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New Mexico in Focus: American Graduate Series

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New Mexico in Focus producer Matt Grubs goes inside a unique charter school, which is helping inmates earn their diplomas both behind bars and once they get out.

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Gordon Bernell charter school is just one of two schools in the country to try something quite novel how's them part within the walls of the Metro Detention Center it is issuing High School diplomas not just GED to drop out we're in jail we're highlighting the school is part of our American graduate series that looks at what's working in the battle can drop the dropout rate here's anime a producer neck rubs  I reminisce about a time when I was young and everything was cool the time when I played freeze tag and swim at the public pool Marco Polo Marco Polo I dropped out of high school in 2000 5 Adeline know if I even went to school to be honest with you being in laughter Echo throughout the place when I go to sleep at night these are the dreams I can't wait to face tricked out really these memories that I have seem to come and go way too fast they never last I miss you passed I miss you pass got into Metro bad I started selling cocaine so now I sit here waiting for my time to expire withering away in a mansion designed to accommodate those thieves and Liars whatever drugs and alcohol and Life Of Crime day by day day by day wasting away day by day so why are you here for armed robbery people in here are citizens their mothers or fathers they're your neighbors we are going to show that they can can change their lives make a change out in the community and can change their life for their children  we are one of two charter schools in the United States that allows incarcerated individuals to earn high school diploma and they see this sometimes as our last chance  the key is at their eyes roll turned out they recognize a lot more about about themselves than they ever did before about their potential is actually an opportunity to go back and complete something in a way the pressure is off all of our sins behind we can only go up from here there's me that piece of paper that says I accomplished something you know they say give me a boost and salary gives me the opportunity to further my education at the college level something like munity college or UNM or anything you know all options are really feel that way to you  it really does you know when I came in here I was my plan when I got out only when it's far as hustling up enough money to survive that day  when you go into our class what is our students are learning language are math science they are reading and writing they are not immersed in their past and their stories and where they've been and what they've done stator for a while shoot it's an easy pod you don't have to usually go to these other pies and it's kind of people fight you know what I mean it's just regular well certainly mistrust it is is a huge common denominator amongst these guys how do you break through that and and I get buy into this program who discovered is that it takes a fair amount of time I think that after a guy has been here about six weeks can we begin to recognize that the rules are different the rules are not very kind of basic level of moral development which is get what you time for yourself I went from killing time to utilizing that time you know I just soaked up all information I could learn everything I could about the program built the curriculum you said you focused on this way of providing packets for the students Waters that allow you to do I was very daunting because here's what I knew that we would have approximately 1000 students come through our classrooms in a single year that they might disappear for awhile while they were rearranging their lives and that sadly they might come back to MDC and I wanted to find a way for students to what's a hold on to the work that they had burned while in our school started making me a notice I was smart so I'm just starting over but why I'm doing it now is I've already learned 9 credits if I and I've been here like 10 months already work my way up to about 5 or 6 credits now and 4 months for me a chance to continue not to be left where you when you first came in  but you can only be in here so long and that's my next my next deal my next step once I leave that's the first stop I'm going is downtown to the school down there we want our students to have a place to go immediately after being released from MDC MDC has a place that takes the in Mesa their belief drop them off downtown and they can walk right up stairs to our school on the third floor and they are immediately enrolled paper for what the teachers there waiting for them because we've emailed them and called them and said hey look out for someone so many of our students will show up can I close that they got out of jail went through so they are ready to learn academics backup system in a relieved you're working on packet V in history you walk in the door there and you start you finish packing V in history so when you get out what's that going to be like versus the last time you got out of going out first thing on my mind is drinking but not this but when I used to get up that was the main thing on my mind was going out where was I going to score my next staying or I got to go hook up and get some more money or some like that doing this time I got it set up where I have money put aside go to go to school that's the first thing that I'm going to do probably get my meeting going play schedule meetings stuff like that and give me my job back now it's like I feel compassion it's like I lowlights  I can talk to people I don't have to turn my head away or I can look people in the eye I can walk away I feel confident and I just feel good about myself become more mindful of themselves and that's pretty powerful transformation High School Dropout Menace to Society you know with no plan for prosperous or productive future at all and now receipt Roma High School  dumb high school graduate ministers chance at college and I have a future and not a future that you or somebody tell me about your bright kid you have a future but an actual future I believe in that's what's important

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