Quick Take
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s free Career Advancement Charter has seen enrollment grow 332% since 2021 as more adults return to school to earn high school diplomas and pursue new career goals. For graduates like Yumi Mondragon and Rebeca Reyes, the program’s flexibility and support have helped them overcome past barriers and continue their education.
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Yumi Mondragon, 32, originally from Tokyo, Japan, worked a range of jobs in grocery stores and warehouses while raising her four children in Watsonville over the past six years. But she always felt a drive to get her American high school diploma so she could start her journey to becoming a dentist.
After taking the leap to return to school this past year, and many sleepless nights of studying, Mondragon completed the required coursework to earn her diploma. She’s now attending Cabrillo College and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s dental assisting program.
“I felt like I reset my life,” she said. “Like a baby, I had nothing, no language, I felt behind other people. But to get the high school diploma, I felt like I have something here [in the United States] now.”
Mondragon is one of hundreds of Santa Cruz County residents who have gone back to school in recent years to earn their diploma to achieve their educational goals or switch careers. The program has grown significantly since 2021, when just 58 people were enrolled, up to 251 students this past academic year – a 332% increase. Known as the Career Advancement Charter (CAC), the free independent-study program is run by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education in locations across the county. The program serves students 18 and older who lack a high school diploma.
County Office of Education spokesperson Nick Ibarra said that about 25,000 Santa Cruz County residents don’t have a high school diploma.
“The program’s growth has been significant in relative terms, but relative to the total number of learners who are without GEDs and high school diplomas, the program is really still scratching the surface,” he said. “The potential is quite large, and the potential need for these services in our county is really significant.”
Sony Guerra-Sanson, executive director of Career and Adult Learning Services at the county office, oversees the diploma program.
“I think people should know that it’s never too late, and that we’re here to serve,” she said. “The system, the way it’s built, doesn’t work for everybody. We’re here to help people earn their diploma and move on to what’s next for them.”
Guerra-Sanson said the program’s growth is primarily from word of mouth from students, and that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on jobs could have also spurred interest in the program over these past five years.
She said the Career Advancement Charter provides services at Sequoia Schools in Freedom and the County Office of Education in Santa Cruz, as well as jail facilities and probation centers in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.
Teachers and staff offer individualized daytime and evening hours depending on the students’ availability. Students are required to attend a weekly progress check-in meeting with a teacher and complete at least 20 hours of weekly schoolwork.
Guerra-Sanson said most of their students identify as Latino, at least half of the population are parents, and while most are between the ages of 18 and 26, the age range varies widely. She said many students come from alternative education schools; some want to switch careers or simply want to complete their high school education.
By the age of 19, recent program graduate Rebeca Reyes, now 39, had her first baby and had dropped out of high school. To support her family, she got a job in the banking industry, and stayed there successfully until she was laid off from Wells Fargo in 2023.
“During COVID, the market started getting kind of weird … I felt lost for a moment,” she said. “But because [my daughter] was in high school, I just wanted to be that motivation for her to continue to study and go to college so she would not repeat my footsteps.”
Reyes enrolled in the diploma program in fall 2023 and finished just months later. She then enrolled in the county office’s medical assisting program while she simultaneously took courses at Cabrillo College. She finished the medical assisting program in May 2025 and Cabrillo in May this past year. She’s currently working as a medical assistant for Dignity Health Dominican Hospital as she applies to nursing programs.
“It’s never too late to go back to school and get a degree,” she said. “It’s just believing in yourself that you can actually go back.”
For students like Reyes and Mondragon who are juggling obligations, the program’s flexibility and staff support are essential to their success.
Mondragon had a diploma from back home, but found that careers here required her to have an American high school diploma. She needed only five courses to complete her American diploma: English, American history, economy, geography and government.
Some nights she slept just three hours. Many days she would have her youngest child, Elaina, in one arm while using her other to do homework. But with baby steps, Mondragon is now on her way to becoming a dentist.
“It’s a big impact,” she said. “This program gives me an opportunity for the future. It’s a high school diploma; I can’t do anything without it here. It impacted and changed my life.”
To learn more about the program, fill out the online student interest form or visit the program website.
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