The U.S. Census bureau reports that more than 14,000 Rockford adults ages 25 and older don’t have a high school diploma. This number includes those with less than a 9th grade education. Some sources report Winnebago county numbers to be more than 30,000. A Rockford Public Library nationally accredited high school program is helping some adults obtain their certificates.
Leon Smith, the director of adult online education at the library’s main branch coaches Shaunte Lara as she works on a computer.
Lara, like many others, has gone through life without a high school diploma. At one point she attempted to get a General Education Development diploma or GED but that was a struggle…