Nontraditional students can get their high school diploma

Like every other high school student in the state, Michael Zone must pass the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam before he can get his diploma.

If all goes as planned, he'll get it in June, a month before his 90th birthday.

"At least I can tell my grandson, 'Y our grandpa is a high school grad,' " said Zone. "He's studying the same things I'm studying."

Zone, a Paradise resident, attends Desert Rose Adult High School and Career Center, 444 W. Brooks Ave., a haven for non traditional students.

It offers traditional high school diplomas, adult high school diplomas, GED diplomas, English language and citizenship classes and career and vocational training.

Zone grew up in Canada and dropped out of high school at 16 when World War II broke out in 1939. He lied about his age so he could join the Canadian Army.

He returned from the war five years later and moved to California, where he became a U.S. citizen in 1949. His last name was Zon, but the judge suggested he change it. To this day, he's the only Zone in his family.

In his early career, he wrote for newspapers and later became a comedy writer for Bob Hope, Red Skelton and Victor Borge, among others.

Zone will be the school's oldest graduate, but his situation is not unusual.

Principal Dr. Sandra Ransel also was a non traditional student.

"I can understand these students," she said. "Not everybody starts or finishes education at the same place. Education is a lifelong activity.

"The purpose of Desert Rose is to be a second chance for people," she said. "This school is developed around what an at-risk student needs -- flexible hours, committed teachers and the ability to start when they're ready."

On Ransel's office door is a sign that reads "Grad Goal: 500."

Last year about 450 students graduated from the school. There are more than 3,000 students enrolled , and many of them aren't there to get a diploma.

The school offers vocational training in areas such as culinary arts, carpentry, construction, electrical, business, nursing and automotive .

On a book shelf behind Ransel's desk is a photo of the school's current oldest graduate -- her father. He graduated from Desert Rose at 86 in 2005.

It's not all AARP members, though.

Ariel Laponi, 19, didn't have enough credits to graduate from Mojave High School, 5302 Goldfield St., and said she couldn't return as a fifth-year senior.

She started at Desert Rose in September and needs four credits to get a diploma. Laponi plans to attend college upon graduation and study culinary arts, for which she already is taking classes at the school.

One of her classmates, 35-year-old Rene Nungaray, plans to get a GED diploma in May and enlist in the National Guard to become a military police officer.

He dropped out of high school in Yuma, Ariz., at 17 to provide for his newborn. After a series of moves, two ex-wives and two kids later, he's serious about bettering his life.

He enjoys going to school and said the teachers are good, but like every school, not everyone is there to learn.

"A lot of kids still do elementary things," said Nungaray. "They don't pay attention. Some just come and goof off. They don't know what they're losing. They don't understand how precious time is."

That time is about to become a lot more precious, as looming budget cuts threaten some of the school's offerings.

But as gloomy as it may seem to most educators, Ransel said it's an "exciting time " because it forces the state to confront its "insufficient tax system."

For more information about Desert Rose, visit schools.ccsd.net/desertrose or call 799-6240.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.