County inmates overcome adversity, graduate from GED program

Dorothy Brown almost didn't make it to her graduation Friday.

The 22-year-old woman from Stockton was sure she wasn't invited and so she stayed in her barracks, mulling around with some of the other inmates at the San Joaquin County Jail.

It wasn't until someone called and invited her that she joined five other county jail inmates at the honor farm.

Brown, who was in jail for petty theft, has only 33 days left of an eight month sentence before she's released. After she's out, she said she plans to go to San Joaquin Delta College and transfer to a four-year college in Louisiana, although she wasn't sure of the name.

Once there, she plans to major in music, accounting or business management.

"Whichever makes more money," she said.

On Friday, Brown and five other inmates at the county jail took the first step to going to college. They all received their General Education Diplomas.

With friends and family looking on, the six donned gowns and walked up to receive their certificates -- they'll get their state certificates in the mail.

And while the graduation wasn't filled with pomp and circumstance, there was still an air of accomplishment, pride and hope for a better future in the room.

Not an easy accomplishment when you consider the odds and the GED requirements, said Mike Gallagher, a former Manteca High School teacher and now the full-time teacher at the honor farm.

Gallagher, who's been the teacher at the county jail for nine years, said students need to achieve a score of 450 in each of the subjects: math, reading, writing, social studies and science.

One question missed and the score falls below 450, Gallagher said. That wipes out the entire semester's achievement and the student doesn't graduate.

And then there's the average age of the student, in their late 30s, and just the math part can prove to be an obstacle, he said.

After all, most people who have been out school for more than 10 years usually left with only basic math skills, he said. The program at the county jail requires algebra.

But the older students are also the ones who appreciate an education more than younger ones, Gallagher said.

"They see the value, they have the maturity and they have life experience," he said.

Still, the odds are better in the county jail program than in regular high school; out of 19 students enrolled in the program, 16 graduated, Gallagher said.

But the downside to the program is that some of the students you attend class with often don't show up for graduation. That's because they've served their time and have left jail, Gallagher said.

In fact, of this semester's class of 16, only seven were left to attend the graduation, he said. The seventh student didn't want to attend and stayed in his barracks.

For Brown, graduation was important, she said.

The certificate and finish high school allowed her a chance to "get on the ball," she said.

A high school dropout in her senior year in 2000, Brown said she valued education so much that while she's in jail she's also working on her high school diploma.

For Stephanie Murray, 28, of Lodi, the chance for her GED will open the door to the world of high tech, she said.

Convicted of stealing a car earlier this year, Murray said with her GED in hand, she's going to attend ITT Tech to learn more about fixing computers. She's already been in touch with ITT Tech and they're holding open her registration in computer networking.

Eventually, she said she hopes to have her own business.

A single mother of a boy, Murray said the GED made her proud.

"I didn't think I could hang long enough to do this," she said.

While high tech is her ultimate goal, Murray said her first priority is her son and making her mother proud.

With only 30 days left to go before she can go home, Murray said the hardest part of the in-jail schooling was algebra.

"I never had algebra at Tokay," she said. "But Mike got us into basic algebra."

Daniel Deterick, 32, of Rio Vista, said his GED will allow him to turn his life around and become a mechanic.

Besides playing bass, being a mechanic is what he is good at, he said.

Convicted of strong-arm robbery in Lodi, Deterick said his constant drug use led to some "pretty stupid things" including dropping out in his junior year in high school.

"But I think I've got the drugs beat," he said. He's been straight since February.

Deterick has to wait until November before he can go home to his house boat on the Delta, but for now he said he feels good about graduation and his GED.

"I've never been to a graduation," he said. "I didn't do that as a teenager."

And after he gets out, Deterick said he's applying to Delta community college and taking classes in auto mechanics.

Amanda Meays, 20, of Stockton, is the short-timer in her graduating class. She only has 26 days left, she said.

A high school dropout in her senior year, Meays said she owed the county 76 days after she failed to complete the Alternative Work Program, which was a one-year sentence for another crime.

Now, with her GED accomplished, Meays said she's anxious to start cosmetology school at Delta College. In fact, she's started the paperwork for financial aid, she said.

And while most students take only one semester to finish the class, Meays was on the long track, she said.

"I had trouble talking to the boys in class," she said. "I'd pass them notes."

For that, Meays said she was kicked out of the class.

"I just took me a long time to get out," she said.

But Meays' mother, Sheryl Meays-Bird, said she couldn't be prouder of her only daughter.

"I'm excited and proud of her," Meays-Bird said. "I just hope she sticks with it this time."