Stephanie Garcia is a high school student. She鈥檚 also a 24-year-old inmate at the Lockhart Correctional Facility, a minimum-security women鈥檚 prison in Central Texas. Outside, her life was hectic, but here, every day is the same.
鈥淚 go to sleep at about 4 o'clock in the morning,鈥� Garcia says. 鈥淚 sleep 鈥檛il about 12:30, get up, do myhygienes, take a shower, go straight to school from 1 to 4. I eat, wait for mail till about 5:30, 6. I take a nap. I wake up at 9 and then I stay up until like 4 in the morning. I do my work, I read, and then I do it all over again. So the only thing I really do is school.鈥滸arcia is one of 12 inmates enrolled in Goodwill鈥檚 high school program in the prison. She completed four classes in six weeks last spring. She鈥檚 enrolled in four more right now. At this pace, she thinks she鈥檒l be able to graduate by the time she comes up for parole next year.
鈥淗igh school was out of the picture for me, honestly,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think that there was actually a program where I could be going on 30 years old and get my high school diploma. To me, this is like my last chance.鈥�
Currently, the school is one of four high school programs operating in Texas prisons. Goodwill, like the other programs, can only grant diplomas to inmates up to age 26, but that鈥檚 about to change. The Texas Legislature recently gave Goodwill approval to graduate inmates up to 50 years of age. When it receives its new charter this fall, the school plans to increase its enrollment to 75 inmates.
Garcia says she never imagined she could get her diploma. She failed seventh grade twice, got caught with cocaine, then got kicked out of middle school and sent to a school for juvenile offenders. Then, she got pregnant. Ironically, prison gave her an opportunity she didn鈥檛 have in the outside world.
鈥淚 really wanted my GED,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only thing I thought I was going to be able to get. Now, when my cellie told me about a high school program I was like, okay, that sounds cool.鈥�
Garcia鈥檚 鈥渃ellie,鈥� or cell mate, is Alexandria Carroll.
In the outside world, Carroll is also a mom. Here, she has no responsibilities and no distractions, so she plowed through her credits inless than a year. She needs only one more to graduate.
Carroll hopes to finish before she gets out. She鈥檚 rushing because her parole hearing could be as early as November.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 like, please see me early. I鈥檓 like, please don鈥檛 see me till December, so I can graduate and get my parole answer right after that,鈥� she says.
Carroll is one of the program鈥檚 top students. She says she wants to mobile X-ray technician. Her teachers have helped her come up with a plan to go to college when she gets out. The person helping Carroll prepare for the SAT is Sara Howze.
鈥淔or those of them that want to go on, I鈥檝e tried to be as encouraging as possible,鈥� Howze says. 鈥淥r just figuring out, like, what you want to do when you get out so you鈥檝e got a game plan.鈥�
On one hand, educational programs in prisons aren鈥檛 unique. In fact, inmates entering prison without a GED or high school diploma must enroll in one to be considered for parole. Most get a GED, but research shows a high school diploma is more valuable because it increases a student鈥檚 chances of graduating from college, and helps them develop life skills.
鈥淏asically we are wanting them when they leave our program to re-engage successfully with the outside world,鈥� Goodwill's Don Webb says. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 a combination of what they need psychologically and intellectually for dealing with the world.鈥�
Once graduates are released, Goodwill wants to help them find jobs. Teachers at the prison are connecting graduates with felon-friendly careers. Howze says one graduate reached out to her over the summer.
鈥淪he called me and said, 鈥業鈥檓 in Dallas, and I鈥檓 so confused by this job thing.鈥� So I said 鈥楬ere鈥檚 the deal,鈥� and talked her through it,鈥� Howze says. 鈥淪o that was a success.鈥�
Goodwill wants to track outcomes to prove the program is worth expanding to other prisons. For now, they鈥檙e relying on the testimony of individuals like Stephanie Garcia. She says the first time she got out of prison she went back to dealing drugs, but she believes things will be different this time around.
鈥淚 mean, yeah, I鈥檓 in prison, but I don鈥檛 see it like that,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 see it the way my daughter thinks of it now, I鈥檓 at school 鈥� 鈥楳ommy鈥檚 at school鈥� 鈥� and really it鈥檚 true, I鈥檓 in high school right now.鈥�
One lesson she learned from school is that she needs structure to succeed. So this time, she鈥檚 thinking of going to a halfway house when she gets out, where she will be held accountable. After that, she wants to go to college.
鈥淚鈥檝e never thought of these things,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all new to me.鈥�
The first step, at least, is clear. It鈥檚 getting that diploma.
Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxODQzOTgwMDEyMTcyNjI4MTAxYWQyMw004))
