By Alejandra Pacheco
The Shenandoah Initiative for Adult Education (SHINE) will restart classes for inmates to get their GED certification at Rockbridge Regional Jail.
The classes, which were suspended in early 2020 because of COVID, will be taught by two part-time teachers.
The jail planned to restart the classes this fall, but Lt. Kathy Painter, chief of jail security, said they’ve had some setbacks.
certificates. (Photo by Alejandra Pacheco)
“We’re trying to find resources to provide the materials inmates need for their classes like computers, paper, pencils,” Painter said. “We also need someone with a teacher certification to come and teach the classes.”
Before COVID, local high school teachers were offering the classes for free. Now SHINE is trying to hire teachers for $25 per hour. They’ll work between four to six hours a week.
SHINE is an organization that oversees adult education programs in Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge and Rockingham counties, as well as the cities of Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro.
SHINE offers education programs in other jails, including Rockingham Regional Jail and Middle River Regional Jail.
Victoria Garber, a SHINE specialist and teacher at the Middle River Regional Jail, said the program faced budget cuts during the pandemic.
“It makes juggling the funds challenging,” Garber said.
Garber, who has worked on such programs for nine years, is looking for more state and local funds.
“Anytime someone who’s incarcerated has any type of workforce training, when they’re released, they have a better chance at getting a job and being successful,” Garber said. “The whole point is to try to make them successful, so they don’t revisit the facilities.”
A 2014 report from the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research firm, found that inmates who took such classes were more than 43% less likely to return to jail. Inmates who learned a skill had a 13% better chance of finding a job.
The Rockbridge jail has offered a variety of training classes like welding, carpentry, plumbing, electrical training and cabinetry.
“They are the most amazing students. They want to learn. Having somebody believe in them and tell them that they’re capable of earning their GED it’s just an amazing experience,” Garber said.