NATCHEZ &045;&045; Behind a heavy door, downstairs in the Adams County Jail, stripe-clad male inmates are discussing the proper time to use &uot;good&uot; and &uot;well.&uot;

The 13 misdemeanor offenders are mid-way through their English lesson for the day and two weeks into the GED course now offered at the jail.

The program, initiated by jail administrator Mjr. Charles Harrigill and run through Copiah-Lincoln Community College, has brought two retired Natchez-Adams School District teachers out of retirement and the inmates out of the cells.

&uot;It’s something we wanted to do from the start,&uot; Harrigill said. &uot;Now we’ve gotten to the point where we can do it.&uot;

The class costs the county nothing and is open to inmates with or without high school degrees who pass a screening test. From 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays Ernest Cubit teaches the inmates math lessons, and on Thursdays Charlyne Oten teaches English.

In between, the students do homework and receive remedial help from a fellow inmate and former schoolteacher Harrigill had transferred from the Fayette jail.

Harrigill said he was hopeful the program would help the inmates, once released, from ending up back in jail.

&uot;What we’ve been doing has not been working,&uot; he said. &uot;Maybe I can save just one.&uot;

Co-Lin Basic Skills Specialist Carol Robinson said part of her job is to get GED programs up and running in various locations, including jails. She also has jail classes in Fayette and Brookhaven.

&uot;These classes are good because the men are here,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;They have to be here. I’ve found these men to be very, very polite and very courteous.&uot;

The program lasts anywhere from two to eight weeks depending on the student. At the end the jail will arrange for the inmate to take the GED. Robinson said she recently had a graduate from the Brookhaven program and tested seven Fayette inmates.

&uot;The first one that graduates, it will be one of the proudest days of my life,&uot; Harrigill said.

Only 15 inmates can take the class at one time, and women are not allowed to take it with the men. Harrigill said 60 inmates signed up to take the class, including three women. Once the current inmates finish or leave the class, it will be opened up to others.