It’s Never Too Late: High School for Adults | Highlands Community Charter & Technical Schools

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2359248/fa...) When most of us think about high school, we think about teenagers. Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools is challenging that assumption by providing public high school education to adults 22 and older who are ready for another opportunity. My guest is Jonathan Raymond, CEO and Executive Director of Highlands Charter Schools and a familiar name in Sacramento education. The average Highlands student is over 40. Seventy percent are parents, and about 88% speak a language other than English as their native language. Many are immigrants and refugees. Some are formerly incarcerated. Others simply reached adulthood without a high school diploma or discovered that education and professional credentials earned in another country didn't easily translate into opportunity here. Highlands provides high school diploma pathways, English-language instruction, career and technical education, foundational learning, and wraparound services, all designed around the realities of adult students. But this conversation is also about the rebuilding of Highlands itself. Jonathan stepped into the organization following a highly critical state audit and a period of significant turmoil. We discuss the work required to restore trust, raise standards, improve accountability, and keep the focus on student outcomes. At the time of our conversation, Highlands had fully implemented all 18 recommendations from the state auditor and had grown from approximately 900 students at the beginning of the prior school year to nearly 2,200 students. We also explore the enormous demand for adult English-language education, the importance of community partnerships, the limitations of applying traditional K through 12 rules to adult learners, and Jonathan's belief that success should ultimately be measured by outcomes: learning English, completing coursework, earning a diploma, entering higher education, getting a job, and becoming economically self-sufficient. Some students take two years. Others take six. Some are returning to school in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and even 70s. Highlands' motto captures the conversation perfectly: “It’s Never Too Late.” Learn more about Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools through their website: https://hccts.org/ Chapter timestamps 00:00 Meet Jonathan Raymond & Highlands Charter Schools 04:00 High School, Career Training & English Language Programs 08:00 The Huge Demand for Adult English Education 12:00 Wraparound Services & Community Partnerships 15:00 Funding, the State Audit & Rebuilding Highlands 20:00 Accountability, Accreditation & Enrollment Growth 23:00 Rethinking Education for Adult Learners 29:00 Student Stories & the Power of Persistence 32:00 From Compliance to Innovation 36:00 Getting to Know Jonathan & Closing Reflections Thank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story!  We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/  And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.