VUSD Adult School: The Hidden School

By: Beth Musto 

Staff at the Adult School share their love for the school!

The VUSD Adult School has many openings and opportunities for many different people all over the community. The staff loves to meet new people, and learn new things about them, they also like to help students. The school has so many different programs, including nursing, CNA, Medical Assisting, English as a second language, billing and coding, welding and electrical, classes to help finish High School diplomas, and everyday classes. The list goes on and on.

For this article, I interviewed ESL (English as a second language) teacher Judy Moxley, LVN (Licensed Practical Nurse) teacher Joyce Glaspie, GED (General Educational Development) teacher Alison Wahlen, Medical assisting instructors, Marixssa Martinez, and Laura Jacinto. They all work at the VUSD Adult School.

Some classes that are available to students are for those who weren’t able to finish their credits. One of these teachers, Ginger Allen says, “I have some students that are working on their last credit but then I also have students that have hundreds of credits.”

Sarah Motoal, a teacher of English as a second language says, “I teach English as a second language in the morning to the advanced group, So my students can speak English at a beginning level, and they also know some reading and writing. I also teach GED in Spanish. In the state of California we offer GED in English and Spanish. We have other teachers that teach it in English, but I teach it in Spanish.”

Challenges are seen in everyday school and also continue into adulthood on a daily basis. Judy Moxley says, “A challenge I face is, that sometimes students come in very low, and sometimes they come in very high leveled, so it’s sometimes difficult to find the balance for you start to help them.”

Allen says, “ it’s tough when a lot of people who come here are the reason they didn’t graduate in the first place, they have to come through so many obstacles and overcome things, so what I find as a personal challenge is trying to inspire the people who haven’t grown past why they haven’t graduated yet, I want to help them over the line, but that’s one of the challenges I face.”

Students at the adult school can have the option of when they want to start their journey. Some chose to start at the beginning of the school year, and others in the middle of the school year. 

Sarah Motoal says, “Other schools have closed enrollment which means they can start at a certain time, but our school has open enrollment which means students can start whenever they like, if a student starts in October, then they need to catch up on all the work that has been done, and that’s really challenging because it’s a lot of work. I have students from 18 through 70, and different students have different education levels. For example, one student could come in very skilled and another one can be very beginner, and that’s okay because I get to help them. So sometimes that’s a challenge.” 

Work environment goes into the enjoyment of working. Students and staff all together make a wonderful space to continue learning.

Alison Wahlen says, “There are so many amazing things about working here, we have a wonderful and amazing staff, and everybody’s here because they have a heart for education, and they want to help the adults with whatever department they work in, to help the adults reach their goals.”

Wahlen has a wonderful group of students that chose to be here because they want to take action and do something that will benefit themselves. Take control of their education in order to pick up the pieces that they left behind. 

“The challenges that I face are actually the challenges my students face. All of my students are adults, and many of them have families, kids, and jobs. Many of them are trying to juggle what they need to do with their family, doing what they need to do at work to manage their jobs, and also what they need to do when they study.” Says Wahlen 

Teachers also share why they started working here, and their backstories on how they got started. Some knew what they wanted to do at a very young age, and some just started their newfound journey at the Adult School. 

Joyce Glaspie says, “I like working here because it’s a fantastic program, this to me is like going full circle because when I was in my early twenties, I went through a program like this, it was in Hanford, and it was a great learning experience for my career.” 

Mary Silva says, “I absolutely love what I’m doing here, I started as a CNA myself, I was a CNA for 12 years, back in 1996 I became a certified CNA, then I went back to school and became a nurse and have been a nurse ever since. I’ve had so many great teachers and nurses over the years, and now I kind of want to pay that forward because they have helped me in so many different ways and I want to help many different people!” 

They also share what they get to do in class. What their teaching skills are and different ways to keep the adults entertained, and ready to have a fun day of learning. Some like to have field trips, and have fun lectures, to teach their students all the things they need to know about the job they might have in the future!

Sarah Motoal, a teacher of English as a second language says, “I took my students out on a field trip at the end of November. We went through a historical walk in Visalia, which is presented by the Parks and Registration here in Visalia. Our principal paid for the tickets, and I and my students just had a wonderful time. We got to walk around Visalia, learning about all the different things that are here and it was very nice. We have students from all over the world, like Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, from all over, so when we’re talking in English, we learn new things, and stay on task! They get to learn new skills, conversation skills, discussion skills, thinking skills, and we have a really fun time in the class.” 

LVN teacher, Joyce Glaspie says, “My favorite part about working here is giving back to the community, and sharing in little victories with my students. I get to celebrate with them when they pass their boards, when they get to buy their first new home, I sometimes get to share that, because of where they started and that I got to be a part of that. I get to teach my students, sometimes I get to volunteer to help the community by providing life skills, health care skills, and shaping of nursing.” 

These classes at the school can give you many different skills you may need to get your dream job. Some jobs may be harder than others think, so the teachers and staff at the adult school are here to help with anything people need. 

Medical assisting instructor, Marixssa Martinez says, “I love to teach about administrative work with medical assisting because I can help people understand the front desk, a lot of people think it doesn’t involve a lot but it truly does, and insurance building if we don’t have money coming into the office then it doesn’t survive, because we have to pay the doctor we have to pay for supplies We have to pay for employees to be here, but then I love the clinical component of it because I get to teach people to draw blood, how to do injections, that was really big with COVID, being able to do vaccines, and training with PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] that we have to wear, so I love to show people how to use those skills, and watch them actually carry it out with the job is always amazing. This is where you can get started!”

Laura Jacinto, a teacher for medical billing and coding says, “I like working with them because a lot of them know what they want, they’re here for what they need to be here for, not here to play games or fiddle around like some very young students. I teach medical billing and coding so I get to teach them how to break down diagnosis codes, procedure codes, some of the medical equipment like wheelchairs and crutches, how to use three different books, and to kind of teach them about the difference from one to another.”

All of the staff and administration want all high school students to know about their school, all the programs they have, and many hard-working jobs. 

Marixssa Martinez says, “Come to the Adult School and have a career in as little as four months. It’s an amazing, and rewarding career, and you get to help people. It’s a low cost program that has a lot to offer and we can fill our community with the individuals that want to help.”

Allen says, “Everybody in this room right now, is working on different subjects, that’s why I’m not up in the front of the classroom doing direct instructions, but I’m here if they need help, I’m here to grade papers, to give out the test if they need it, and to put the grades into the system, so I’m here if they need help with anything. What I would like the high school seniors to know is that we are here for them, seniors in high school can come here to do congruent work so they get caught up, so then they can get up and graduate with their own class!”

You can go to the school website, Visalia Adult School, or call (559) 730-7646

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