Freedom is largely taken for granted until it’s taken away.
Freedom is largely taken for granted until it’s taken away.
Hollister resident and former San Benito High School teacher Frank Ledesma learned that the hard way about six years ago when his freedom was lost.
After a tumultuous marriage, Ledesma went through a bad divorce in 1998 and during that time was charged and pleaded guilty to spousal abuse.
He spent five weeks in the San Benito County Jail for hitting his ex-wife after years of built-up anger, he said.
“It was complicated, and I see now a lot of the mistakes I did,” he said. “I should have moved on. I should have went to counseling and taken care of myself.”
Two years ago Ledesma began the best counseling program he could have asked for.
He started going back to jail twice a week to work with inmates on English language skills and those who wanted to obtain their General Education Development (GED) diploma.
He began counseling people who were sitting in the same place he had years before, and at the same time, counseling himself in the process.
“When something happens in your life you have to learn from it,” he said. “I was looking for the Lord before I went in and I really found him in there. I told myself, one of these days I’m going to come back and do something for the community – there was a need.”
Many years before his problems with the law, Ledesma obtained a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University in criminology and a master’s and teaching credential from Stanford University.”I happened to fall into teaching and I happened to be good at it,” he said. “Teaching was everything to me.”
For about 10 years, he taught in and around San Jose before taking a position at San Benito High in 1978.
Almost two decades later, the bottom started to fall out and his life took an unexpected change with the abuse conviction.
While he was incarcerated, several of the officers working at the jail were former students of his from the high school.
“They basically took care of me (inside),” he said.
One of those officers was Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Turturici, who asked Ledesma to initiate the program several years later.
Ledesma’s incarceration lends credence to his teaching, Turturici said.
“They know his story is real and they take it more to heart,” he said. “They know he had a bad break and instead of mulling about it he went out and made something positive out of it.”
When he was released from jail, Ledesma was without a career or a family; his three adult daughters alienated themselves from him during and after the ordeal.
For two years, Ledesma, who had been a qualified teacher with an impressive resume of higher education, bagged groceries at Nob Hill because he was unable to land another teaching position with a felony on his record.
“I was very humbled,” he said. “But I was going to counseling once a week and I surrounded myself with the right people.”
One of those people was his current wife, Luise, who is a teacher at the high school. They had been friends during his tenure at San Benito, and her support and friendship during his hard times blossomed into a marriage.
Between academic lessons, Ledesma counsels inmates, both male and female.
He sees between 10 and 15 inmates a week, and during the sessions, encourages them to lean on something positive for guidance inside and when they get released – whether it be religion, family or friends.
Putting his time and energy back into a place that kept his mind and body captive has helped Ledesma to move on and to forgive.
“It’s the walk the Lord has me walking right now. I was doing a lot of good at the high school, but I was doing it more for myself and not for Him,” he said. “It isn’t about what I want to do. It’s what the Lord wants me to do.”
He concedes many of the inmates only attend his classes because it’s a break from the monotony of their cells.
So far only one inmate has received his GED because of Ledesma’s program, but it doesn’t stop him for going back week after week, month after month.
“A lot of them come just because they want to do something, but I’m serving them and it helps them do their time,” he said. “Knowledge is knowledge. The more knowledge they can learn, the better it’s going to be for them once they get out.”
One of the hardest things he deals with is watching his students work hard and plan a new life while inside under his guidance, only to fail when they get out.
“It’s very depressing – to see people coming and going through that system,” he said. “Sometimes I get frustrated, but I don’t get down on them. I keep telling them, ‘you’ve got to have a plan…. You need to think about your way of life.'”
Ledesma’s contract is renewed annually, but he would like to continue teaching at the jail for as long as he can, he said.
His position at the jail nets him a modest salary, but it’s not about the money.
It’s for something more important – his own peace of mind.
“Even if I can’t teach at the high school anymore, I can help someone,” he said. “The Lord has a path for each one of us, even if it just means being a better parent and trying to do the right thing.”
Erin Musgrave can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 336 or at
