Thoughts on a Graduation

Last Monday, five young men  walked down the corridor of the Juvenile Justice Center to the Community Room garbed in caps and gowns to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance. These young men are the Juvenile Justice Center Graduating Class of 2011. Each of them worked towards the completion of and obtained their GED through their participation in the Each One Reach One ADAPT GED Study Hall Program, Youth Guidance Center Improvement Committee Early Morning Studies Academy, and support of the SFUSD Woodside Learning Center teaching and counseling staff all supported by the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department and Staff at the Juvenile Justice Center. It was a moment of celebration and success for all the system stakeholders and collaborating partners to come together with the families of these youth, teachers, probation officers, program staff, and community members to witness the cumulation of the past several months (even years) of  hard work.


The keynote speaker, former San Francisco Mayor, the Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr., addressed the young graduates. While Honorable Brown has spoken at gradations over the years, never had he addressed a group of graduates inside a lock down facility. The youth before him came from various backgrounds, had made choices that landed them in Juvenile Hall to complete their high school career, and shared one thing, they were all San Franciscans who were one of the first in their families to graduate from high school. Hon. Brown addressed the young men with humility and poise, sharing his life journey from Texas to San Francisco State University to Mayor of San Francisco all the while urging the young men to use their GED as a key to open up a world of possibility. Hon. Brown was followed by the youth valedictorian, Roger*, who had some words of wisdom, reflection, and hope to share with his peers, role models, and family.

Roger* spoke of his past and how he landed in Juvenile Hall without enough credits to graduate from high school, no interest in academia, and no desire to learn anything or even pick up a book. As a young boy, Roger's* older brother, his role model, was killed in gang violence. Soon, Roger* joined the gang and in spite of his parents warnings and attempts to turn his life around, he sought to become just like his older brother. It was not until he found himself on the maximum security unit at Juvenile Hall that he understood what his parents had been saying and he made a decision to longer be like his older brother. Rather, Roger* chose to enroll with Each One Reach One in the GED Program and simultaneously work with the Woodside Learning Center to see if he could earn the missing credits to earn his high school diploma while detained. He worked closely with his Each One Reach One study hall mentor and the teachers at the Woodside Learning Center to earn both his GED and High School Diploma during his detention. He did both! Once he completed his high school career, Roger* began taking online college courses through City College of San Francisco which he continues to take. Roger* spoke of using his education as a key to do something more with his life, to complete college, and make the world a better place. Roger is using his GED as the key that Willie Brown spoke of to open up a world of possibility!

At the end of Roger's* speech, I looked around as the crowd stood up and offered a standing ovation. Many eyes were moist, smiles spread across the room, and the crowd applauded a young man who had learned from the choices he made and chose to make a better future for himself because of the support and services provided for him while detained at Juvenile Hall through community based programs, system stakeholders, and staff at the Juvenile Justice Center.

The ceremony concluded with a drumming circle lead by teacher Wilfred Mark and the youth from another unit in the facility. The crowd danced and applauded to mark the importance of this rite of passage for the Graduating Class of 2011. Without the support of Each One Reach One, the Youth Guidance Center Improvement Center, SFJPD, SFUSD, and Institution Staff, these young people would not have had the opportunity to march proudly across the room to obtain their GED and graduate during their detention!

*The youth's name has been changed to protect his identity. All images are not of the youth discussed in this blog posting to protect the youth's identity and rights.