A Blue Mountain Community College GED instructor at Two Rivers Correctional Institution (TRCI) in Umatilla has been named the 2018 Oregon GED Educator of the Year.
Dulcie Hays, a 15-year employee for BMCC, was honored Oct. 18 by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission at the Oregon GED Summit in Tigard.
Hays has been a full-time GED instructor at TRCI since 2012, and prior to that worked as an adviser and tester for BMCC at TRCI. BMCC facilitates the educational programming at TRCI, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton and Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City.
“I really care about my students both in and out of prison, so getting this award recognizes the value of their accomplishments,” said Hays. “The first thing I did after I sat down was text a few of my recent graduates from BMCC’s GED Pass program to say thank you. I have the greatest job, and they actually gave me an award for it. I am a truly fortunate woman.”
Only one GED educator is selected each year for this prestigious award.
“Dulcie has excellent teaching skills and has been instrumental in working a variety of different learning circles whose focus was to improve the skills of our teaching staff,” said John Thomas, Associate Vice President for Corrections Education at BMCC. “Dulcie cares for her students and works hard to provide them with a wonderful learning environment. She sets the example for all educators to emulate. We are very fortunate to have such an outstanding educator as part of our staff.”
About 300 inmate students participate in the GED program each year at TRCI. Since BMCC was awarded the contract by the Oregon Department of Corrections for educational programming at the three eastern Oregon prisons in 1985, around 6,000 inmates between the three prisons have earned a GED. Last January, BMCC’s corrections education program was named the top in the state by the DOC, and one of the top five in the country.
