Workshop Descriptions & Time Slots

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Session 1:  10:45 – 12:00pm

Reentry Community Building through Higher Education Inside and Outside of Prison

Formerly incarcerated students and the founder of Tufts University’s Prison Education Program and Educational Reentry Network Program, MyTERN, will discuss the value of restorative community building practices that begin behind the wall and continue for people once they are home. The panel will include a discussion of specific employment support, restorative justice opportunities, public educator roles, programmatic networking opportunities, and ways that students themselves become the greatest sources of reentry support for one another and for their peers behind the wall. These students will share the qualities and structures of a unique model that provides reentry support not as an addition to but as part of the educational experience.

Furthering Programmatic Outcomes through Secure Technology

Corrections is going through a fundamental transformation from warehousing people to educational and rehabilitative institutions. Moving away from the one room schoolhouse model to leveraging technology and staff to provide pathways to sustainable careers post-release. Using a resident’s lived experience, interests, where they are on their educational journey allows individualized pathways to employment.

95% of all incarcerated individuals will be returning home – by having a career pathway and employer engagement prior to release gives each returning citizen a path to success – ultimately reducing the recidivism rate in your area.

Journey to Success with Evidence-Based Reading Instruction!

In this session, using activities from various levels of the New Readers Press reading series Journey to Success, experience first-hand how Evidence-Based Reading Instruction (EBRI) can increase engagement and yield higher reading achievement for your students.

School of Re-entry: Incarceration is an Opportunity for Re-creation

Created in 2016 by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, the School of Reentry, located within the MA Department of Correction’s Boston Pre-Release Center allows individuals to spend the last 12-18 months of incarceration immersed in developing themselves as learners while fostering a growth mindset designed to create a culture shift that ultimately affects positive change for themselves, their families and their community.

Students enrolled at the school participate in educational (secondary and post-secondary), vocational, career exploration, job preparation and mindfulness classes 25 hours per week. Students live in an attached, but separate housing unit with a day room that mimics a college educational environment equipped with 1:1 computer carrels with access to online educational tools and resources.

The School of Reentry has pioneered and expanded partnerships with local colleges and universities to provide inside-outside programming (virtually and in-person) that offers a transformational learning opportunity for School of Reentry and college campus students. During this session, we will explore lessons learned in the process of designing the School of Reentry, as well as key partnerships crucial to making this a successful program. We will discuss the three-pronged approach to programming and its impact on student advancement. This session will also discuss current approaches to data collection and program analytics, as well as program evaluation techniques being explored.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from school staff, graduates of the program and program partners; so please bring your questions and curiosity.

 What are the connections between Rock & Roll, Fast Food and Learning? 

An incarcerated learner once said, “I do not have a problem with education. My problem is that education taught me what to think and not how to think”. This workshop challenges the traditional “banking model of education” where teachers are the depositors of information that students must hold as absolute (Freire, P., 197). Participants will engage in an exploration of how design with adult education models, integrating arts, can be transformational tools that build critical thinking skills, inspiration, hope, and equity that lead to academic and societal elevation.

Session 2:  1:15 – 2:30PM

Community High School of Vermont: Developing and Refining a Secondary School in a Correctional Setting

An exploration of the history, development, and impact of the Community High School of Vermont (CHSVT), from its origins in the late 1980s to the present day.  The workshop will detail lessons learned, successes and failures, and plans for the future in an ever-changing correctional environment.

Crafting Futures:  Immersive Experiences are the Modern Apprenticeship  (CANCELLED)

Join us for a session which delves into modern skilled trades education. The session will explore practical, effective, and cost-efficient methods to harness immersive experiences. The focal point of the session will be how to incorporate AI and XR into your learning environments. Drawing from over 20 years of experience and current research, this session will share proven best practices and practical outcomes in skills training education to create an effective skills-oriented apprenticeship. Leave empowered to implement immersive skills training solutions in your own programs and have a meaningful impact on reentry career options.

Mathematics Across Cultures: A Global Exploration of Perspectives and Practices

Participants will delve into diverse ways mathematics is perceived and applied across different cultures.  Through an exploration of historical contributions, teaching styles and problem-solving traditions, participants will gain an understanding of some varying cultural perspectives on mathematics.  The lesson not only highlights the significance of cultural influences on mathematical thinking but also promote an appreciation for the interconnectedness of mathematics.  Engaging activities will encourage participants to reflect and discuss effective practices of mathematics through culture.  Ultimately, this lesson will provide an inclusive appreciation for the diverse ways in which mathematics is a factor of our cultures. 

An Innovative Digital Reading Intervention to Support Incarcerated Dyslexic, Struggling, and ELL Readers: Providing a Critical Bridge from Adult Basic Education to the GED

One of the most intractable challenges in Prison Education is addressing the needs of adults with reading disabilities, including dyslexia.  It is estimated that nearly 50% of adult inmates have a reading disability.  Research shows that up to 70% of adult inmates are reading at the 4th  grade level or below, but there continues to be an expectation, now codified by The First Step Act (2018), that prisons provide a comprehensive dyslexia assessment to all inmates and take steps to move incarcerated adults towards completion of a high school equivalency diploma (e.g., GED, HiSET). 

This session has three goals: (1) to describe an easy-to use and innovative digitally mediated reading intervention that was designed for adult struggling readers, (2) to examine the results of two adult prison studies with both men and women who used the reading intervention, including student satisfaction data, and (3) to describe a possible curriculum sequence that moves adults along a path towards GED completion from Adult Basic Education (4th - 8th grade) to Adult Secondary education (9th – 12th).

“Hope, Drive, and the Realization that I Could Do This”: Tutoring as a Tool to Support the Academic Achievement of Incarcerated Youth Beyond Books.

Classrooms of incarcerated students often include individuals of different ages and at different levels, many of whom have had negative educational experiences. These students especially benefit from individualized pedagogical interventions, such as tutoring. In this panel, the Petey Greene Program and the Collaborative for Educational Services will share best practices and lessons learned drawing from their multi-decade experience offering educational programs for learners impacted by the criminal legal system, with a focus on tutoring programs for youth and young adults in Massachusetts. Tutoring is essential to support academic achievement, and its impact goes far beyond subject-specific skills and knowledge gains. As one of our students shared, through tutoring she gained “Hope, drive, and the realization that I could do this”. From the hundreds of system-impacted students we have served in the state, we know what they value most about our programming is the supportive human interaction our tutors provide. A tutor believing in and committing to them fosters students’ self-efficacy and helps them succeed.

Session 3:  2:45 – 4:00PM

Myths vs. Facts: The Right Heavy Equipment Simulators for Correctional Vocational Programs

The key to better learning is better teaching.

In the world of heavy equipment simulation, that means having an effective instructional design, along with realistic simulation graphics and physics.

When considering classroom setup options suitable for training learners in correctional facilities, simulators are sometimes either too gamified (and ineffective), or too mechanically complex (and costly).

This workshop examines North America’s most successful heavy equipment simulator implementations in correctional vocational programs, to identify what they have in common, including the need for security in the classroom and the alignment of training simulation with recognized credentials.

Industry training trends and current research will be reviewed to help debunk popular myths about simulator-based skills development - the results may surprise you.

What Do You See: Addressing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion through Art 

The implications of the question asked in the title is one that changes dramatically based on who is speaking. From a teacher’s perspective, I can ask my students, “What do you see in this piece that can help you make sense of it?” And, I would expect a number of different answers depending on the background and experiences of my students. From the perspective, though, of the incarcerated individual, the question transforms completely in its intent. “What do you see?” becomes “What do you see when you look at me?” Or, “Who do you see in front of you?” In this workshop, the focus will be on methods of acknowledging the diverse backgrounds of the populations we serve through looking at and thinking about art in cultural and personal contexts.

Meaningful Sentences? A Podcast for Incarcerated Students and their Teachers

Is our educational programming in corrections meaningful to our students lives and futures? How can we make our teaching even more relevant and address social, emotional, academic and ethical needs? In this session, Roberta will play clips and discuss interviews from her podcast “Meaningful Sentences?”  She hopes that by listening to teachers and incarcerated students talk about the projects taking place at various institutions in Canada and the US, correctional educators will be inspired to adopt or try beneficial activities as well as share their ideas for best practices.

The Social Discipline Window in Corrections Education

This workshop will give a brief overview of the social discipline window tool.  Participants will unpack the ways in which this tool can be effectively applied to correctional education including classroom settings, counseling, and leadership. 

Providing Equitable Access to Reference Content for Incarcerated Students at All Levels: Best Practices from EBSCO’s Correctional Ed Platform

EBSCO’s Correctional Ed application provides millions of curated articles that can be integrated with on-premise Learning Management Systems to enhance course content. Based on the EBSCO host application that is used in over 90% of colleges and universities today, Correctional Ed accommodates the requirements of the incarcerated student while still providing an equitable online reference experience when compared non-incarcerated learning environment. Correctional Ed is currently in use at more than 100 facilities nationwide.

In this session participants can:

§  learn best practices for incorporating reference articles into course content,

§  see examples of how Correctional Ed content is integrated into an on-site LMS

§  become familiar with the features that accommodate incarcerated user, including a review and approval module and full text content access.

 Thursday, September 26, 2024

Session 4:  11:15 – 12:30PM

A Song in an Hour with OpporTUNEity Music Connections

In OpporTUNEity, we aim to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. One of our primary means of doing so is through collaborative music and songwriting courses with children from under-resourced communities and incarcerated adults. Come experience what we offer through a hands-on workshop that will end with the performance of a song you help to create!

Leveraging Digital Tools for Expanding Correctional Programming with Edovo

In this interactive session, we will delve into the innovative realm of digital solutions, focusing on the versatile application known as Edovo and its transformative impact on correctional settings. Throughout the workshop, participants will explore practical strategies for seamlessly integrating digital solutions into diverse correctional environments. From leveraging Edovo's dynamic features to creating tailored content, attendees will gain invaluable insights into maximizing the reach and effectiveness of programming initiatives. Drawing from real-world examples, we'll showcase alongside Hampshire County Jail how forward-thinking correctional agencies have successfully implemented Edovo to administer programs with tangible benefits, including impacts on sentencing and job certification.

Supporting Successful Education and Employment for Individuals Experiencing Incarceration through Rehabilitation Counseling Services

Individuals with disabilities make up a significant portion of the correctional population and face additional barriers to education and employment post-incarceration, thus increasing the likelihood that individuals will recidivate upon release. Rehabilitation counseling is a service that is uniquely positioned to address these barriers and the recidivism cycle. Several services can be provided during incarceration, such as career/education exploration, resume writing, interviewing skills, navigating CORI’s (MA), accommodation planning, and financial support (just to name a few). This presentation will provide information on how rehabilitation counselors can serve as important partners in the facilitation of career and education programming within correctional facilities.

GED Testing Program: What Correctional Educators Need to Know

This session will provide correctional educators, and others, with a broad base of knowledge about the GED testing program in order to help them in preparing their students to pass the GED® test and earn their credential. The session will cover an overview of the GED test, highlight important educator and student resources as well as our GED Flash preparation product, which has proven efficacy in helping students succeed on the GED test. In addition, we will look at relevant GED test data for correctional testers and spend some time reviewing how correctional facilities get set-up to deliver GED testing. 

The Expert of Your Own Material: A Workshop in Using Creative Writing Exercises to Enhance Student Engagement in the Classroom

Incarcerated students have often had adverse educational experiences in the past that make them feel vulnerable in the classroom. Creative writing pedagogy can encourage students to engage with course material by starting with what they already know. The shared foundation of memory, self-knowledge, and cultural connection can help to alleviate anxiety when students begin coursework during incarceration. In this workshop, we will demonstrate creative writing exercises that draw on students’ lived experience as a gateway to a range of subject matter. Participants will practice these exercises and then discuss and explore their potential efficacy in their own coursework and across a variety of disciplines.

Session 5:  1:45 – 3:00PM

Leveraging Lived Experience to Promote Successful Reentry: A Massachusetts Credible Messenger Program

Utilizing a shared lived experience with restorative and transformative mentoring practices the Credible Messenger Program seeks to reach the most at-risk/high need individuals releasing from state correctional facilities.  This unique mentoring initiative utilizes the experience of returning citizens to help individuals involved with the justice system successfully navigate the transition back into the community. 

This session will explore lessons learned in the process of designing the Credible Messenger Program in Massachusetts as well as key partnerships crucial to making this a successful program.  Hear directly from the Credible Messengers about their journey back behind the wall and what this work has means to them. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage directly with the Credible Messengers; so please bring your questions and curiosity.  This session will also discuss current approaches to data collection and program analytics, as well as program evaluation techniques being explored.

The Power of Directed Study: Collaborative Learning Inside the Prison and Outside the Classroom

Directed studies are an academic arrangement where a student works one-on-one with a faculty member to pursue a topic of interest outside of a regular classroom setting. The student and instructor work collaboratively to engage in self-directed research, reflection, and reading. In this workshop the presenter will share her experiences working with incarcerated students in these in-depth, joint projects.

Plymouth House of Corrections Panel Discussion

The four-person panel will consist of former incarcerated individuals, who have proven that with the focus and determination of creating a better life for themselves and their families through hard work and strong community partnerships, it is possible to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle, as well as two of our most valued community partners that have recognized the magnitude of the effect that education and mentorship has on our incarcerated population.  Without these community partnerships there would continue to be a true disconnect between our individuals and those living beyond the walls once they reenter their communities. 

Integrated Education and Training (IET) Programs in Corrections: Purpose, Benefits, Strategies, and Federal Resources

This session will provide participants an opportunity to learn about Integrated Education and Training (IET), an evidence-based strategy that accelerates learning for students who are incarcerated by using a workforce training area to contextualize adult education and workforce preparation. IETs also can help incarcerated students prepare for and gain access to Pell-eligible postsecondary education programs. The session will draw from lessons learned from the U.S. Department of Education’s IET in Corrections project.

Participants will learn about IET fundamentals, explore common goals for IET programs in corrections, and discuss different ways IET programs can be delivered. They will also engage in a series of activities that will teach them how to develop a key component of IET programs—integrated learning objectives—and practice identifying contextualized activities that align with those objectives. The session will close with a review of available U.S. Department of Education resources that can help participants with developing and implementing IET programs.

Bridging the Gap in Education from Reentry to Recidivism

This workshop outlines the experiences of the Rhode Island-based Reentry Campus Program, whose work has fast-tracked incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students into affordable college degrees using Prior Learning Assessments (PLA) as a key tool.

One effective way to aid incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in earning a college degree is through prior learning assessments. PLAs assess students’ life experiences, job and training history, and prior learning, in order to earn college credit. Earning PLA credit typically involves taking a formal test, such as the DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST). Initially designed for military personnel pursuing college degrees, DSST exams are now available to anyone who wants to save time and money on their education by earning credit through examinations.

In this proposed presentation, the Reentry Campus Program (RCP) will discuss why and how it became the only online DSST testing center in the United States, as well as how it positioned itself as an intermediary between colleges and prisons, including the ability to offer DSST exams inside all five Rhode Island Department of Corrections facilities. We will explain how our work aims to bridge the gap between students working toward higher education while incarcerated and when returning home. Moreover, RCP students can earn up to a year's worth of free college using DSSTs at any point in their academic career, allowing them to use financial resources such as Pell Grants more strategically.

The organization will also discuss how these exams are powerful tools for closing the equity gap in higher education, considering incarceration disproportionately impacts communities of color. Ultimately, RCP aims to open up opportunities for justice-impacted individuals returning home by reducing the cost of acquiring a college degree, speeding up the process, and boosting student confidence to know that learning also happens beyond a traditional classroom. “The PLA Boost” research suggests that “PLA can be an important tool for helping more adult students complete credentials—whether associate, bachelor’s, or certificates—by leveraging what they already know from work and life experiences.

Session 6:  3:15 – 4:30PM

Beyond Books: Bringing a Trove of Educational Content Behind the Wall in a Safe and Secure Way

The audience will be engaged in a panel discussion along with the opportunity for hands-on use of the first Digital Experience Platform (DXP) for corrections education, Nucleos Achieve. iT1, along with their partners Coursera, Zoom, and Nucleos will discuss how your organization can go beyond books and securely deliver digital content to a diverse and deserving audience. 

Resources for Job Training and Funding, and Changing Your Paradigm Way of Thinking To Find Success In One's Life Regardless of Your Shortcomings

The presentation will allow attendees to examine ways corrections can support job training and trade programs in their facilities and by using area colleges for resources both within and outside of the prison facilities.   How to connect our students with job placement coaches within prison shall also be explored.  Resources and funding for job training programs upon their release will also be presented.  The benefits of a Reentry Job Fair, and bringing it inside the walls of corrections will also be discussed.  In addition, attendees will be presented with examining how one needs to accentuate and use his or her skills to overcome the barriers he or she may have to become successful in life.  

A copy of the presentation presented will be given to the attendees.  

What in the World is Bildung? Exploring the Intersection of Connection and Accomplishment in Prison Programs 

Bildung is a little-known 18th century concept that pre-dates Transformative Learning theory. Both acknowledge that knowledge of self as an individual along with understanding of one’s connections with others are essential to personal growth and change. This workshop will explore the important place that Transformative Learning theory and bildung have in prison programming.       

Mental Health Matters: Evidence-based Tools to Increase Motivation, Retention, and Performance in the Classroom

Shining Light is the only professional collaborator of the VIA Institute on Character that applies their peer-reviewed framework of character strengths in US prisons. Since 2020, thousands of individuals have engaged in Shining Light’s programming through live video conference courses, an interactive magazine, and customized digital content on tablet platforms like Edovo - all of which provide character & creative arts interventions that improve mental health, leading to stronger communities and lower recidivism. This interactive workshop explores the crucial link between mental health and educational success, with a look at specific evidence-based tools from the field of positive psychology that are foundational to the innovative programs of Shining Light. Participants will be introduced to the VIA Character Strengths framework - an effective complement to traditional CBT or RNR models - which emphasizes the identification and application of positive traits to improve prosocial engagement, resilience, and overall well-being. Participants will have a chance to engage with Character Strengths themselves before delving into Shining Light’s interactive magazine, “The Loop,” to learn how the pages are designed to engage incarcerated readers, potentially enriching the impact of classroom instruction in a variety of ways.

C-Tech: Using Industry Driven Certifications to Improve Career Pathways for Returning Citizens

Discover how C-Tech has successfully certified hundreds of thousands of students in Broadband Telecommunications and 5G infrastructure related careers and why over 40 state correctional education agencies have utilized C-Tech’s hands-on all-inclusive solutions to prepare both youth & adults for the workforce.  C-Tech programs have multiple entry and exit points, addressing the needs of all students that lead to industry-driven certifications proven to give returning citizens the knowledge and practical skill sets required to land a career in the telecommunications Infrastructure job market. Learn the process that has led to a 50% reduction in recidivism and over 75% career placement nationwide.