Innovative Programs for SF Prisoners

What does it take to launch a successful adult school program inside a California jail? The administrators and staff at the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department’s Five Keys Charter School—the nation’s first charter school for adults inside a county jail—know firsthand.

For starters, you need a willingness to teach students in a high-intensity environment, the ability to manage a limited budget (currently set at 2003 funding levels, or about $6,000 per student at last check), and an unwavering commitment to the principles of restorative justice.

Since 2003, Five Keys Charter School, sponsored by the San Francisco Unified School District, has increased educational options for inmates and offered them a structured path to obtain a high school diploma. Students in the program can work toward their diplomas while serving time, awaiting trial or upon release from custody.

Five Keys Charter School operates within the Sheriff's Department at two main jails, two post–release sites, and at several well established community based organizations (CBOs) such as Goodwill Industries, Walden House, and the YMCA. It offers a standards–based curriculum of the core subjects: Language Arts, Math, Social Science, and Science, workplace readiness training, and basic technology training along with GED preparation. Students take two classes during each five-week semester. In addition to academic courses, many receive drug treatment and or violence prevention counseling designed to help them stay out of jail.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is the backbone of the Five Keys program. When a person commits a crime, he not only impacts another individual, but also the neighborhood and community of both victim and offender. The goal of restorative justice for all parties—the  district attorney, the staff, the inmate, the victim, the families, and the community—is to be aligned throughout the process of rehabilitating the offender back into the community.

FKCS founders firmly believe that if we are to transform and restructure the criminal thinking behind the criminal behavior and change the disastrous state of inequality and injustice within the prison system, society must begin to deal with its offenders using multiple approaches and on a more holistic level, examining the many strata within it that contribute to its downfall.

Accordingly, a formal curriculum focused on restorative justice makes up an integral piece of the Five Keys Charter School's mission to teach restorative justice as a key component in the holistic education of the individual. To support this mission, the school launched Five Keys Adult School and Five Keys Independence High School in 2008.

Five Keys Adult School and Five Keys Independence High School

An offshoot of the Five Keys Charter School, Five Keys Adult School and Five Keys Independence High encompass the SFSD women's facility (County Jail 8), the SFSD post-release sites at Oak Grove and the Women’s Reentry Center, and partnerships with 12 different CBOs at various locations throughout San Francisco.

Students at County Jail 8 are enrolled in a high school diploma program similar to that at San Bruno Men’s Jail. Site-specific classes include Seeking Safety, Customer Service, Dance/Fitness, Nutrition, Cooking classes and a new Parenting class that will allow mothers to work with their children on homework under the guidance of a credentialed instructor.

The Oak Grove site serves as an important bridge for Five Keys students (both men and women) to continue their education upon release. Students at Oak Grove may also be referred from cooperating agencies including Back on Track, SFSD's Home Detention Program, and through the school's own recruiting efforts in the community.

The community-based school programs with clients from CBOs such as Walden House, Friendship House, Asian Neighborhood Design, and the Goodwill are tailored to the individual needs of each student. Students make an education plan that includes either earning a GED or a high school diploma. They might work on Independent Study courses, attend site-based classes or practice for the GED exam. They participate in service-learning projects and attend workshops offered by the community-based organization, working on re-entry issues like housing and employment.

To date, the results show that the Five Keys model works: In the first two months of FKCS operation, academic levels of the county jail’s students increased by an average of 1.7 grades. Currently, students enrolled in school for 90 days show significant gains in both reading and math test scores and have and 86 percent credit completion rate. The school has awarded 161 high school diplomas since 2004, with 96 diplomas, 15 certificates of completion and 20 GEDs since June 2008. It is currently operating at its maximum capacity of 600 students and maintains a strong wait list of students eligible to enroll.

Advice to Agencies

To agencies that might want to launch a similar program, Steve Good, executive director, Five Keys Charter School, says, plan ahead! Close coordination with the Sheriff’s Department and jail operations are essential, as are partnerships with community organizations.
“Five Keys Charter School has been a huge undertaking and it wouldn’t have been possible without open dialogue and strong relationships,” he says.