By Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton – Tulsa World Reporter

A new community partnership is giving adults in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood a second chance to earn their high school diploma.

Growing Together and Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma have teamed up to launch a free Spanish-language High School Equivalency course for adults in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood this semester.

The class meets once a week at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School, and many of its participants are parents of current Kendall-Whittier students. Since its launch in late August, the class has filled up and a wait list has already started forming for spring 2027.

“This has been a big ask from our parents for a long time,” Alicia Keathley said. “I work with the parents, families and students as a whole, and one of the biggest, regular asks was a GED class.”

The class became a possibility after Keathley and Kyle Paddock with Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma made contact through a mutual acquaintance. Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma was already offering Spanish-language HiSET courses at its north Tulsa campus but was looking to expand its reach, Paddock said.

“We’re so grateful for this partnership,” Paddock said. “It’s one of those things that’s just a natural fit, working together. We’re just sorry it’s taken this long to do.”

The HiSET consists of five subtests: social studies, science, math, reading and writing. By comparison, the General Education Development exam has four subtests, with reading and writing combined into one.

Anyone who passes either exam will receive a high school equivalency diploma. However, the GED exam can only be taken on a computer, while the HiSET has a pencil-and-paper option.

“It’s the exact same degree,” Paddock said. “It’s just providing that additional level of accessibility.”

Among the students in the class is Kendall-Whittier parent Marisol Dominguez Quintana. A regular volunteer at the school, she said she did not graduate high school thanks to the birth of her oldest son, now 20.

Earning a high school diploma, she said, would make it possible for her to go on to Tulsa Community College or Tulsa Tech alongside her two oldest sons.

“They’re all excited for me,” she said. “They (the two youngest) are with me right now, and they wait for this class every single week to come.”

On a recent Thursday evening, Quintana and her classmates slid into a room in a corner of the elementary school, bringing paper plates, napkins, foil-covered pans and tightly sealed Tupperware for a potluck. Meanwhile, Quintana’s two youngest sons, along with some of her classmates’ children, went over to a nearby classroom to play with Keathley.

While waiting on the instructor, students chatted in Spanish and pulled out notes about the U.S. Constitution to review.

“Good evening,” instructor Jhon Gomez called out in Spanish as he walked into the room. “Sorry I’m late — there was an accident.”

A volunteer, Gomez previously taught education and community development courses at a university in Colombia.

Speaking through an interpreter, Gomez pointed at the student-organized potluck as proof of how classes like this one can provide opportunities on multiple levels. Along with the chance at better-paying jobs and more economic stability for the pupils and their families, the sessions provide space for students to make in-person connections or reinforce existing ones.

“The political climate being what it is, that can cause a lot of fear, right?” he said. “There are a lot of jobs that require a high school diploma, but there’s a cost barrier there. There’s a lot of things in this class that allow them (the students) to earn that for free, but also build a community together where we all understand that about each other with their fears about everything that’s going on.

“It’s a moment where we can just share those goals together and a way that we can move forward together.”

Partnership brings Spanish-language high school equivalency classes to Kendall-Whittier – Tulsa World – September 24, 2026