Hawaii Gov. David Ige and First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige were among those recently in attendance at the Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC), where the grads completed various educational programs.
According to a press release, graduates completed various training programs including GED, GED Tutor Training, Pu’uhonua and Kapiolani Community College (KCC) Culinary Arts. The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) grant provided important funding to help support The Hawai‘i Friends for Restorative Justice expand and continue important educational programing at WCCC.
"Yesterday Dawn and I attended the graduation ceremony for several women at the Women’s Community Correctional Center," Ige posted to Twitter. "35 graduates completed educational programs, such as getting their GEDs or finishing KCC’s Culinary Arts training."
“These women have taken an important step toward fulfilling their true potential. I’m proud of their progress and the role the GEER program played in supporting these women, providing them with educational opportunities, employment, and well-being,” Ige said, according to the press release.
Among the graduates, five women received their GED diploma for completing the GED program and five women completed the GED Tutor Training program.
“The tutor program helps students get the needed support and encouragement from their tutors and mentors,” Amy Jodar, PSD Corrections Education Program Manager said, according to the press release. “The tutors can work with the students in the housing units, and this has accelerated the GED diploma process.”
The GEER grant will be used to train incarcerated women to be GED tutors for their peers, fund college correspondence courses for WCCC inmates and provide services for women seeking to continue their education after release.