Five Keys Schools & Programs

ipated in and completed prison educational programs versus those who had not participated. Similar studies also indicate that the reductions in recidivism increased proportionally to the amount of education received. These findings are reflected in every study of inmates and recidivism. The research shows that specific treatment interventions including development of cognitive skills, alcohol, drug and sex-abuse treatments, vocational training, education and other prison-based educational programs are all successful at reducing recidivism. Five Keys provides students with an opportunity to advance their educational level either by earning a high school diploma or a GED. The school holds two graduation ceremonies per year. In our June 2010 graduation, 110 students earned either their high school diploma or a GED. Employment
Our curriculum includes Career Skills and Life Skills and additional courses related to careers in Truck Driving, Computer Services and Multimedia. Our partnerships throughout the Bay Area bring actual job opportunities, housing, and other necessary services that enable students to move promptly in the right direction, upon their release. Recovery
Our curriculum includes connections to groups that treat addiction, rehabilitation and recovery with the understanding that many students are also victims. The RSVP and Manalive programs are just two of our brother-programs that focus on rehabilitation and re-education regarding violence. The Women's ReEntry Center and S.I.S.T.E.R. programs provide tools for assisting female students. Family
Five Keys students in-custody are eligible to participate in a variety of parenting programs. At San Bruno, the Prison Match program consists of parenting classes and weekly visits with the children of participants. At the Women's facility, a new program allows students to meet with their children and work on homework under the guidance of a credentialed instructor. Additionally, family is a common theme in many academic classes. The artwork and creative writing samples found in our Student Work section beautifully display the heartfelt love of family and sincere desire to bring family back into our students' lives. Community
Many community partnerships have been forged through the Sheriff Department's commitment to Restorative Justice and building safer communities. Our programs link students up with San Francisco organizations such as One Stop, Walden House, and Community Works programs like RSVP, Project WHAT! and ROOTS, among many others throughout the Bay Area. Our goal is to continue bringing community organizations and individuals into our process for expanding classes and increasing student opportunities. A great deal of community input is used to build our programs for recovery and safe return to a community that welcomes and encourages our students. The Internship Program provides ex-offenders with a multifaceted employment training track and on-the-job-training which includes advancing their education, developing soft skills, and referrals to jobs whether working in the private sector or human services agencies as peer counselors. History

Since the 1970’s, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department has been a bold leader in innovative educational, vocational and drug treatment programs. Its Learning Center offered programs of literacy, GED attainment, Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language and Computer Literacy and was proven to reduce recidivism. In 2003, Sheriff Michael Hennessey and the Charter School Task Force co–founded the Five Keys Charter School (FKCS) in order to expand educational opportunities and offer a path for obtaining a high school diploma. FKCS was sponsored by the San Francisco Unified School District for a term of three years and opened its doors in September 2003 to over 200 inmates. This marked the first time nationwide that a charter school opened inside a county jail system. In 2008, at the initiative of the school’s new Executive Director, Steve Good, Five Keys applied for and received two new charters from the San Francisco Unified School District. With the addition of Five Keys Adult School and Five Keys Independence High, the schools are reaching a larger percentage of the incarcerated population as well as expanding post-release education options by partnering with respected community-based organizations such as Walden House, Goodwill, YMCA, Adult Probation, and many others. FKCS offers a standards–based curriculum of the core subjects: Language Arts, Math, Social Science, and Science, workplace readiness training, and basic technology training. In addition to academic courses, many FKCS students receive drug treatment and or violence prevention counseling designed to help them stay out of jail once they leave.