America ReFramed

Night School

By Andrew Cohn

Every year, over a million students drop out of high school. They may complete their graduate equivalency degrees, only to find that they’re still struggling to get good jobs. For some adults in Indianapolis, there’s another option: a night school program that will get them their full high school diploma – if they can complete a tough curriculum that includes algebra, biology, and more.

NIGHT SCHOOL is an intimate look at a year in the lives of three students: Greg is a single father trying to make a better life for his daughter, unable to get better work without a degree. Melissa left school when she became a young teenage mother; now she’s looking to complete the schooling she abandoned almost 40 years before. And Shynika never saw the value of high school until she realized she needed a diploma to fulfill her dream of being a nurse.

All three struggle with the classroom demands, but they’re motivated and working hard. If they can graduate, they know they’ll change their own lives and the lives of their families. As one of their teachers says, “It brings meaning and value to education and where it can get you.”