THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407080293
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAPRON LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
BRONSON TRAVERS graduated magna cum laude this spring.
He wore a cap and gown. The dean shook his hand.
Teachers, friends and other well-wishers surrounded him.
And so did armed guards and a barbed-wire fence.
In the school of life, Travers earned a 40-year prison sentence for first-degree murder when he and three friends robbed a convenience store in 1988 and left the clerk dead from a stab wound.
But in the Department of Correctional Education's school for inmates at the Southampton Correctional Center, Travers says he's earned a second chance.
``Education is a big part of life,'' said Travers, 23, formerly of Henrico County. ``I didn't realize that out on the street.''
In a ceremony May 27 in the prison gymnasium, Travers was awarded an associate's degree in liberal arts from Paul D. Camp Community College.
He had a 3.6 grade point average and was one of five men to earn a college-level degree for classes taken on the prison grounds.
Forty-eight others received high school equivalency diplomas. Thirty-three more earned certificates in building maintenance, carpentry, masonry or auto mechanics.
Nearly half the prison's 550 inmates participate in the voluntary correctional education program. Each can earn time off their prison sentences.
Some students want to learn new skills or earn degrees so they can impress their parole boards and land jobs on the outside.
And some, like Reginald Shellman, just want to learn how to read.
Shellman made it through the 11th grade at his northern Virginia high school before a judge gave him 10 years in 1989 for attempted rape, sodomy, sexual battery and assault.
He couldn't read fast enough or well enough to pass the state's criteria for literacy.
Shellman, 25, enrolled in correctional education when he heard that no one got paroled who couldn't read.
He started four years ago in Basic Adult Education classes, and in May he got his General Education Development diploma. He expects to be paroled soon, and someday he wants to study finance and open his own business.
``I've got enough negative things going on in my life,'' Shellman said, seated in the small prison library.
``I knew I needed something good going on, and I knew I was the only one who was going to do it.''
The education complex at Southampton Correctional Center is similar to those at all of Virginia's large prisons.
But it's also similar to public schools all over the country.
The floors are tile, and the walls are painted concrete. There is a grass courtyard in the center, complete with flagpole.
Richard Parker is a principal like any other, except that he schedules classes around cell lock-downs and searches.
And Charles McCollum is like any other guidance counselor, except he has to teach students about dealing with parole officers, not just employers.
``Obviously, the security is different, and you have to be flexible about times,'' Parker said. ``But we teach them the same things they should have learned before they got here.''
Most inmates in the program take Basic Adult Education - learning basic skills like reading and mathematics. Some take courses in social skills or interacting with others.
Paul D. Camp sends teachers to the prison and offers associate's degrees. Other inmates take correspondence courses for four-year degrees.
Prison credits often can be transferred to state high schools or colleges.
About 7,000 of the state's 19,000 prisoners are involved in the correctional education program, and thousands more are on waiting lists.
The Department of Correctional Education's 500 employees are paid from its $20.7 million budget. Inmates pay their own costs for college-level education by working or through federal Pell Grants.
Principal Parker doesn't shy from criticism that the department helps people who don't deserve help. But he doesn't believe it.
``I empathize with victims of crimes, believe me,'' Parker said.
``But these guys are going to get out. If we do something for them, maybe there won't be as many victims.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
State prisoner Reginald Shellman, confined for attempted sexual
assault and other charges, has obtained a GED during his 4 1/2 years
at Capron.
Branson Travers, left, serving a 40-year term for first-degree
murder, says he has earned a second chance along with his
associate's degree in liberal arts from Paul D. Camp Community
College.
by CNB