The Educational Preparedness Program for currently and formerly incarcerated (CFI) students housed at Marquette University’s Center for Urban Research, Teaching and Outreach

By: Darren Wheelock

 

Mass incarceration has garnered wide-spread national attention as the U.S. holds the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of incarceration in the world (National Research Council 2014). Concern with the issue is no longer confined to the academy as mainstream films, books, and television shows have all examined the causes and impacts of incarcerating historically high numbers of people. Wisconsin in particular stands out as it maintains one of the highest rates of Black male incarceration in the United States (Pawasarat and Quinn 2013). Nearly 13 percent, or approximately one in eight, of Black men in Wisconsin are currently incarcerated (12.8%) These trends are even worse in certain Milwaukee neighborhoods, where over half of young Black men can expect to be incarcerated at some point in their life (Jackson 2019). The majority of incarcerated individuals are eventually released to their home communities, many of which surround Marquette’s campus.

Incarceration is most intensely concentrated amongst the poorest and least educated members of American society, a status held disproportionately by people of color. National statistics show that nearly 60 percent of African American men born in the late sixties without a high school diploma experienced incarceration at some point in their lives (Western 2006). The connection between incarceration, racial inequity, and education does not end there. Activists and scholars have also critiqued the school-to-prison pipeline (Petrovic 2019), where students of color are “warehoused” in under-resourced public schools that do little more than prepare them for adult incarceration (Johnson 2016). The data is clear – college education can serve as a protective shield to incarceration. Unfortunately, rates of college attendance and college degrees amongst African Americans have stagnated and, in some cases, fallen over the past several years (National Center of Education Statistics). Perhaps ironically, one of the barriers to education can be disruptive life course events, such as incarceration (Western 2006).

The Educational Preparedness Program (EPP), housed in Marquette’s Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Urban Research, Teaching and Outreach, addresses the problem of undereducation in the Milwaukee area by providing avenues to higher education for currently and formerly incarcerated (CFI) students. The EPP endeavors to demystify the college classroom experience and foster the necessary self-confidence to succeed in higher education. Furthermore, since education can assist individuals who have already been incarcerated in rebuilding their lives and reentering their communities of origin, education can also address the problem of the “revolving prison doors.” The EPP further seeks to build a network of support for CFI students by facilitating partnerships with members of the Marquette Community, local reentry community organizations, and the broader Milwaukee community.

The EPP consists of three programmatic pillars:

 1.  Expand the “blended-class” model that places traditional MU students in class with CFI students.

Central to the EPP are its “blended courses.” These courses bring traditional Marquette students into the classroom with CFI students and brings justice-involved co-facilitators with first-hand carceral knowledge into the classroom as guest speakers and lecturers. These courses are held on Marquette campus and in select Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities. Currently, they span an array of classes in the social sciences and humanities but will eventually include classes from all interested departments and colleges.  

An important rationale for this project is to provide Marquette students with a genuinely transformative educational experience. Student feedback about these classes has been overwhelmingly positive. Comments such as “favorite class at Marquette” were common, but do not reveal the depths of the course’s impact. Students also described the class as “expanding my view of freedom” and “gave me a different and new perspective on incarceration.” One student even remarked that “this course is the future of education, at Marquette and across higher education… Thinking about mass incarceration, the U.S. criminal justice system, Milwaukee, and the incarcerated/formerly incarcerated individuals has dramatically influenced me.”

 2.  Collaborate with MATC to serve CFI students.

The EPP is also working closely with Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and their federally funded Second Chance Pell Grant program, which supports currently incarcerated students to continue their education in prison. The EPP hires Marquette students to work as tutors for these students utilizing distance learning software connecting Marquette campus to select DOC facilities.  

The EPP partnership with MATC also includes building 2-to-4 year transfer pathways for MATC Pell Grant Students to eventually enroll at Marquette in a degree granting program. While this component of the program has yet to be implemented, conversations to work out logistics are on-going between the two institutions.

 3.  Establish “The Hub” of support and services for CFI students.

The CURTO space located at 1618 Wells St. houses the physical location for the hub and EPP office spaces. This space will house computer work station kiosks for tutoring and other educational needs for CFI students.

The following educational support services will be available:

• Tutoring (both virtual and in-person)
• Assistance with financial aid and FAFSA forms
• Assistance with GED preparation
• Assistance with college/university applications
• Other educational support needed

 The EPP director, associate director, and community liaison offices will also be located at the hub. The physical space will have walk-in hours for CFI students to access a range of services and supports necessary for CFI student success. Working in collaboration with community-based reentry organizations across Milwaukee, the hub will also refer CFI students to reentry support services not available at the hub such as housing, healthcare, and employment. This pillar of the EPP has not yet launched, but the EPP Steering Committee is currently reviewing applications to fill the administrative and student worker positions. The EPP is also in the process of outfitting the hub with the needed equipment and supplies to prepare for a spring 2021 launch.

 Thus far, the EPP has secured nearly $800,000 in grant support, including a generous $745,000 grant award from the Andrew T. Mellon Foundation. Marquette will also host a symposium and publish a report highlighting the models, challenges, and best practices of launching a prisoner education program.

There are numerous opportunities for current Marquette students., staff and faculty to get involved. Please email any of the EPP Steering Committee Members:

Dr. Robert Smith – robert.smith@marquette.edu

Dr. Theresa Tobin – theresa.tobin@marquette.edu

Ms. Marisola Xhelili Ciaccio - marisola.xheliliciaccio@marquette.edu

Dr. Darren Wheelock – darren.wheelock@marquette.edu

If you are interested in learning more about the program or participating as a possible CFI student or co-facilitator, please visit the EPP website.

Darren Wheelock is Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences. Director of the Criminal Justice Data Analytics MS Program, and EPP Faculty Liaison.  

 

References

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 Allred, S. L., Harrison, L. D., & O’Connell, D. J. (2013). Self-Efficacy: An Important Aspect of Prison-Based Learning. The Prison Journal, 93(2), 211–233. doi: 10.1177/0032885512472964

 Galardi, T. (2009). Learning from the Inside-Out. Contexts, 8(4), 82–83. doi 10.1525/ctx.2009.8.4.82

 Hilinski-Rosick, C. M., & Blackmer, A. N. (2014). An exploratory examination of the impact of the inside-out prison exchange program. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 25(3), 386–397. doi 10.1080/10511253.2014.922593

 Jackson, Reggie. 2019. “The Growth of Mass Incarceration in Milwaukee.” Milwaukee Independent.

http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/featured/reggie-jackson-growth-mass-incarceration-milwaukee/

 Johnson, Annysa, July 7, 2016. “Report: Spending on prisons rises more than on schools.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://archive.jsonline.com/news/education/report-spending-on-prisons-rises-more-than-on-schools-b99757875z1-385915641.html/

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 Maruna, Shad. 2001 Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform & Rebuild their Lives.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

 National Research Council 2014. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/18613

 Pawasarat, John and Lois M. Quinn. 2013. “Wisconsin’s Mass Incarceration of African American Males: Workforce Challenges for 2013.” Prepared by Employment and Training Institute University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

 Petrovic, Phoebe. 2019. “Student Activists Call On Lawmakers, MPS To Break School-To-Prison Pipeline: About 50 Students Met With Lawmakers To Demand End To Harsh Punishment, Police In Schools.” Wisconsin Public Radio.Org.

https://www.wpr.org/student-activists-call-lawmakers-mps-break-school-prison-pipeline

 Steil, J., & Mehta, A. (2017). When Prison Is the Classroom: Collaborative Learning about Urban Inequality. Journal of Planning Education and Research. 1–10. doi 10.1177/0739456X1773404

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 Western, Bruce. 2006. Punishment and Inequality in America. New York: Russell Sage.