WINDSOR —Lexis Grant clutched her high school diploma, face beaming as she celebrated with family members after the Vermont Adult Learning’s Windsor County graduation ceremony.
“I really wanted my diploma,” the 20-year-old Bethel resident said Thursday night. “I regretted not finishing high school.”
Grant was one of 25 students to graduate from the Windsor program this year — a record for the Windsor County branch — and one of 13 who decided to participate in the graduation ceremony at Windsor High School. There were 17 students who completed the program last year.
The majority of students the Windsor County branch of Vermont Adult Learning serves are 16 to 24, according to data provided by Karen Harker, who serves as Windsor’s regional director. Four teachers, who also work as student advisers, are based out of the White River Junction office, where there is also one student support specialist. Harker works in both White River Junction and Springfield, Vt., the branch’s other location. Students can take classes both in person and online. Students and educators alike refer to Vermont Adult Learning by its acronym, VAL.
“As adult learners, you faced challenges many never see. Balancing work and family, overcoming financial barriers and pushing through moments of doubt,” VAL executive director Tara Brooks said during the ceremony. “Yet, you are all here.”
One of Thursday night’s graduates was Sky Parnell, of Wilder. Parnell, 19, started attending VAL last spring to earn his high school diploma. He and his family had moved around a lot in recent years and when he arrived at Hartford High School, it wasn’t a great fit.
“Everyone knows each other in this town, so it was really hard connecting with anyone and I didn’t have a lot of support,” Parnell said in a phone interview Thursday. After experiencing bullying, Parnell decided to leave Hartford High School and take a break from school. Then, he discovered VAL.
“It was a really welcoming environment,” Parnell said. “No judgment, just completely focused on you and getting you where you wanted to go and I really appreciated that.”
Parnell also wanted to work to help support his family. His teachers at VAL were supportive of him pursuing both employment and his diploma.
“They helped me make my resume and a cover letter,” said Parnell, who works at Dartmouth Dining. “It was really helpful having that flexibility as an adult.”
Financial literacy was among the most helpful classes he took.
“It was definitely one of the more demanding, but it was definitely worth the time,” Parnell said.
The majority of Vermont Adult Learning’s funding comes from the state and federal governments, according to the nonprofit organization’s 2024 annual report. That year, it had $5.2 million in revenue. The organization is also supported by other grants and donations. Future funding remains a concern: On June 30, the Trump administration announced it was withholding around $26 million in funding for slated for the Vermont Agency of Education, according to a VtDigger article. While that funding was restored by the end of July — including around $500,000 that Vermont Adult Learning uses statewide, Harker said the organization’s leaders are beginning to discuss what cost-saving measures they can take going forward. Among those are closing the White River Junction office and finding a space for a satellite classroom elsewhere in town where students can still meet with their teachers.
“We have no idea what it’s going to look like next year,” Brooks said about federal funding during an interview after graduation.
VAL offers an Adult Diploma Program, which allows students to finish their high school diplomas and the General Equivalency Diploma, better known as a GED. They also offer English Language Learning classes and workforce development programs. The programs are free and open only to Vermont residents.
State Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Woodstock, called VAL one of Vermont’s “most important workforce development programs.” She attended graduation Thursday night after being invited by VAL leaders and she reiterated her concerns about ongoing federal financial support. “It’s so important to their futures … this is a huge, important first step,” Clarkson said about the students who earned diplomas. It was the first time she attended the ceremony and she loudly cheered for every student.
“COVID changed education in general,” Brooks said in an interview after graduation. Many of VAL’s younger students switched to online learning during the first couple years of the pandemic or were on a hybrid schedule, then struggled with the transition back to the classroom. During the pandemic, VAL introduced — then expanded — its online program. “Post COVID, we’re finding our students are more comfortable” taking classes online.
Students come to them for a variety of reasons: For some, traditional high school didn’t work out for them. Others had to leave school because of family challenges or to work to support their siblings. Sometimes, employers tell their employees they need to have a GED or high school diploma to continue their employment.
“Every student has a different story,” said Lori Carswell, a teacher and adviser who has taught at Vermont Adult Learning for seven years.
Some students finish a program in a handful of months while it takes others a few years.
“I often tell students ‘it’s great that you’re here, but the door’s always open. You can press pause and come back,'” Harker, who taught at Spaulding High School in Barre, Vt., before joining Vermont Adult Learning a few years ago, said in a Tuesday interview at the White River Junction location.
She tries to emphasize to students that everyone does programs at their own and there is no right or wrong way to go about doing so. Harker, 37, of Springfield, Vt., tells students “if you show and you’re consistent, we can work with you.” But she cautioned, it also falls to students to stay motivated: “It doesn’t work for students who don’t want to be here.”
Educators who work at Vermont Adult Learning say they like that they get to spend one-on-one time with students. Angela Spickard, of Thetford, managed a laboratory at Dartmouth College students where she worked with students, then pivoted to become a high school teacher for four years before joining Vermont Adult Learning last November.
“It bridged a lot of interests,” Spickard said. It was also a way of giving back: Spickard’s son left high school after tenth grade to pursue his GED.
“I see a lot of him in my students,” she said, adding that they’re smart, talented and fun with varied interests. “Helping those kids find a path … that helps them get their credential, it’s important to have a place for those students.”
Sometimes her students had bad experiences in more traditional schooling environments and doubt their ability to do the work.
“I think a lot of students need the confidence to know they can do it,” Spickard, 53, said.
Once they have that support, they tend to thrive.
“It’s really fun working with adult learners and watching them grow,” Carswell, 62, of Norwich, said.
During Thursday night’s graduation ceremony, that affection was on full display. Educators read statements about each student before they crossed the stage for their diplomas. Among the students Carswell spoke about were Grant and Parnell.
“It was an honor to get to know Lexis from our very first personal meeting,” Carswell said about Grant, adding that she appreciated her intelligence, personality and “positive vibes.”
The pair worked on math, financial literacy and other subjects together. Carswell especially appreciated an autobiography project Grant did where she got to learn more about her student and found out they had a shared appreciation for “good old-fashioned Crayola crayons.”
“Lexis, I was honestly a little sad when you finished in May … because I knew I would miss seeing you every week,” Carswell continued. “I’m not supposed to say that, I’m supposed to be thrilled” and she added that she was. “Keep up your positive energy. Keep believing in yourself.”
That shared affection between students and instructors was evident when Grant, who works at Dollar General, spoke about her experience at VAL after the ceremony.
“I loved how sweet everyone was, how encouraging,” said Grant, who started attending VAL in January 2024. “It was a very healthy environment.”
Carswell also spoke about Parnell, noting how his intelligence and work ethic showed through from the start.
“We got our first glimpse into Sky’s sharp mind very early on,” she said. After an initial meeting, Parnell emailed an instructor to discuss the three plural forms of the word “octopus.”
“Sky consistently completed top-quality work, even when finding a job and also raising an active golden retriever puppy who joined many of our online meetings,” Carswell said.
At the end of the ceremony, Harker invited the graduates’ families and friends to share their words with the graduates. Many supporters spoke of the challenges the graduates had overcome and — their voices at times breaking up with happy tears — the pride they had in them for achieving their goals.
“Sky, I just want to say I’m so proud of you. You’ve accomplished so much this year with so much stacked against you,” Sky’s mother, Lily Hempt, said. “You make me feel like the luckiest mom in the world. I know you’re going to go on and do awesome things. I love you so much.”
