‘Dad went back and actually got it done.’ Adults get a second chance at high school
Aric Dunmore, 33, has spent much of his life homeless, working odd jobs to get by.
He lived in Fort Worth with his mother, who, he said, kicked him out of the house when he was 18. He didn’t graduate from high school and was two semesters behind. Dunmore stayed with a woman he was dating until he was 24, working at Wendy’s; as a forklift driver in a warehouse; and at a moving company.
When the relationship with the woman ended, he moved back with his mother and eventually met his current wife. He spent the following years bouncing between jobs: a driver for Trinity Metro; a warehouse job at Amazon; and a concrete truck driver. He and his wife have two daughters. In 2024, his wife told him about New Heights, a school where adults can earn a high school diploma.
Over a year later, Dunmore will be one of 75 graduates walking across the stage as the first graduating class of New Heights on Saturday, May 30, at Tarrant County College. He said it was an opportunity for him to encourage his children to pursue their education and make his wife proud, as she never gave up on him, even when he had nothing.
“My only goal was to be something that my kids could look up to,” Dunmore said. “They might say it took a long time, but Dad went back and actually got it done.”
People with GED certificates, on average, earn $1,600 less per month than people who earned a regular high school diploma, regardless of sex, race and ethnicity or age, according to the Census Bureau. According to the Census, 15% of Fort Worth residents lack a high school diploma, compared to 13% across Texas.
Texas creates space for adult high schools
Traci Berry is the CEO and superintendent of New Heights, and helped write Senate Bill 2032, passed in spring 2023, which allows entities to enter into agreements among nonprofits, community colleges, and adult charter schools to form adult high schools.
New Heights opened its first school Sept. 3, 2024, at 5901 Fitzhugh Ave. in the Stop Six neighborhood. The school allows adults ages 18 to 50 to earn a high school diploma and a certification in one of at least 10 career and technical programs simultaneously.
Enrollment expanded to nearly 900 students last school year, prompting the opening of a second school at 3908 McCart Ave. in south Fort Worth.
The school operates like a college, with eight-week terms and an accelerated curriculum. Classes are in person, and there are multiple schedule options for weekday and day or night classes, based on the students’ needs. New Heights is free of charge.
Personal advising and coaching are available to help students with scheduling, along with classes on career choices and exploration, financial literacy and personal communication. Individual graduation plans and supportive services are available to help students arrange childcare, mental health services, and transportation.
Berry said that when she speaks with the graduates on Saturday she will express thanks that when they chose to make their lives better, they allowed New Heights to walk alongside them.
“I would say, remember that not only did they receive an education, but hopefully they walked away with some healing, some purpose, their ability to believe in themselves again,” Berry said. “Because we certainly believe in them, and I just want them to keep holding on to that.”
Support beyond the classroom
Last year, Dunmore was chosen by New Heights to testify during the Texas legislative session when a bill was introduced that tweaked an education funding calculation that would have negatively impacted the school. He spoke about his experiences of being out of work, leaving a mold-infested apartment, and becoming homeless, sleeping in a car, staying in Airbnbs or hotels, and with his mother.
New Heights helped his family get a hotel for a month to get back on their feet. With an eviction on their credit, securing housing was difficult. In the last month, his family was able to rent a guesthouse.
This week, graduates attended Grad Days, where they received their caps and gowns and had graduate photos taken. Dunmore, who brought his two daughters, says the feeling of graduating won’t hit him until graduation day.
He plans to become a police officer and is preparing for the written and physical tests to qualify.
For now, he’s excited his daughters and wife will watch him walk the stage. For many people who dropped out of high school, there was a lack of support and a failing system behind them. For Dunmore, New Heights was that positive support that became more than a school, but a family to him, he said.
“My mom and my father didn’t teach me anything about life, so everything I’ve learned has been through my trials and errors,” Dunmore said. “But with New Heights, it gave me a point to navigate my life to really write my own story and really find out what Aric wants.”
