BC3 plans orientation for adults seeking to earn high school equivalency diploma
Adults seeking to increase their earning potential or self-esteem by attaining a commonwealth secondary school diploma can register now for free Butler County Community College instruction and begin after attending an orientation session Sept. 24, a BC3 administrator said.
BC3’s Adult Literacy program is instructing high school equivalency diploma preparation classes this fall on the college’s main campus in Butler Township, at BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township, at Pennsylvania CareerLink near Butler and online, said Samantha Hartle, grant director of the program.
A state Department of Education grant funds the classes. Adults can register and schedule an appointment for orientation to be held on BC3’s main campus by calling 724-287-8711, ext. 8350.
College instructors and tutors help students in mathematics, reading and writing, science, and social studies — four subjects they must pass on tests offered at other locations to achieve a diploma, Hartle said.
Adults without a high school diploma, or its equivalent, earn at least $10,000 less each year than those who have attained only a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“There are some jobs that adults can get that do not require a high school diploma, but the pay is extremely low,” Hartle said. “If you have a family and are trying to get a better job, without that high school equivalency diploma, you’re kind of stuck.”
Maria Cantera-Jalpa moved to Butler 32 years ago. She has children ages 32, 31 and 28 and has worked in jobs whose pay, she said, was “very low.”
Cantera-Jalpa, 52, was one of 22 students to earn a diploma in the 2024-25 academic year through BC3’s Adult Literacy program.
She has since been hired as a nursing assistant for $20 an hour at a Butler County health care facility.
Instructors and tutors in BC3’s program “are wonderful,” said Cantera-Jalpa, who left school in seventh grade in her native Mexico because her mother insisted education was “only for men” and thought she had forfeited her goal of working in health care.
“They encourage you,” Cantera-Jalpa said of BC3’s instructors and tutors. “They are very, very good. They care. They help you all the time. Even when I felt like I did not want to come anymore, they told me I could do it. Every time I passed a (practice test), they congratulated me. And that made me keep going.”
About 600 adults have achieved a commonwealth secondary school diploma through BC3 in the past 16 years.
“It makes their confidence rise beyond what you could imagine,” Hartle said. “I’ve seen where students start at orientation and I see them (at BC3’s annual Adult Literacy) graduation, and it’s so awesome to see the transformation that they make. They put in the work. They studied. They do homework. They come to class. And because they did that, everything changes.”
Seventy-four students dropped out of Butler County’s seven public school districts in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the state Department of Education.
Academic or behavioral problems, child care, disliking school or expulsion were among the reasons.
For Ace Myers, 19, of Harrisville, it was bullying.
“My situation in high school was not real great,” said Myers, who left midway through 11th grade.
Like Cantera-Jalpa, Myers said BC3’s Adult Literacy program was invaluable in earning a diploma.
“The instructors,” Myers said, “encouraged us each day, step by step. They are willing to do whatever it takes to help you out by any means. The program is completely free, no cost. They let you borrow laptops, whatever you need. It provided the structure that helped me.”
Myers earned his diploma in the 2024-25 academic year through BC3’s program and plans to enroll in college toward a goal of becoming a plastic surgeon.
“Now that I have my diploma, I feel like I have a bright future,” Myers said. “It’s going to help to increase my options and opportunities, and of getting into college.”
Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.
