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GED Teacher Shortage for Incarcerated Students is a Social Crime

Apr 3, 2013 No Comments

Students that earn their General Education Development diplomas while incarcerated have a lower rate of reoffending because they check out of their cell with a tool that insures economical productivity. Inmates that return to society with a diploma in hand are more likely to be hired even with a criminal record history.

Earning a GED while incarcerated at Kent County, Grand Rapids MI is a viable option for rehabilitating inmates in a short amount of time because their stay is limited.

A GED diploma is the magical entry to the working world because it noticeably demonstrates proof an individual is willing to change. The recidivism rate is dramatically lowered for ex inmates when they have the capacity to care for themselves and their families.

The downside of this seemingly easy solution for a complicated problem is there is a shortage of GED teachers.

Kent County, Grand Rapids, MI Community Corrections has experienced the impact of a scarcity of GED instructors with only one part time teacher, one tutor, and two youth advocates work with incarcerated students to help them earn their GED. This is a crime because obtaining a diploma for inmates increases their chances of a successful future in the outside world. A GED diploma is the key to employment and avoiding a life of crime.

Infusing Passion Into the Prison Classroom

Apr 2, 2013 No Comments

By Christopher Zoukis

When I was in high school, my football coach was also my world geography teacher. Both in the classroom and on the field he would find ways to motivate us to want to do more, to be more than even we thought we could.

On the field, he’d yell, “Zook, I need a field goal” or “Zook, it’s time for a first down.” (I was both a kicker and a running back.) When he would be yelling, he would be making me a part of whatever was going on. He would be encouraging me. He would be affirming my value. And in the classroom, while he wouldn’t yell at any of us (perhaps holler is a better word than yell), he would address us individually and collectively. He would ensure that all of his world geography students felt a part of the classroom and the experience. To him, the time on the field wasn’t about football and the time in the classroom wasn’t about our world geography text, it was about us: his students and players. This interest in us as individuals fermented itself as a passion within ourselves.

Coach’s method of teaching and coaching us was effective. It connected each of his students and players to the situation and made them feel as though they were responsible for the events which were to come. By calling on us in the classroom, he showed that he cared and valued our opinions. By taking the time to explain a football technique prior to its implementation, he implied the value of our skills and our worth of his time.

The Right to Write: Publishing From Prison

Mar 31, 2013 No Comments

Since the formation of our nation, Americans have enjoyed a right to Free Speech that is unrivaled among modern nations. The right has long survived incarceration as well, from the 1800s Henry David Thoreau’s “On Civil Disobedience” to the Letters from Birmingham Jail, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of

In Search of Funding for Post-Secondary Prison Programs — FPI Scholarships

Mar 29, 2013 No Comments

By George Hook

Again, I did not want to blow the whistle. I just wanted to search for funding available to federal prisoners for post-secondary education courses. While searching for post-secondary programs I also came upon this statement made by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in Bridges to Opportunity–Federal Adult Education Programs For the 21st Century Report to the President on Executive Order 13445, U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education, dated July 2008 as the only example of funding, at p.18:

“Program—Nationwide. Federal Prison Industries (FPI) is a self-sustaining government corporation that awards scholarships for postsecondary study to selected, qualified inmates working in FPI factories. FPI allocates a portion of revenues generated from the sale of its products and services to federal agencies for the FPI scholarship program. Eligible inmates working at prison factories can take postsecondary or occupational training courses with accredited colleges, universities or technical schools. Federal inmates are not eligible to receive Pell grants to fund postsecondary studies. The FPI scholarship program allows federal inmates the opportunity to take postsecondary or occupational training courses in order to acquire skills, degrees, or certificates that will enhance their post-release employability.

In Search of Post-Secondary Prison Programs — Ray Brook

Mar 27, 2013 No Comments

By George Hook

I did not want to blow the whistle. I just wanted to search for available post-secondary prison programs. I thought the best place to start was with any statement in that regard made by the Bureau of Prisons’ overseer, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). What I found was this statement from Bridges to Opportunity–Federal Adult Education Programs For the 21st Century Report to the President on Executive Order 13445, U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education, dated July 2008 at p.18:

“Federal Prison Inmate Scholarship U.S. Department of Justice, Inmate Paid Postsecondary U.S. Department of Justice Education Program—Ray Brook, N.Y. The purpose of the Inmate Paid Postsecondary Education Program is to provide inmates incarcerated at the Ray Brook Federal Correctional Institution opportunities to enroll in postsecondary education programs and receive college credits from the North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, N.Y [3 miles away]. The program serves approximately, 50–60 federal inmates housed at the federal correctional institution. Federal inmates are not eligible to receive Pell Grants to fund postsecondary studies. The Education Department at the Ray Brook Federal Correctional Institution has established a partnership with the local community college to offer an on-site college program. Professors provide instruction to the inmate in the prison setting. Inmate students receive community college credits that are transferable to the State University of New York. Inmates pay for the costs of tuition and books from personal funds. The program enhances educational program options for inmates, allowing them to pursue a college degree without using federally appropriated funds.”

Evaluating Applicants for Inmate Instructor Positions

Mar 26, 2013 No Comments

By Christopher Zoukis

Effectively evaluating inmates who are interested in becoming classroom tutors or instructors is a challenging — but — essential task. This is because the health of your very classroom depends on finding the right fit, an inmate who is experienced enough to teach the subject at hand, motivated enough to continue putting in the time and effort day after day, and passionate enough to be patient with incarcerated students who might not be very accessible, friendly, or open to learning. You’re looking for a needle in a haystack. But with several concepts in mind and a roadmap in hand, this process can turn from a tumultuous experience to one of certainty and clarity.

What follows is that roadmap. These are some of the components you should consider when evaluating applicants for inmate instructor positions.

Prior Experience: In my mind, prior experience is the top selection criteria. Teaching in the prison context is not an easy task, and inmate learners are not always the most willing of students. As such, an experienced hand is usually best. If an inmate has had a positive prior teaching experience in the correctional setting, this person brings those prior skills with them to the table. Likewise, those who have taught outside of prison are a tremendous resource since most people don’t go into the teaching profession for the money. As such, they likely had, and might still possess, a passion for teaching. This can only be a plus for your classroom.

Prison Education Beyond GED and ESL — Advanced Occupational Training

Mar 25, 2013 No Comments

By George Hook

The BOP Central Office Division of Industries, Education, and Vocational Training has published an Occupational Training Programs Directory which sets forth its program offerings to federal prisoners in the Advanced Occupational Training category. The stated purpose of these programs is to afford prisoners interested in furthering their employability upon release the opportunity to do so by enrolling in the various vocational courses offered. Included are exploratory, marketable skill, and apprenticeship level courses. According to that Directory, 81 more or less distinct courses in the Advanced Occupational Training category are offered. These Advanced Occupational Training courses range in duration from two days to 48 months. The typical duration is 12 months.

The courses offered in the Advanced Occupational Training category are Accounting Operations, Administrative Assistant, Advanced Computer Applications, Advanced Diesel Engine Repair, Alcohol Substance Abuse Studies, Animal Husbandry, Aquaculture, Automotive Diagnostics Repair, AutoCAD, Automated Computer Aided Design and Drafting, Basic Baking, Basic Computer Applications, Basic Computer Repair and Refurbishing, Basic Computer Skills, Basic Custodial Maintenance, Basic Diesel Engine Repair, Bookkeeping and Clerical Studies, Business Foundations, Building Maintenance—Electrical, Business Management and Law, Business Supervision and Management, Building Trades, Business Accounting, Automotive Service, Bookbinding, Business Administration, Business and Information Processing, Business Leadership, Business Technology, Canine Trainer, Computer Applications, Computer Business Education, Commercial Drivers License, Computerized Engraving, Computer Refurbishing—Hardware, Computer Refurbishing—Software, Construction Technology, Consumer Electronic Repair, Copy Repair, Cosmetology,

Prison Education Beyond GED and ESL — Overview

Mar 22, 2013 No Comments

By George Hook

The BOP Central Office Division of Industries, Education, and Vocational Training is ultimately responsible for education and vocational training programs within the Bureau of Prisons, but each Federal prison has its own education department providing educational activities to federal prisoners. The Division manages Adult Continuing Education (ACE) activities, which are formal instructional classes designed to increase prisoners’ general knowledge in a wide variety of subjects, such as writing and math, which is part of the overall budget and does not have its own distinct funding stream. Correctional institutions receive funds for educational programs through the regional BOP offices.

The BOP has published an Occupational Training Programs Directory. The Introduction to the Directory states that the Directory is updated annually. However, the date on the cover of the only Directory available currently is September, 2006. The Directory of that date lists occupational training and apprenticeship programs offered to prisoners in all the federal facilities.

Location, Location, Location

Mar 21, 2013 No Comments

By George Hook

Unlike in the States’ prison systems where a prisoner is confined to a single State and the choice of where to “do time” is limited to the few facilities in that State, in the federal system a prisoner may wind up in almost any of the federal prison facilities in any of the 40 States where such facilities are located. Even though the mindset and function of the Designation and Sentence Computation Center (“DSCC”), located in Grand Prairie, Texas, which is responsible for initial designations is far from those of a travel agency, its mission is to make the best placement of prisoners possible, given all the different factors at play.

Security level is the most determinative. That limits where an inmate may go based on the nature of offense, whether violent or not, sentence time, affiliations, target characteristics, and, unfortunately these days, location overcrowding. These factors are beyond the control of the prisoner. But the prisoner can affect the DSCC’s decision by providing input as to such matters as DSCC would not otherwise be aware. The DSCC will be aware of family ties and try to accommodate family visitations so that won’t be necessary for the prisoner to address unless unusual circumstances necessitate an accommodation other than the obvious.

U.S. Prisons Don’t Fund Education, and Everybody Pays a Price

Mar 20, 2013 No Comments

By Matthew Fleischer – Take Part Xavier McElrath-Bey was locked up as an accomplice to murder before his 14th birthday. A participant in a gang murder, McElrath-Bey spent 13 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for his crime between 1989 and 2002. Though many young people in similar circumstances would be written off as

News

GED Teacher Shortage for Incarcerated Students is a Social Crime

Infusing Passion Into the Prison Classroom

The Right to Write: Publishing From Prison

In Search of Funding for Post-Secondary Prison Programs — FPI Scholarships

In Search of Post-Secondary Prison Programs — Ray Brook

Evaluating Applicants for Inmate Instructor Positions

Prison Education Beyond GED and ESL — Advanced Occupational Training

Prison Education Beyond GED and ESL — Overview

Location, Location, Location

U.S. Prisons Don’t Fund Education, and Everybody Pays a Price

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