St. Mary’s Detention Center Inmates Complete GED Program

A small graduation ceremony was held yesterday at the St. Mary’s County Detention Center honoring 10 individuals who recently completed the State of Maryland’s General Education Development (GED) Program, earning their GEDs.  The graduation ceremony contained many graduation traditions, such as graduates marching into the ceremony; a keynote speaker, Judge David W. Densford; and family on hand to witness an important milestone in a graduate’s life.  The obvious difference; the graduates were not high school seniors; they were current and former detention center inmates. 

The GED Program is cooperative effort between the St. Mary’s County Detention, the St. Mary’s Board of Education and the St. Mary’s Literacy Council.  The Detention Center Literacy Program provides remedial education and prepares inmates for the general educational development (GED) test. 

“A census conducted several years ago revealed the St. Mary’s County inmate population had an average 10th grade education level and many inmates never completed high school.  Recognizing this deficiency, we implemented the GED Program and our Detention Center Staff has been encouraging inmates to participate.  The program is well received; since 2008, fifty-seven (57) participants have received their Diploma.” (Captain Michael Merican, Commander, St. Mary’s County Detention Center) 

The Board of Education provides GED services to the inmates and detainees three days a week, including a night class for work release participants.  The program is just one of many programs sustained by the Office of the Sheriff as part of an effort to prepare an inmate for re-entry into the community.

“…there is little you can do about your past. The time to prepare for the future is now! Your confinement here should, and can, be a period of growth and development in productive and constructive living versus a dreary and aimless passage of time. The choice is yours.  We hope you will continue your education and we wish you the best of luck.  Congratulations.” (Timothy K. Cameron, Sheriff, St. Mary’s County, Maryland)