CAS faculty prepare Payne County Jail inmates to earn high school diplomas

CAS faculty prepare Payne County Jail inmates to earn high school diplomas

Friday, September 6, 2024

Media Contact: Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | [email protected]

For the past two years, College of Arts and Sciences faculty and graduate students have been teaching in an unconventional classroom: the female pod of the Payne County Jail.

Through a partnership with Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma, CAS professors are helping Payne County Jail inmates earn their high school diplomas. Equipped with jail-safe pencils and paper curriculum while being escorted by a guard, faculty enter the jail once a week for two hours to host classes from behind a yellow line painted on the floor. Female inmates are invited to attend classes in math, language arts, social studies, science and writing. After they complete their coursework, students take the High School Equivalency Test in each subject. A passing score on all five tests earns them their diploma.

The partnership dates back to August 2022 when Dr. Kathryn Weinland, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Psychology, got the call from jail officials that her vision for teaching high school education courses inside the facility would come to life. She and mathematics teaching associate professor Dr. Melissa Mills began coordinating courses after a successful meeting with jail officials.

"That meeting helped solidify things a lot," Weinland said. "Leading up to that meeting had been difficult, because although I'm grateful for everyone who said yes, a lot of people and organizations said no. I just had to keep pushing past the no's until I asked enough people who shared the vision and wanted to work together."

As the team continued its work using a CAS Community Engagement Grant, more CAS faculty and graduate students came on board to teach courses. The departments of Psychology, Mathematics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, English, and Political Science have gotten involved to add further instructor support.

"My work in the jail has reminded me that, for all of the advances we have made in pedagogy and software, the most productive classrooms are made so by the connections that spark between students and teachers," said Dr. Howard Sanborn, professor and head of the Department of Political Science. "If students know that their instructors care about them and their learning, and instructors know that the students are working with them earnestly to solve problems, then a lot of good work can be done to further the personal development of all involved."

While the classroom setting might be non-traditional, the impact faculty are having on their incarcerated students is measurable. To date, CCEOK has administered 28 subject area tests, resulting in a nearly 65% pass rate.

"The national average pass rate for this test is around 77%," Weinland said. "We only spend two hours a week with our students, and the testing environment inside the facility isn't ideal. It is noisy and distracting for testtakers. I'm proud of our pass rate."

In 2024, the team started furnishing the male inmate pod with paper course materials and test prep books.

"We and the jail staff do not currently have the resources to offer in-person instruction in both the male and female pods," Weinland said. "The men's pod took the math test to assess if they can be successful with just printed curriculum. The answer is yes, they can. So, testing will be expanded in the male pod over the next year while making sure we are taking care of our female inmates."

Since the team has been offering classes and materials, one female inmate has passed all five tests and earned her high school diploma.

"My time in the Payne County Jail was spent finding ways to improve myself," said Hunter Dunagan, the first to receive a diploma through the program. "I am thankful for every teacher who came and spent time giving me an education. I couldn't have asked for a better way to do my time. Now, I can make sure all the time I'm doing isn't a waste, and I leave here with the skills for a better future."

Dunagan said she quit attending school after the 10th grade, so getting an education while in jail was about finding "opportunities in unexpected places."

"I'm thankful that I was able to get my GED," Dunagan said. "Now I can look into furthering my education."

Weinland said her team's work offers a second chance to a unique population, opening new doors for inmates like Dunagan upon release.

"When she is released, she doesn't have to start from zero," Weinland said. "Upon her release, she'll have options to explore, like attending OSU or having the opportunity to look at jobs she wouldn't otherwise have been able to. I'm really excited for her."

Payne County Jail pupils are not OSU students, but the faculty involved keep OSU's land-grant mission at the forefront of their minds.

"The heart of the land-grant mission lies in promoting education, enhancing economic development and enriching lives," Weinland said. "That is exactly the goal of our work in the jail.

"You need a high school diploma for most every economic opportunity in our society. With that diploma, you can pursue post-secondary opportunities and open access to gainful employment. That could really change their trajectory and open opportunities to further impact our community and our state."

To learn more, including how to support OSU faculty efforts at the Payne County Jail, contact Weinland at [email protected].

Click here to watch exclusive content about the faculty's work inside the Payne County Jail.

Photo by: Jason Wallace

Story by Erin Weaver | CONNECT magazine | College of Arts and Sciences

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