Building CTE skills are often requires hands-on experiences. It takes practice to learn a skill such as welding or woodworking, which can make learning a challenge for any student, particularly those who are incarcerated and trying to develop marketable skills while in prison.
However, technology can help, say Michelle Beasley, coordinator of curriculum, instruction, and programs, and Amy Lloyd, assistant principal, at the Placer School for Adults in California, which offers education for inmates.
CTE and Digital Curriculum Access
Over the years, the digital offerings the Placer School can provide incarcerated students have increased.
“There used to be just a few random desktops that we would put in a cabinet when we weren’t using them. Now we use Chromebooks in the classroom daily,” Beasley says.
Once a class ends, incarcerated students can’t use their Chromebooks, but they have access to an online curriculum through a Nucleos tablet, which provides access to approved education sites but not the internet at large. The sites incarcerated students are able to access include iCEV’s CTE curriculum, trainings, and certificate resources.
Lloyd and Beasley say this increased digital access allows students to continue practicing what they learned in class during the week.
“It’s really removing an access barrier for continuous progress and keeping momentum going, and keeping a student engaged. Because if you don’t see you are progressing, then you tend to give up,” Lloyd says.
Support For Hands-On CTE Training
Students learning a skill such as welding still need practice actually welding, and the Placer School provides opportunities for that while using digital tools to help students maximize hands-on sessions.
“Even in welding, there’s a ton of classroom time,” Beasley says. “In woodworking, there is classroom time.” Having the ability to study these various skills ahead of time gives students a head start on class.
Another area technology helps with is the soft skills. Many incarcerated students struggle with digital literacy overall. Increased access to digital platforms can help them learn how to craft professional resumes and cover letters.
Beyond just learning, the certificates earned give incarcerated students a better chance of achieving employment when they are released.
“There’s already a bias against hiring someone who has had a conviction,” Lloyd says. “[This] legitimately improves their resume to give them a better chance to be able to find employment.” This is important, Lloyd adds, because helping newly released individuals find employment can reduce recidivism.
A Unique Teaching Opportunity
Beyond CTE education in particular, both Lloyd and Beasley say teaching incarcerated students is a wonderful opportunity for educators.
“Inmate education is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had,” Beasley says. “We are non-compulsory. So people come because they want to come, and there are people inside who genuinely want to change and are tired of the way that they’ve been living. It’s very satisfying when you are able to give someone the tools and the resources that they need, and the self-confidence that they can be successful when they get out.”
Lloyd has worked in a variety of settings in K-12, including teaching middle school and high school and working as a high school administrator, but says she’s never enjoyed teaching as much as working with this population of students.
“This is one of the purest forms of education I’ve been able to experience because, again, it’s noncompulsory,” she says. “Students vote with their feet. They do not have to get out of their bed and come see you if they don’t want to. If they don’t feel that there’s any relevancy or that there’s a ‘why,’ they’ll be like, ‘I’m out.’ There’s a magic in that.’”