Prison Grads: Inmates trade rap sheets in for report cards

Like any mother on graduation day, Melissa Busby is overwhelmed with emotion seeing her son Bryce in his cap and gown.

“This morning I was thinking of Bryce’s first day of Kindergarten,” said Busby. “And kind of the hopes and dreams you have for your child when they’re five and they’re starting school.”

Like any high school graduate, Bryce is excited for what the future holds.

“I feel really good,” said Scott. “It’s exciting. It’s really exciting. I’m planning on going to college for business and also do some mechanics.”

But some would call Scott’s path unconventional. Beneath the green cap and gown, the orange uniform tells a different story.

It’s in these classrooms where Bryce and other students are hoping to turn the page on their past.

“I just decided while I was here it was time to do something different with my life,” said Stewart Rooker, another inmate graduate.

“I was young. I made some mistakes that got me in here and I’ve grown up a lot,” said Scott. “I didn’t have a lot of faith that I could have a future after this, and it gives me hope that I can have a future and pursue my goals.”

Scott and Rooker are some of the very first graduates from the High School Diploma Program at the Arizona State Prison Complex–Yuma.

The program launched last year as one of the ‘first-of-its-kind’ in the state.
And after seeing success in Yuma…The Diploma Program has now expanded into prisons across Arizona.

But the process can be a challenging one, not only for the students, but also the teachers.

“You get frustrated being a 44-year-old person, and trying to accomplish something you haven’t done in 25 to 30 years is tough,” admitted Rooker.

“Often they come in really angry to be there and don’t want to be in the classroom, said Sharif Shalaby. “It’s fun, as an educator, to see those attitudes turn around in the classroom as they start to progress and feel more comfortable and realize we’re not there to punish them, but to help them achieve some education and literacy.”

The challenges don’t stop once they’re handed a diploma.
Inmates like Scott and Rooker say once they are released, the ultimate test will be getting hired with a felony on their record–a stigma Rooker says needs to change.

“That needs to be a huge step forward in the future–getting employers to say ‘I’m willing to take a chance on you. Let’s put your past behind you and look to the future.’ That’s my goal–to work with employers to get that done,” said Rooker.

The Yuma Warden says the Diploma Program is a step in the right direction to getting a second chance.

“I hope it will help them look at different opportunities or provide the inmate with the skills,” said Warden Carla Hacker- Agnew. “So that when they are released from prison, they have additional tools in their toolbox to utilize in acclimating to society.”

But education is just one piece of the puzzle. Prison officials and inmates agree, it takes a special kind of support system to keep them on the right track.

“There were a lot of times I wanted to quit, and my family kept me motivated so I can keep working on my high school,” said Scott. “I love them a lot, and I appreciate them a lot for coming. It means a lot that they’re still supporting me.”

“Even when our children don’t make the best choices and none of us make perfect choices, but we love him and we’re proud of him for making it to this point,” said Busby. “We’ve been here every step of the way, from the first day of preschool to the first day of Kindergarten, so there’s nowhere we’d rather be.”