Tucked into this graduation season was a small ceremony in Brooklyn for about 30 dads. They were honored for completing a 12-week fatherhood program that included parenting skills, anger management techniques and classes on domestic violence prevention — all part of an effort to help these fathers reunite with their children or see them more regularly. 

Marking the completion of the program was an important moment, said Keston Jones, director of the Fathers' Program for the organization SCO Family of Services.

"They've successfully completed 12 weeks which is a monumental occasion for some of them, because some of them have never graduated from anything," Jones said. 

Hence, a ceremony with sandwiches, certificates, and a chance to walk across the stage.  

Most fathers are ordered to participate in the course by a family court judge, or perhaps as part of a probation program.

"At first, I was reluctant to come," said Ryan Lozada. But eventually, he said, the program came to feel like a brotherhood. It was an outlet for men who may not otherwise have a chance to talk about controlling their emotions, about their own family life growing up, or about the discrimination they face as men of color.  

"One of the biggest experiences that happens is for us to call each other out on some of our own, you know, boneheaded decisions," Jones said.

And there's a chance to think about how to better connect with kids.

"Sometimes we forget our children — they experience things too," Lozada said. "You know, anything from bullying in school to just being embarrassed by asking and a girl out to the prom. So we have to really have more patience."

Lozada has four kids with whom he's working to reunite after a child welfare case. He's hoping to have a chance to take them to Six Flags this summer, with tickets obtained through the fathers program. It organizes family events, or finds opportunities for dads to see their kids on supervised visits. 

Carlos Toribio has a son who is nearly 13 and a daughter who is almost 8. He recently started visits with them again after a three-year gap. He says he feels like he's making up for lost time.

"I would like a full week with my kids where they can stay at my place, just so we can interact," he said. 

Toribio, like Lozada, didn't want to attend the program initially. Now, he wishes he could keep going. 

Some of the dads must complete the program in order to see their children for unsupervised visits. For others, it opens the possibility of seeing their kids again at all.

Each dad arrived to the graduation stage with smiles, and had a chance to speak into the mic. Many of them expressed surprise by how much they enjoyed the program, and actually looked forward to it each week.

A couple of them noted they had just attended their kids' high school graduations, and were eager to go home and show off their own certificates. One dad said the program helped him recognize when to walk away from an argument. Another said the program was an exercise in self-evaluation, helping him figure out where he wanted to be in life.

One dad took the certificate out of the envelope, held it up, and said, "This right here is going to help me see my kids."