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From the streets to programming tweets

By Christopher Zoukis One of the biggest obstacles we face in prison education programs these days, is the outpacing of technology in terms of both course content and equipment. Technological development has occurred at breakneck speed in the last ten years, yet instruction in those areas is largely absent in the bulk of penal institutions.

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The Next Tech Boom Is Taking Place Behind Bars

By Joseph Erbentraut When San Francisco-based venture capitalists Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti walked into San Quentin State Prison in 2010 to speak with a group of inmates that a friend was mentoring, they didn’t know what exactly to expect. But the men behind bars, whom Redlitz described as “the most engaged audience I’ve ever

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Investment Guru Teaches Financial Literacy While Serving Life Sentence

By Editor of Radio WPSU Prison is perhaps the last place anyone would expect to learn about investing and money management. But at San Quentin Prison, Curtis Carroll’s class is a hot item. The 36-year-old has gained a reputation for his stock-picking prowess. He’s even earned the nickname “Wall Street.” Carroll and prison officials have

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San Quentin’s Prison University Gives Inmates Freedom to Learn

San Quentin is home to the Prison University Project, the largest on-site college-in-prison program among California state prisons. Inmates in PUP earn their associate’s degree for free, with volunteer instructors from schools like Stanford and UC Berkeley.

Opponents of higher education in prison, like those who voted down a proposal in New York earlier this year, say it’s wrong to give a taxpayer-funded degree to convicts. Some are fine with providing remedial and vocational education, but draw the line at college, a commodity families sacrifice thousands of dollars to give their children.

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The California Reentry Program

For prisoners finally being released from California prisons, The California Reentry Program is available to assist prisoners facing the outside world and parole. Facing and adhering to parole can be a daunting task for someone who has been incarcerated for any period of times. Job skills training, social skills beyond prison walls, housing, clothing – these are all situations that newly released prisoners must face.

The California Reentry Program began in 2003 when a prisoner being released from San Quentin approached a prison education instructor, asking about financial college aid, college admissions, and various other topics that would help the prisoner successfully renter society and continue his education. It became clear at that time that there were very limited resources for ex-offenders to learn about resources and local opportunities upon release.

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