THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2010
16 DC
District
L OCAL LIVING community news in brief
Commission seeks works for Art Bank
The D.C. Commission on the
Arts and Humanities is purchasing artwork for the Art Bank, a collection of works that are put on display in D.C. government buildings. Works should reflect the District’s life and culture. The commission needs two-
and three-dimensional art, including prints, drawings, mixed-media works, paintings, photos, ceramics, sculptures, digital media and video. Artists may submit up to 10 works for review and purchase. The submission deadline is 7 p.m. Aug. 2. For information, go to www.
dcarts.dc.gov or call 202-724-5613
Shuttle to keep children from crossing I-295
In an effort to keep children from crossing I-295/DC-295 on foot, the D.C. Department of Transportation is offering free shuttle service this summer between Anacostia Senior High School, 1601 16th St. SE, and the Anacostia Pool and Recreation Center, 1800 Anacostia Dr. SE. The shuttle loops between the school and the pool every 30 minutes. The service runs from 8:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. weekends at the school and from 8:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 12:15 to 8 p.m. weekends at the pool. The agency urges parents to
warn children about the dangers of crossing high-speed roadways on foot.
Library to close Tuesday for move to new site
The Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library’s interim location, 945 Rhode Island Ave. NW, will close at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to take contents to the new library building. The new library will open Aug. 2 at 1630 7th St.
briefs continued on 19 Looking outside the jail, into their future
GED programs attract inmates, and pass rates are on the rise at area corrections facilities
by Christy Goodman
Virgil Ventura of the District wants to be an auto mechanic. Melvin Parks of the District wants a business degree. Roman Fuentes of Lorton wants something valuable he can take with him when he returns to the Philippines. For most graduates, an education offers hope for the future. And for the April graduates of the General Educational Development program at the Alexandria Detention Center, getting an education gives them a chance to focus on the future while serving time for past actions. Ventura was at the center on a malicious wounding charge. Parks violated his probation. Fuentes was being deported because of a firearms charge. “Half of my guys are getting released in
the next six months,” Krista Sofonia, the center’s adult education coordinator, said in April. “For them, they kind of have to have this to take the next step.” Interest in the GED diploma program has increased at the center, as has the number of inmates passing the test.
Enrollment in the GED and English as a Second Language programs rose from 58 students in the 2004-05 school year to 259 in 2008-09. As of March, 169 students were enrolled. In the 2004-05 school year, 53 percent of the inmates who took the GED test passed. By 2008-09, 66 percent had passed. In March, there was a 61 percent pass rate. Sheriff Dana Lawhorne said he tries to emphasize the program to the inmates. “Our hope is when they return to the community, they can be gainfully employed,” he said. Lawhorne created a GED unit, where students enrolled in the program live together and can tutor one another. The unit “creates a positive learning atmosphere,” he said. The D.C. Department of Corrections launched a GED program in April 2008, in which inmates serve as tutors within housing units. Spokeswoman Sylvia Lane said that 142 inmates completed the program and that 57 percent passed the test.
PHOTOS BY KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST
Melvin Parks accepts congratulations from his mother, Vanessa Parks, left, sister Yvette Williams and fiancee Nakia Barnes after Alexandria’s GED class graduation in April.
The Prince George’s program is limited to how many tests the jail can afford and how many people can live in the GED housing unit. Thirty to 36 inmates are in the education unit at one time, McDonough said. Over the past five years, the inmates average a 44 percent pass rate, she said. At the Alexandria Detention Center
graduation ceremony in April, inmates in caps and gowns marched from a tiny law library through the jail’s gymnasium, passing family members and other inmates before taking their seats. Alexandria Police Chief Earl L. Cook
Roman Fuentes places his mortarboard on his son, Nicholas, 9, while holding his youngest daughter, Valentine, 2.
Tutors and inmates live together in
Prince George’s County’s education unit, as well. “We find the focus is much better if they are in one unit rather than pulling them from all over the jail,” said Mary Lou McDonough, director of the county’s Department of Corrections.
spoke of the importance of having a GED diploma and how it puts the graduates on a “safer, more defined road” to success. He also encouraged the graduates to seize the opportunity now. “Time and again, my lesson is try to grab it now. The future is not promised,” Cook said. For Parks, receiving a GED diploma is an accomplishment long overdue. And his mother, Vanessa Parks, agreed. She cheered in the audience as her son’s name was called. “It was my dream come true for my son,” Vanessa Parks said.
goodmanc@washpost.com
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