Jail program focuses on giving inmates an opportunity to succeed

Instructor Lillian Rideaux-Rideaux-Savoy handed out books, freshly sharpened pencils, loose-leaf paper and calculators to her class on a recent afternoon, and the seven female students were busy working from math textbooks as Rideaux walked the room.
“I love giving back to the community,” Rideaux-Savoy said as she stopped to help a student. “I know the necessity of education.”
But this is no ordinary classroom setting.
Rideaux-Savoy is a deputy with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office. Her classroom is a converted jail visitation area with security controlled doors. Her students are inmates at the St. Landry Parish Jail. A security guard sits in the front of the classroom, near the door.
The inmates are a small portion of the people booked into the parish jail. Last year, 4,753 people were booked into the jail.
Prior to last year, inmates at the jail were allowed to take the GED test to receive a diploma. Last year, the program was changed to HISET, the High School Equivalency Test, which is more in line with Common Core standards. The educational program is available to trustee status male and female offenders housed at the jail who have not received a high school diploma.
Each student is required to participate in the program for 10 hours a week for at least three months according to his or her level of education. The hours are mandatory to become eligible to receive a HISET diploma. Those who complete the program can earn early release and how early they may be released is calculated by the Department of Corrections.
The program is funded by grants from the Louisiana Department of Corrections. Supplies for the classroom, from tables and chairs to a projector screen, laptops and books, are furnished by the HISET program. HISET students study math, science, social studies and language arts, both reading and writing.
Rideaux-Savoy, the department’s certified HISET education instructor, said once an inmate is enrolled in the program, the individual takes a locator test to determine his or her grade level.
“All of the students are at different levels,” Rideaux-Savoy said. “Some are on high school level and some are on a junior high level. I’ve even had students in their 40s and 50s.”
Rideaux-Savoy recalled her first female graduate of HISET, a 26-year-old who was at a fifth-grade education level.
“In three months, she earned her diploma,” Rideaux-Savoy said.
Twenty-two men and seven women are in the program. Most of them are students, and a few who have completed the program serve as tutors for other students.
“Once a student completes it, they are the best teachers,” Rideaux-Savoy said. “They know the exams and subjects. The work is fresh in their minds, and they can relate to other students.”
As students progress in their studies, they are tested every few weeks to see how far they have advanced, and all HISET tests are administered by another deputy. Students then take the pre-HISET, and they may take the test up to three times free of charge. After the third time, the cost is $120 per test. Those who are released prior to taking the final test may complete the program.
Rideaux-Savoy said she occasionally treats the students to gumbo, fried chicken and pizza.
“Those are their little rewards for working hard,” Rideaux-Savoy said. “They don’t have to be here, but they come in here and work.”
She continued, “The sheriff has given inmates the opportunity to beat their addictions and earn a decent wage and job through education.”
One inmate, who is from Eunice, said she has been in the program since last November.
“I am enjoying the class and learning,” she said. “I would like to work when I get out and better myself for my three kids. This is important because of my kids.”
The inmate said she hopes to receive her phlebotomist certification after her release.
Another inmate, from Opelousas, said she enrolled in the program to help get her life back on track.
“I want to do the right things in life,” she said. “I’ve never had a job in my whole life. I want to get a job and have money in the bank, like normal people. I want to do normal people things without having to look over my shoulder. I’ll be glad to better myself and make my family proud of me.”
She added, “Lillian takes time to explain things to me. Some things are hard, and she helps me out a whole lot.”
A young inmate from Opelousas hopes to earn her HISET diploma and return to the restaurant job she had prior to her incarceration.
“I’m getting my work done, taking it step by step,” she said as she worked on a long division problem. “Miss Lillian takes it step by step, a little at a time. I enjoy the class. I’d like to accomplish better things in life. I’m looking forward to doing good with myself.”