Accountability.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — More than 200 people in Texas prisons and state jails recently earned high school diplomas, high school equivalency (HSE) certificates, trade certificates and apprenticeships, according to the September 2026 issue of The ECHO, the newspaper published for people in TDCJ by the Windham School District.
Windham is the school district that operates inside TDCJ facilities. Several ceremonies were held with staff and family members in attendance.
Graduations by unit
- Coleman (Lockhart): 79 graduates. Windham students earned HSE or Business Information Management certificates, and students in the Goodwill Excel Center earned high school diplomas.
- Connally (Kenedy): 34 graduates in a combined Windham and Goodwill Excel Center ceremony: 9 HSE certificates and 25 high school diplomas.
- Ellis and Huntsville: 22 graduates in a combined ceremony. Fifteen earned HSE certificates and seven earned apprenticeship certificates as assembly technicians, horseshoers and a building maintenance repairer.
- Murray (Gatesville): 34 graduates: 10 high school diplomas, 9 HSE certificates and 16 career certificates in electrical, graphic arts and welding. The Murray Unit also honored graduates of its Cognitive Life Skills and Above and Beyond programs.
- Johnston (Winnsboro): more than 20 graduates, including the campus’s first Telecommunication Connectivity graduates.
- Hodge (Rusk): 6 HSE certificates and 4 career certificates in Introduction to Culinary Arts.
- Wynne (Huntsville): apprenticeship graduates as assembly technicians, computer peripheral equipment operators and heavy truck drivers. Wynne also held a graduation for Cohort 13 of the Change Agent program, based on author Damon West’s book “The Coffee Bean.”
- Bartlett State Jail: 5 Renewable Energy career certificates and 1 U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship completion. Thirteen new peer tutors also earned OSHA 10-hour safety certificates and Southwest Airlines Professional Communication certifications.
- Sayle (Breckenridge): students completed the campus’s first Construction Site Safety Orientation class.
More from the units
- Jordan (Pampa): held its annual Family Literacy Day, where children spent the day with their fathers doing reading and bonding activities.
- Beto (Tennessee Colony): the Military Veteran Support Group helps incarcerated veterans prepare for reentry with classes on anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder and reentry planning.
Why it matters for families
A diploma, HSE certificate or trade license can make a real difference after release, both for finding work and, in many cases, for the parole board, which looks at the programs a person has completed. A new Texas law, Senate Bill 1080, also expands occupational licensing opportunities for Windham graduates, according to the district.
If your loved one wants to enroll in classes, they can ask about Windham programs at their unit’s education department. People in TDCJ can also read The ECHO on their tablets: TDCJ content has moved to the Edovo app, where they can type “TDCJ,” select the TDCJ icon and choose “The ECHO.”
Find news about your loved one’s unit under Your Unit’s News.