NORWICH – For the last five years, Timothy Wennrich has helped more than 80 percent of his students get their high school diploma before being released from the Chenango County Correctional Facility.
According to New York State law, all people under the age of 21 are entitled to a high school level education – even those serving time in jails, prisons, or detention centers.
Each weekday, Wennrich meets with a juvenile and adult class for about two and a half hours each, assigning reading lessons, homework assignments, essays and exams.
“We are just like any other school. We have to comply with all state mandates including No Child Left Behind. If our students don’t perform well we face funding cuts,” said Wennrich.
Wennrich is technically an employee of the Norwich School District and the program’s annual operating budget of $115,000 is paid for by area schools.
“If a student in a district is incarcerated, then New York State says that distinct has to pay for his education while they’re doing their time,” he explained.
Chenango County Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting said the mandated program offers trouble youths and young adults an opportunity to better their lives once released.
“How do you change people’s lives if they don’t have an education? It eliminates their employment potential. Once you open the doors for people, they may start to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Cutting.
The sheriff openly admits that not everyone benefits from the program, acknowledging some inmates don’t take the opportunity to better themselves.
“There are always going to be those people whose refuse to change their habits and odds are they’ll be back here. But they aren’t everyone. If we can help some of them recover, teach them to become a little more self-sustaining when they get out, then there’s a better chance they won’t be committing more crimes or returning to incarceration, which just adds more burden to the community,” said Cutting
In addition to teaching the state mandated course for students, the City Norwich School District and the Sheriff’s Office have coordinated several other lifestyle educational courses, including an adult GED program, a transition program and an Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) safety course for qualifying inmates.
The Inmate Transition Program helps prepare inmates with basic life skills as they head back into the community.
“The programs brings in educators and professionals from various agencies to teach life skills such as parenting, relationships, preparing for employment and how to make positive life changes,” explained Wennrich.
The program invites speakers from BOCES, the Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network and Planned Parenthood.
The OSHA safety course is a 10-hour general course that gives inmates entry level safety awareness and hazard training, which is a common requirement for many labor intensive jobs, such as construction work.
Wennrich says his job can be challenging because nearly all the students in the program join at different times.
“Everyone is at different levels and everyone needs help on different areas,” he said.
Currently the school has two juveniles and eight adults in the GED programs and Wennrich explained that typically the class ranges from a high of 10 students in each class to a low of two.
“Over all we have an 80 to 85 percent success rate,” said Wennrich.
In the last six months, more than 20 inmates have earned their GED and another 51 completed the OSHA safety certification. About half of those getting their GED were considered juvenile offenders, he said.
Wennrich said he keeps little information on students after they leave the jail, but he does have a few success stories. He estimated about one in 10 pursue higher education. He also estimated that one in 10 of those tended to repeat their crimes.
“Like most of life, it depends on what you want to make of it,” he said.
“One young man came in here near the end of his high school year and was able to finish up his final two Regents. By the time he was released, he was allowed to graduate with his class.”
Another student received his GED, was released and entered a local college where he recently made dean’s list.
“The jail screens applicants and although most juveniles are required to attend, the adults must be cleared by administrators,” said Wennrich. “Most understand this is an opportunity.”