MIDDLETOWN — Gorman Oakley never gave up his dream to get a high school diploma when he left school in the seventh grade to get a job to help support his London, Ky., family that included seven children.

        For most of his life, the 74-year-old Fairfield man never found the time to enroll in the classes to prepare him for the test for his Ohio Equivalency Diploma. He was too busy working, first to help his parents, then to provide for his wife and five children.

        But he never stopped reading.

        Then, when his wife died two years ago, Mr. Oakley, whose children are all high school graduates, began thinking about a diploma again. This time, he enrolled in free classes in Middletown Schools' Adult Basic and Literacy Education Program held at the D. Russel Lee Career-Technology Center.

        Tuesday, he was one of a record 577 adult students to receive diplomas from the program, which offers classes at Manchester School, the career center and the Oxford Family Resource Center. This was the program's largest graduating class, with more adults receiving diplomas than Middletown High School's 332-member Class of 2002, which graduates Thursday.

        “I always wanted to get my diploma,” said Mr. Oakley, while preparing for Tuesday's ceremony. “After my wife died, I got to thinking. Finally I got the nerve up and said: "I'm going to school.'”

        For nearly three months earlier this year, Mr. Oakley went to classes and did his nightly homework alongside his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Math and science were his favorite subjects. Four of his daughters and several other family members were on hand for Tuesday's cap-and-gown ceremonies.

        “It just stayed with me. I decided to go do it for my own satisfaction,” said Mr. Oakley, who turns 75 on Sunday. “You enjoy life better if you're educated. It helps you in your daily life.”

        Studies have shown that for every $1 spent to help an adult get a diploma, $3 is put into the economy through better pay the individual receives, job promotions and money not spent on public assistance, said Rose Marie Stiehl, principal of Middletown's Community Education Program.

        Twenty-seven-year-old Heather Watkins of Middletown also left school in seventh grade, frustrated because of a learning disability. Her parents tried to home-school her, and she tried going to equivalency classes about 10 years ago, but she failed the test by two points and gave up — until earlier this year.

        “I'm a single mom now raising three kids,” said Ms. Watkins, who is living with her parents and began classes five months ago at Manchester School. She went five days a week, four hours a day.

        “At first I thought I couldn't do it. Now I know I can.”

        To accommodate her disability, she was allotted extra time to take the test for her diploma.

        Ms. Watkins wasn't at her own graduation because she had something more important to attend. Her oldest child was graduating from kindergarten at Middletown Christian School — the same school she dropped out of.

        “It's important for me to be there for him,” Ms. Watkins said, saying her parents have always been there for her.

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