Summary, Questions 11,12: Distance Learning, Connecting Prisoners to Community Programs before Release & Closing Remarks

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Question 11. Are there distance/correspondence courses for college credit? Eric Appleton
Hi everyone, The Fortune Society corresponds with inmates all over the country. Many receive our newsletter, the Fortune News, free of charge. I received the following letter from an inmate in Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York: "Would you send me all the information about what you have to offer? I am in the middle of studying a college course on health. A source here brought to my attention that you have some sort of college courses.
Please send me all the information on college courses you deal with. Is it free? And/or connect me with other places who deal with a larger variety of college courses. Thank you." Unfortunately, the Fortune Society doesn't have college courses and I don't have any information to share. Does anyone have advice for this inmate? How can inmates find college opportunities? How can people on the outside help inmates find resources?

John Linton Hi Eric, We're challenged to respond to a lot of inmate mail here also. There are a number of new distance learning initiatives out there -- I'm frankly having trouble keeping up with them -- but one that has been around for a while and seems to be solid is a distance learning program at the Ohio University called "College Program for the Incarcerated." http://www.ohiou.edu/adultlearning/incarc.htm (There is an a mailing address at this link where persons can send for an information packet.) The program is oriented toward prisons -- does not require phone or internet access. The only issue I've heard of with this program is the cost. Few incarcerated persons have the financial resources to afford this program -- but some do.

Christine Christopherson Christine.Christopherson@state.sd.us There are a few universities that still offer traditional paper/pencil correspondence courses that I recommend to the inmates in my facility. I actually wrote my Master's paper last summer on this very topic. There are not many options, and the OHIO program is expensive if the inmates does not have a funding source.

The University of Central Arkansas at Conway, AR offers many that are only $80 per credit hour. This is the least expensive that I have been able to find and have had about 4 inmates take courses over the summer this year from this institution. Good luck!

Question 12. How prevalent are programs such as the ORP (see below)? Do they reduce recidivism? What are the key ingredients of success? -- David Rosen --
This is a question for our guests, and for anyone in this discussion who may work with a prisoner community re-entry program: In "Locked Up and Locked Out" a community re-entry program in Massachusetts is described as follows: "Re-entry projects around the country have been similar, or at least somewhat similar, to the Offender Re-entry Program (ORP) in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The lead educational agency is Boston’s Bunker Hill Community College. The program is detailed in a case study found in a report of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).37 ORP provides soon-to-be-released inmates with an intensive 6-hour-a-day course of study over a six-week period. After release, the inmates continue to receive support from caseworkers and mentors for a minimum of six months — and many choose to continue beyond this six-month period. Drawing on different community resources and agencies, the program includes:
• education during the final six weeks of prison provided by Bunker Hill Community College
• job assistance at the one-stop career center called Workplace
• case management provided by Community Resources for Justice
• mentoring support from the faith-based Ella J. Baker House"

Closing Remarks

Steve Steurer Thank you for hosting the special topics session. I got a late start due to a scheduling problem but have been fascinated by the comments and discussion. Bill Muth and John Linton are two people I respect tremendously for their brilliance and dedication to the field and contributions over the years. It is great to have such wonderful friends and peers.
For those folks whose great comments I have read during the last week thank you very much. We should not end this dialogue today. CEA has a number of listserv discussion groups for topics such as special education and parenting. Please visit our website shown below and check it out. There are lots of other folks out there who need to hear your remarks and who are anxious to talk to you. We are so isolated in our work and the Internet is such a great way to communicate.
Once again, David, I appreciate your help and assistance, and patience with me. Stephen J. Steurer, Ph.D., Executive Director Correctional Education Association, 8182 Lark Brown Road Suite 202 Elkridge, MD 21075 tel: 443-459-3081, fax: 443-459-3088

John Linton David and all, Thanks for inviting me to participate. This has been stimulating, and it was my honor to be selected as an "expert" to serve with Steve Steurer and Bill Muth -- two great people who are accomplished and well respected in this field.

As we have seen in this discussion, there are a lot of experts out there. This is a great vehicle for us to tutor and learn from one another. It has long been my belief that one of the most insidious and destructive enemies faced by correctional educators is simple professional isolation. Any tool that can be used against that foe should be valued. Thanks for your work on this, David.

Steve has not paid me to say this, but I want to add that I've had great opportunities for growth and affirmation through the Correctional Education Association. Many generous and dedicated individuals have lent a hand to help make that organization prosper. While it does have a strong professional staff under Steve Steurer's leadership, it is still in essence a volunteer organization -- and people tend to get out of it what they are willing to invest. So if you have not already done so, check it out! A good starting point is the web site: http://www.ceanational.org/ Time is really short for me just now -- so please forgive me for not offering up a more topical and substantial post in closing. Fortunately, there has been no shortage of expert offerings provided in this forum by a rich variety of individuals doing interesting and important work. Thanks for letting me be part of your conversation. If I may be of service to you, my full contact information follows: John Linton, Correctional Education, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 3E334, Washington, DC 20202-6450, 202-205-7942 (voice), 202-260-7767 (fax)

Bill Muth David, Thank you for hosting this discussion. I feel like we just scratched the surface of this broad subject. If we continue the discussion in other formats (and I hope we do) we may need to narrow the focus a bit.

One last thought concerning comments made by June Crawford (concerning learning disabilities) and Gina Lobaccaro (regarding whole language). For some these phrases conjure up strong feelings either for or against authentic learning (or conversely, for or against, say, explicit phonics instruction). For me (and I’d dare say for most teachers looking to survive and succeed in the classroom) it is pointless to make absolute claims about either approach. The key is: in what context? Does the practitioner have regular contact with the learner over 3 months? 1 year? 5 years? Is the learner motivated to learn? Is there a climate of trust between keeper and kept?

One solution, for me, is what Dorothy Strickland calls “Whole-Part-Whole.” We start a lesson with meaning and purpose, move on to skill instruction, then close with purpose. I like it because it embraces both world views, and suggests a way to go forward. But even this model does not work for everyone! As I have argued elsewhere, it is just as inhumane to ignore the explicit instructional needs of a learner with a severe reading disability as it is to impose phonics on a mistrusting, resisting learner, or on a strong decoder who is interested in developing, say, a rich English vocabulary.

I’ll end here. I echo John Linton and Steve Steurer’s sentiments: It has been a real honor to share the stage with them and with all of the caring, forceful and wise respondents. Thank you David and all! Bill Muth, wrmuth@vcu.edu

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Go back to Corrections_Education#Glossary
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Go back to Summary,_Questions_4_-_Motivation
Go back to Summary,_Questions_5-7:_Curriculum,_Pell_Grants_&_Focus_of_Instruction
Go back to Summary,_Questions_8,9:_Prison-based_Family_Literacy,_Libraries_&_Self-directed_learning
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