[Anchor intro: Inmates at the Onondaga County Justice Center have a chance to get education before they are released. Democracywise’s Marie Claudet reports jail can be a lot like school — a school where the people in charge hope alumni do not come back.]
Like any other day of the week, Rashon Days goes to class to prepare for the GED test. But today is a special one.
“They just told me I passed it.”
(Rashon Days, inmate at the Justice Center)
Rashon Days is among the inmates at the Justice Center taking classes to finish his high school education. The education program offers 20 fields of study — including classes for the GED, building maintenance, construction or Spanish. The goal of the program, say jail officials and other experts, is to improve inmates’ chances to get a job once out of jail and to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders.
The program is run jointly by the Syracuse City School District and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office. It is housed in the Justice Center in downtown Syracuse. As of Dec. 8, the Justice Center had 535 inmates. Signe Nelson, the program coordinator, says about one-third of the jail population is enrolled in a class. The Justice Center requires inmates younger than 21 to take classes if they don’t have high school diplomas.
“When we built the new jail, about 16 years ago, academic, eduational and vocational programming became the tenor of the jail.”(Signe Nelson, coordinator of education programs for Justice Center inmates)
The program’s budget is about $1 million. Twenty-six teachers from Syracuse City School work for the program at the Justice Center.
The main objective is to reduce recidivism, say supporters. A study conducted by the City University of New York shows that inmates who take prison education are less likely to return to jail than those who did not. In New York, the state education department reports that 93 percent of the inmates who participate in an educational program stay out of jail.
Sgt. Thomas W. McDowell, program supervisor at the Justice Center, suggests why that works for inmates.
“We are trying to give them the skills necessary so when they do return to the community, they have an opportunity to get employment and not come back.”
(Sgt. Thomas W. McDowell, program supervisor, Onondaga County Justice Center)
Educational programs also make higher education become an option for the prisoners. William Phillips is an inmate at the Justice Center and a tutor for the GED program. He wants to continue his education outside the jail.
“My plan firstly is try to get back to school for higher education. That’s the most important. That’s one of the only way really I could see moving ahead.”
(Williams Phillips, inmate at the Justice Center)
Rashon Days, who just passed his GED, says he now has inspiration to pursue more education.
“Now, I am about to take every course I can get to get any type of certificate that I can. I am trying to make something positive out of what I am going through right now.”
(Rashon Days, inmate at the Justice Center)
For Democracywise, I am Marie Claudet.
(Marie Claudet is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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