Washington County Jail brings back GED classes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ( ) — After it was stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington County Jail once again offers a General Educational Development (GED) program. “Our jail filled up and we ended up using any space we had to move people around for COVID separation/ isolation, so we just ran out of space,” Sheriff Jay Cantrell said.

That was before Cantrell held the top law enforcement job in the county and he said he has been committed to making the space since he took over in January 2023. Not all detainees are eligible to participate in the program. Cantrell said it’s considered a special privilege and is only offered to those who committed non-violent crimes and are in good standing.

“We’re trying to target the people that we know might get back out into our community… we can give them more tools… a better chance when they get released from the Washington County Jail,” Cantrell said. “I’ve set personal goals to further education, and this is a jumpstart on that,” said James Cox who just began taking the classes with about two months left on his sentence. Classes are offered twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and the detainees-turned-students work to finish the course at their own pace.

“I’ve had students where it’s taken five years or seven years to get their GED and I’ve had students that can do it in two weeks,” said Jessica Ferguson who teaches the class. Ferguson said it’s just like any other GED course. It starts with a diagnostic test which she uses to individually evaluate each of the students.

Then they learn basic reading, math and language skills that some, like Isaiah Torres who dropped out of school in the eighth grade, never developed. “When my children ask me to help them with something in school, I can’t really give them that knowledge because I don’t know it,” Torres said with a frustrated yet determined tone. In addition to getting his GED, Torres said he has a dream of becoming a marine biologist once he’s a free man.

Detainee David Robinson is working towards his high school equivalency diploma while he awaits his prison sentence. A judge recently ordered he serve 10 years in prison with five suspended on several felony charges. “I don’t want to come back.

I mean I really, really don’t want to,” Robinson said. If he serves his time without any issues once he gets out, he is already set up to go to a technical trade school for welding, which Ferguson helped orchestrate. “[In class] we talk about what they can do as felons… real, tangible things,” Ferguson said.

According to the , people with a high school credential earn $568,000 more in a lifetime than those without. The GED program is offered at the jail through the which pays Ferguson’s salary. Washington County tax dollars are used to fund the work booklets used by detainees.

Sheriff Cantrell said not only will the course help alleviate overcrowding within the jail, but it’ll also save taxpayers money by reducing recidivism. “Get these people the opportunity to get a decent job, to provide for the family, to be productive citizens, to pay their share of taxes. Instead of being a drain on the tax system, to be a contributor to our society,” Cantrell said.

“The recidivism actually goes down even further for generations. I think that we can really make changes with their parents in these programs,” Ferguson said. In addition to bringing back GED classes, the Washington County Jail also now offers a new program called Arkansas Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE).

The 12-week training course aims to teach inmates skills for getting a job, and holding it, once they’ve served their time. .