13 Young Women Receive their High School Diploma at LASP

13 Young Women Receive their High School Diploma at Lee Arrendale State Prison (LASP)

Pardons and Parole attends to surprise one of the graduates

FORSYTH, Ga. – On June 30, thirteen young women received their High School diploma at Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto, GA after completing the Foothills Charter High School program. Executive Director of Pardons and Parole, Chris Barnett, attended the event to surprise Bailey Lashae King with her parole papers, effective July 1.

“Thanks to our partnership with Foothills, these young women were afforded a second chance to obtain their high school diploma,” said Commissioner Bryson. “We are proud of their hard work and determination, and we hope that each individual continues to further their education.”

Prior to 2015, GDC only had the opportunity to provide offenders GED programming. GDC now has the ability to offer offenders, under the age of 21, the chance to obtain a high school diploma through a partnership with Foothills Charter High School. LASP was the pioneer for the Charter High School program, holding their first graduation in July 2015 with 19 graduates.

Thomas Fabisiak with Life University attended the graduation and informed the graduates that beginning fall 2016, Life University will be offering an Associate of Arts in Positive Human Development and Social Change at LASP.

There are 30 offenders currently enrolled at the LASP Foothills Charter School, and the number continues to grow.

The GDC has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees.

For more information on the GDC call 478-992-5248 or visit gdc.ga.gov.

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