Former Parkview Christian principal, lifelong educator now teaching GED classes to Kendall County Jail inmates

Former Yorkville school principal John Gutman has pivoted from educating high school students to teaching high school equivalency classes to incarcerated individuals at the Kendall County Jail.

Gutman recently served as principal of Parkview Christian Academy in Yorkville for two years while coaching golf and teaching adult education and GED courses at Waubonsee Community College.

He has a long history of teaching all kinds of students, including special education and adult education, and those who have had trouble with the law.

Gutman started teaching in 1989 and has served as an educator in Alaska, Washington, Utah, California and Illinois. He has taught a variety of subjects, from Bible study to golf lessons, and served as principal or “head of school” in multiple states.

He grew up in the Chicago’s northern suburbs and graduated from Deerfield High School in 1974, before attending the University of Utah, where he studied education and journalism and received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications in 1981.

During his time in Utah, Gutman worked as a staff writer for the Salt Lake Tribune and as a sports writer for the Associated Press for several years before being offered a job coaching middle school softball at Intermountain Christian School in Salt Lake City in 1989.

Gutman had his first experience teaching behind bars in 1980, when he served as a volunteer minister chaplain teaching Bible study in California prisons.

“I had a little bit of trouble myself as a teenager,” Gutman said, “So I’ve had an interest in helping troubled kids.”

With a background in special education, Gutman said he has always enjoyed taking extra time with students who need it, to help them succeed, whether in a jail setting or not.

In 2016, Gutman served as an administrator and teacher at an online school and took a part-time job with a school district in Salt Lake City teaching GED classes to adults who had dropped out or spoke English as a second language.

He said it was then he realized how important adult education classes were, especially to people who are new to the country or trying to boost their careers.

Gutman resumed teaching behind bars in Oct. 2019 as part of Waubonsee Community College’s adult education program.

Twice a week, three hours a class, Gutman enters the Kendall County Jail in Yorkville and prepares students for exams in language arts, science, social studies and math.

Adam Schauer, dean for adult education at Waubonsee, said it requires a special kind of person to teach in such an adverse environment.

“You come in, and those doors slam behind you,” Schauer said. “And you realize you’re there for three hours, and it isn’t like a normal classroom where you can look out the window or come and go as you please.”

Schauer said that to teach these types of classes, you can’t specialize in one area; you have to be proficient in all areas, utilize your time effectively and be able to connect to the students.

“It takes a person who is very strong mentally,” Schauer said, “To be able to go into that environment and be successful reaching students.”

Inmate participation in corrections education has shown to reduce recidivism by 43% in the year after their release, Schauer said.

According to 2019 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income of an adult (25 and older) with a high school diploma or equivalency was estimated to be $6,000 more than those without one.

Census data also shows that adults with a GED diploma have a 10% lower poverty rate than those without, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are more likely to have full-time employment than those without.

Schauer said the program started in 2019 when the sheriffs from Kane and Kendall counties reached out to the college about providing educational opportunities to inmates in their facilities. Gutman is one of three educators between the two jails.

Deputy Daniel Briars, public information officer for the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office, said that the program has been well received by both the faculty and individuals attending the courses.

“The sheriff’s philosophy,” Briars said, “is to incorporate programs like these to reduce recidivism and give individuals an opportunity to learn and develop educational skills to help them be successful upon their release from our facility.”

Briars said that a second course recently has been introduced at their facility to accommodate rising interest.

Gutman said the most rewarding part of the job has been seeing the accomplishment when students graduate.

“When they’re nervous going into it and find out they passed these national standardized tests, it shows them their capability,” Gutman said

The sheriff’s office hosts a ceremony for the graduates, awarding them diplomas and inviting their families to come celebrate, when appropriate. Six students have received GED diplomas behind bars in Kendall County since the program began.

“He [Gutman] cares about his students and their success,” Schauer said. “He understands the impact that education has on individuals and the transformational power of it.”

Schauer said that in many cases, incarcerated individuals have not had the opportunity to get a proper education before this program, as traditional education failed them or wasn’t accessible to them growing up.

“People use the term second chance,” Schauer said. “But the reality is, for many of these individuals, it’s their first real chance because they never got a proper chance in the first place.”

Schauer recognized the pattern of recidivism that plagues incarcerated individuals, but said that participating in these programs and reframing that outlook, helps to break that cycle by giving them access to better training and better jobs upon reentry into society.

There have been several interruptions to the program over the past few years because of COVID-19 protocols being implemented in the facility and the college, Briars said

Briars said it is common for individuals in the program to be transferred or released from custody before completion. In these cases, they can continue and finish the program at the new facility or with a certified instructor upon release.

Gutman said that one of the biggest differences between teaching young people versus adults was that, surprisingly, the adults who come back to school are often more motivated.

“They want to be there, they choose to be there,” he said, “they see the value of a high school diploma, whether it’s to tell the grandkids about it or to help get a raise at their job.”

Gutman has no plans to stop educating. He said that he hopes to start coaching golf again, in addition to his classes at Waubonsee and the jails.