Many students enrolled in SCALE's
programs have had to overcome tremendous struggles to receive their
diplomas and certificates, such as raising a family or working two
jobs. This is not an easy task, and the diploma the students receive is
well-earned due to the national standards that have been placed upon
the program. The Adult Diploma Program entails passing the MCAS, which
is mandatory for all high school students nationwide. ADP student
speaker Diana Flores said that enrolling in SCALE was one of the best
decisions of her life.

Martha Bonilla was the ADP Honor Award
recipient and Carolyn Richards received the ADP Special Award. Richards
was honored for her outstanding work as the Director of Guidance and
Testing. She has worked rigorously as the liaison between Somerville
High and SCALE to ensure a secure and safe testing environment. "It has
been an honor and privilege to work with these students," Richards
stated.

SCALE's GED program is very competitive as well. To
ensure that the test is challenging enough, is it tested on sample
groups of graduating seniors all over the country and the test is
considered satisfactory only when 30% of the seniors cannot pass the
test. In other words, the GED recipients should be very proud of
themselves for earning their certificates. Neil McMullen, the GED High
Scorer Award recipient, scored almost a perfect score on the GED exam
and was in the 99th percentile nationwide. Marina Karageorgiou received
the GED Honor Award for her perseverance and positive attitude that
showed in everything that she did.

The Adult Basic Education
student speaker Piere Pacombe, earned his diploma after six years with
SCALE with the support from his three daughters and his wife. Pacombe
was very proud of this accomplishment and caused the whole room to get
goosebumps when he stated, "Nobody on earth can take this away from me."

The
Adult Secondary Education's Program Administrator, Sheryl Lovit, has
been with SCALE for five years and believes the program's success can
be accredited to its caring staff and great support system for the
students.

The English Language Learning program has many classes
for its students to choose from. The students find the ELL program to
be beneficial and claim that it helps them tremendously with learning
the English language. The ELL student speaker Salila Ranjit can attest
to this. "Every time I come to SCALE I learn something new," said
Ranjit. She shared her personal story with the filled auditorium and
explained that it's because of SCALE that she is confident in her
English and knows how to fix a mistake. She is also very proud of her
recent citizenship and gives credit to SCALE for this accomplishment.

Janice
Philpot, the supervisor of SCALE since September 2008, was a brilliant
presence at the ceremony. Hearing the passion she has for SCALE was
truly inspiring and it is clear she is involved in every decision of
the operation. "We really change lives here. It's not just a catch
phrase; it's a reality for us. This is where knowledge blooms." Philpot
went on to decipher how SCALE stands out from other Adult Education
programs. "We have the best program administrators in the industry, and
we have a true Adult Education curriculum. We really know what we're
doing here." Her confidence and pride in SCALE really shined when she
took the stage at the closing of the ceremony. After reading a poem
titled, "Yes We Can," Philpot congratulated the crowd with the
statement, "You have earned the right, respect, and privilege of a
secondary education."