her own time.
“We do have some pretty awesome success stories,” she said. Those are the bulk of her compensation.
Besides the material benefits that can accrue to families when the breadwinner(s) achieve a high school diploma and use it to go on even further in school, it’s good for household morale when both parent and child are working simultaneously toward similar goals.
At Findley Elementary school’s not just for kids anymore.
