TCC has partnered with New Heights Adult High School to provide a free dual-enrollment charter school for adults.

New Heights, which started its first term Sept. 3 with over 500 students, allows residents ages 18 to 50 the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and a career or technical certificate from TCC.

Ivett Penago, a student at New Heights, had to drop out of high school after getting pregnant and was looking for a night school to fit her busy life. She has worked at her job for eight years but wants to do more to advance her career.

“I have [the] knowledge to be a supervisor but because I don’t have a title, they give it to people that have a degree,” Penago said.
Traci Berry, CEO and superintendent of New Heights, has been a proponent of helping adults like Penago pursue their education for the past decade.

In 2014, she set up a pilot program in Austin that focused on helping adults earn high school diplomas after realizing people lack access to it after turning 26.

“With people working longer in life, not retiring till their 70s, there’s work opportunities that people were not able to access because of [not] having this education,” Berry said.

In the spring of 2023, Senate Bill 2032 paved the way for adult high school programs in Texas. Supporting data for the bill stated that more than 7 million adults in Texas do not have a high school diploma.

New Heights is located at the TCC Opportunity Center and is supported by the South Campus.

TCC South President Daniel Lufkin said the partnership between New Heights and TCC will be good for the community.
“It provides people an opportunity to achieve a high school diploma that they may have missed the opportunity for various reasons,” Lufkin said.

“And we know that with a high school diploma as well as a college degree or certificate, you’re going to earn substantially more over your lifetime and also have the opportunity to advance within a career.”

Penago was introduced to New Heightsthrough social media and “jumped on it.”

After a week of class, she was surprised how accommodating the class schedule was with her busy schedule.

Students at New Heights can take as many classes at once as they choose, which can range from the early morning to late
night.

This accommodates students with jobs and families who can only come in at certain times of the day.

Cipriano Vedia is another student at New Heights who found out about it through social media.

He said New Heights offers an opportunity for him to get better jobs or find a different career path.

“Life just happened for a lot of us,” Vedia said. “We had to get out of school for whatever reason we all had.”

Berry aims for New Heights to continue to grow in Tarrant County and draw in more students.

“It’s been a really energetic and positive start,” Berry said. “And we’re just excited to keep enrolling more students to give them
the same opportunity.”

New Heights Adult High School is currently accepting applications for the second term, which will begin Oct. 15.