Manteca Unified has a school that has neither a mascot nor parent-teacher conferences.
It is dedicated to two purposes — helping educate the work force and preparing adults to become citizens.
Manteca Adult School — that conducts most of its classes at the Manteca Unified district complex at Louise Avenue and Airport Way — does more than just help adults who did not  secure a high school diploma to earn their GED  equivalency.
The Manteca Unified offers adult basic education, English as a second language, citizenship preparation, high school diplomas and courses — including assessments and certificates — needed to change careers.
 And in order to be more flexible and accessible for working adults, Manteca Adult School has switched from two 15-week semesters to four nine-week sessions.
“It (the adult school) is an effective and inexpensive way for adults to secure skills they need for a changing labor market,” noted Deputy Superintendent Roger Goatcher.
Among those skills classes are:
Introduction to computer literary, $40 registration fee.
Microsoft Word and Excel, $50 registration fee and $120 for a textbook.
Graphic design, $40 registration fee
Introduction to baking, $40 registration fee and $60 materials fee.
Basic forklift training, $165 registration fee.
Introduction to Metal Inert Gas welding, $75 registration fee and $75 materials fee.
Introduction to woodworking, $50 registration fee and $75 materials fee.
The Adult School also offers assessments to obtain certificates. That includes No Child Left Behind assessment for those that want to work in the schools as a paraprofessional, typing tests, Serv Safe for food industry employees, and welding qualification tests.
There is no registration fee for English as a Second Language (ESL) or high school equivalency classes.  ESL students do pay for books.  The adult school sells books at cost. 
Manteca Adult school is a testing center for HiSET — High School Equivalency Tests exams. Those who pass the test earn the same credential as individuals who complete GED requirements.
The exam is composed of five tests — reading, writing, math, social studies, and science,. Examinees must pass all five tests which may be taken over the course of two days as fits best for the individuals. The exam is offered bi-weekly on Fridays and Saturdays at the Adult School. Adults can register on-line at hiset.its.org.
There are 580 students currently attending Adult School classes with a  waiting list of 105 students for ESL classes.
 Registration for the Session II that runs from Nov. 15 to Feb. 1 starts Nov. 2. Registration for Session III  — that runs from Feb, 13 to April 20 — starts Jan. 29. Session IV from April 30 to June 30 has registration scheduled to start May 28.
The Adult School is on pace to exceed last year’s enrollment of 1,544 students.
For more information go to musd.net and look under Manteca Adult School. For questions call 209.858.7330 or email adultschool@musd.net.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com