Returning citizen Tomar McWilliams recently re-entered D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), not as a resident, but one of several young men gearing up to celebrate a milestone which, for him, was more than a decade in the making.
Earlier this year, McWilliams completed high school at DOC via Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail— an opportunity he said was too beneficial to ignore. So much so that McWilliams, then at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, opted for more time behind bars, the remainder of which he would serve at D.C. Jail.
“This was my last chance to get my high school diploma and obtain what I really needed to obtain,” McWilliams told The Informer. “I felt as though I had to make a sacrifice for my freedom. At the end of the day, I was already incarcerated, so there’s nothing more that could have hurt me, and I know what I needed for when I get out in the community, and I had to do that.”
On Wednesday, McWilliams counted among more than a dozen young men who graduated from Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C Jail during a ceremony at D.C. Jail’s Central Treatment Facility (CTF).
That facility, one of two at 1901 D Street SE, served as an epicenter of instruction and redemption for McWilliams and other members of his cohort, all of whom are either awaiting trial or serving a sentence of under a year. For four months, he spent more than six hours a day in the classroom at CTF, engaging in coursework that secured him a D.C.-certified high school diploma.
For McWilliams, a high school diploma from Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail ended a journey that started before the pandemic, when he stopped going to school. That gap in education extended well into the public health emergency, when DOC became the subject of a class-action lawsuit centered on its failure to provide an adequate education to incarcerated residents.
Now, at the age of 24, McWilliams is older than the maximum age of 22 allowed in D.C. Jail’s K-12 education programming. However, he, and others who aged out of the system during the pandemic, received an extension as part of a settlement the District reached in the class action lawsuit known as Charles H. v. District of Columbia.
McWilliams called his experience with Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail, the entity that had been appointed as a host alternative school, a blessing in disguise.
“I knew I wasn’t going to finish if I went home because I wasn’t going to be focused enough, and I wasn’t going to have anything, as far as this diploma, to help me out once I got in the community,” said McWilliams, who’s since explored a career in construction. “So this was just a big step that I had to take.”
For Some, Not Just a Graduation, But a Turning Point
Dozens of teachers, family members and attorneys sat in anticipation of the graduation ceremony that took place at CTF on Wednesday morning. In total, 15 residents recently graduated, with three of them since being released.
The ceremony started with 13 young men (12 current residents and McWilliams), sporting black graduation gowns and caps, as they walked down the aisle to “Pomp and Circumstance” and raucous applause from community members. For the next several minutes, each of the graduates took the podium, speaking in deep reflection about their educational journey— including lessons learned, next steps, and the power of friends and encouraging teachers.
Sprinkled in between each remark was commentary from Shanon Redman, assistant principal at Maya Angelou @ D.C. Jail and Jacqueline Williams, DOC’s deputy director of education, case management and reentry programs.
Before the conferring and presentation of diplomas, Williams expressed her amazement at the personal work each young man did to secure a high school diploma that’s recognized by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
“Despite all your odds, your circumstances, despite your past experiences, this day, this hour, utilizes it as a platform to launch you to your new future and your new opportunities,” Williams, a proponent of family reunification, said on July 30 as she recognized friends and family present. “I know that your parents and friends are extremely proud of the young men and women who are here with you.”
In her remarks, Williams also acknowledged the work ahead for the young men as they build upon their recent successes.
“Don’t let your doubts, circumstances, [or] fear get in the way of achieving your goals and being the best person that you can be.”
Such words resonated for Nathan Washington, a recent graduate of Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail who, in the aftermath of Charles H. vs. District of Columbia, took advantage of the second chance afforded to him.
He told The Informer that he more than made up for time lost at the height of the pandemic.
“It was hard because everybody was going through things, everybody was getting sick,” Washington told The Informer “Nobody could really focus or really could go to school, couldn’t really do nothing. We basically was always on lockdown. It was like a hole.”
According to the class-action lawsuit filed by three D.C. Jail residents in 2021, the Inspiring Youth Program, the D.C. Public Schools entity that operated on the premises at the time, didn’t resume classes after the city-issued quarantine brought all activity to a standstill.
Residents alleged that, for months, they didn’t receive proper instruction, only worksheets dropped off at the jail periodically that students were expected to complete independently, despite their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) specifying otherwise. That’s why, as part of the District’s settlement Maya Angelou @ D.C. Jail is required to provide: continuous, verbal instruction that corresponds with students’ IEPs; access to educational materials and technology essential to completing coursework; and support for students going to and from lessons, appointments and counseling sessions.
On Wednesday, after graduates took off their cap and gown, and returned to their jail-issued jumpsuits, Washington pleaded for the chance to dap up his teachers as a show of gratitude. He later told The Informer that, throughout his academic experience and the death of a classmate, they kept him focused on the bigger picture.
“They were there with me through my ups and downs, through my whole journey,” Washington said. “They were super supportive, genuine, and authentic, and they really cared for me. I wanted to give up, so they motivated me and kept me going.”
With his diploma in hand, Washington spoke gleefully about the next step in his journe— a stint in the Young Men Emerging program, through which he will learn life skills that will aid in his transition to the real world.
“My master plan is just reentering the community and just being very successful,” he said. “[I want] to give back to the youth, let the youth know [this is] not the road to go and whatever you’re going through, you’re going to get over it.”
A Conversation with the People Behind Maya Angelou Academy’s Fourth D.C. Jail Graduation
During the 2025 fiscal year, 121 D.C. Jail residents enrolled in Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail with 21 graduating. Per a D.C. Jail spokesperson, some students don’t get the chance to complete their studies, due to the completion of their sentence or their transfer to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Since its 2021 appointment as a provider of education at D.C. Jail, Maya Angelou Public Charter Schools – See Forever Foundation, the entity that operates Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail has enrolled 282 residents in its program, with a total of 82 graduating with a high school diploma.
Eligibility for enrollment in Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail requires that residents are a D.C. public school or public charter school student between the ages of 18 and 22 who didn’t complete their studies.
Those who make it into the program have an IEP.
Russell Waller, principal of Maya Angelou Academy @ D.C. Jail, told The Informer that, despite their tenuous relationship with school, the young men who graduated on Wednesday embraced the resources at their avail during their incarceration.
“They have the desire and the drive to do it when they’re here,” Waller said. “I think being in under the circumstances that they’re under, being able to have a small team like ours be able to come in and just kind of wrap around them, give them the care, the support, the guidance that they need to just kind of stick it out and get it done.”
Waller shouted out his colleagues for their part in the students’ success.
“I’m very proud of what they’ve done,” he said. “I’m proud of what our team has done as a school team. And we’re going to continue to do great things.”
For science instructor Eustace Alexander, reaching the young people who sit before him at D.C. Jail requires treating them like people with real life experiences and emotions.
“We’re teaching adults,” Alexander told The Informer. “The focus here is what can be done to make the students more successful. What we do here is to ensure success in the students. Not in our success as educators.”
Alexander, in his seventh year as a science teacher at D.C. Jail, teaches biology, chemistry, environmental science and physical science. He said his magic sauce as an instructor consists of presenting material in a manner that relates to students.
In making his point, Alexander recounted class discussions about fungal infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and the long-term effects of smoking. He said that, in those moments, he saw students who took an interest in the world around them— and in each other’s wellbeing.
“Some of them have never been to school for the past seven years,” Alexander told The Informer. “Some of them would have never liked school. Some of them would have been doing well in school and made a mistake. So there were mixed experiences prior to coming here as we went to school. But what is noticeable is the common goal among them.”