Re-Entry At Hostos Community College: Education + Community= Partnership For Success
Sandy Figueroa
Introduction
Statistics of incarcerated African Americans and Latinos and the interventions that are established to prevent incarceration, reduce recidivism, and all the other remedies were not on my mind when Jeffrey sat in my office. Jeffrey was on academic probation after his first semester at Hostos Community College, a college located in the South Bronx and part of in the City University of New York (CUNY), a system of over twenty campuses spread out across the five boroughs of New York City. When I asked Jeffrey his career goals, he responded very vaguely. Jeffrey
was about 19 or 20 years old and had been incarcerated and had addiction issues as well. His mother also had been incarcerated, and she was getting her master’s from another CUNY college with the help and support of College Initiative (CI),
a community-based organization dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated people attend college. In her mind, since education worked for her, education will work for Jeffrey. His mother asked me to see Jeffrey so that I could mentor him through his college experience. In speaking with Jeffrey, I realized that he felt that college was useful; however, he did not really see himself as a college student. In reality, even with the help of his mother and CI, Jeffrey simply stumbled into Hostos and was not ready to fully claim his status as a student.
The thought that kept running through my mind after his visit was: if the general population of first-time, non-traditional students at Hostos Community College face a number of obstacles and challenges in their first semester in college, how are the re-entry population who are burdened with the shame and stigma of imprisonment and dealing with addictions, facing the daily challenges of college life? How can I, as a faculty member, and Hostos Community College, as an institution, be effective in at least easing the transition to college life for those who have been incarcerated and are now returning to society (formerly incarcerated)? Jeffrey was my reality check.
CUNY, The Black Male Initiative, And Reentry
In the fall of 2004, Matthew Goldstein, the then Chancellor of CUNY, established a University Task Force on the Black Male Initiative (BMI). The Task Force was charged “with developing recommendations that would include a series of action-oriented projects to help black males overcome the inequalities that lead
to poor academic performance in the K-12 system, the attendant weak enrollment, retention, and graduation from institutions of higher education, and high rates of joblessness and incarceration”.
In their report to the Chancellor, the Task Force made the following nine recommendations:
Provide strong University leadership on the challenges facing black youth and men;
Strengthen the school-to-college pipeline to enable many more black male students to move into higher education;
Increase admission and graduation rates at CUNY colleges;
Improve teacher education to prepare professionals for urban education;
Improve employment prospects for black males;
Contribute to the reduction of the incarceration rate for black men;
Establish an Institute for the Achievement of Educational and Social Equity for Black Males;
Involve experts in the implementation of the recommendations; and
Establish benchmarks and hold Colleges accountable for implementing these recommendations.
CUNY was awarded funding from the New York City Council after hearings before the Higher Education Committee of the New York City Council. As a result of the initial grant, “fifteen demonstration projects were funded designed to improve the enrollment and/or graduation rates of students from underrepresented groups, particularly black males. Funding was also allocated to increase opportunities for individuals without a high school diploma to enroll in GED courses oriented towards college preparation; to provide support for formerly incarcerated individuals to enroll in college; and to survey workforce development opportunities in New York City’s construction industry”.
All of the CUNY campuses involved in the CUNY BMI projects meet on a monthly basis at the CUNY Central Office. As a representative of my college and a BMI advisor, I attended monthly CUNY BMI Funded Projects meetings and was exposed to the various projects within CUNY as well as those community-based organizations (CBO) that work in partnership with specific CUNY campuses or CUNY-wide programs.
In the fall of 2008, Michael Carey, the Executive director of College Initiative met with members of CUNY BMI projects and described the work his organization was doing in prison and with those formerly incarcerated who wanted to attend college. He invited the BMI project participants to attend the launching of the mentoring program that was developed and implemented by those formerly incarcerated and working with CI. Mr. Carey made a video presentation of the mentoring program that had been developed with an outside consulting firm. The video was described step-by-step procedures, program development, assessment, and incentives that the population had created on their own with guidance from the consultants.
I received an invitation to meet with program participants and went to observe the mentoring process, ask questions, and meet the participants in person. I saw that CI had really changed the lives of these men and women who once had only a dream of attending college. Now, I was talking to graduates from CUNY and State University of New York (SUNY) as well as private colleges. There were CI members who were attending graduate school for their masters and in some cases even their doctorates.
When Jeffrey left my office, I knew what I had to do and with whom I was going to work. Again, statistics and research were not my immediate goals. I saw a CBO that was focused, organized, and committed to the population learning from each other and supporting each other. I contacted Mr. Carey, told him of my idea, and asked to meet with him and the appropriate staff members. Armed with my idea, I went to the then Dean of Special Programs in Academic Affairs, who was the supervisor for the Hostos BMI programs.
The Idea
In order to ease the often difficult transition into college life, I proposed a summer boot camp in which the formerly incarcerated selected by College Initiative who applied to a CUNY institution would receive instruction in reading, writing, and math to prepare them for placement tests. The goal of the program was to reduce the need for remedial courses in English and math and provide an orientation to college covering time management skills and introducing students to programs within the college and CUNY to assist them in successfully navigating the first semester. In the college orientation meeting, the summer participants would be introduced to their CI mentors to establish goals. In addition, since many of
the participants are on parole or probation, they needed to learn to work with their probation/parole officers around issues related to their college schedules and responsibilities and report on their progress in reentering society after imprisonment.
Although the program could have been housed at The Fortune Society, a community-based organization whose mission is “to support successful reentry from prison and promote alternatives to incarceration…” or at the offices of College Initiative, I wanted the program to be housed in a college campus so that the students experience the real feel and taste of a college campus before they committed to a college-degree program. When I presented the idea to Dean of Special Pro- grams, Carlos Molina, he was enthusiastic and shared the idea with the president of the College. I was fortunate to have the support of College administrators at the highest levels.
Planning for the summer pilot program began in October 2009 with a target of June 2010 to pilot the program. The members of the planning committee were staff from College Initiative, New York Justice Corps, The Fortune Society, a representative from the Office of the President, the director and assistant director of the Hostos Academic Learning Center (HALC), the then director of Institutional Research, and me, a faculty member in the Business Department of Hostos Com- munity College. For nine months, the planning committee sifted through research, education models, logistics, costs, and orientation models to develop a program that would effectively support this cohort of students.
Program
The summer orientation program was based on two fundamental goals: 1) prepare students academically not only with study and time management skills, but also with the academic foundation they would need to pass the entrance exams in math and English and avoid remedial courses and 2) provide support for formerly incarcerated individuals who may find the transition to college socially difficult.
These “non-academic” skills included time management, goal setting, navigating college and university bureaucracies, and maintaining productive relationships with parole officers, faculty, and mentors.
Academics
The program was scheduled for 10 weeks and involved three hours of instruction a night, for four nights a week. Scheduling evening instruction allowed students to meet the demands of work and parole and probation supervision.
Given the 120 hours available for instruction, finding the right balance of academic and non-academic instruction was a priority. CI and HALC decided on reserving one evening a week for non-academic skills instruction (30 hours) and three evenings (90 hours) for academic instruction.
Academically, HALC administrators felt the importance of designing activities that specifically prepared students for one or more skills tests and provided them with a solid foundation to succeed in their CUNY placement tests and in their college-level courses. To this end, and based on students’ CUNY test results, HALC decided to prepare study plans for each student.
Instruction and Training
Training and well-planned lessons were fundamental to the success of the program. To provide a deeper immersion in skills development, the curriculum linked study skills and test taking techniques to ensure that each student was quickly engaged with the areas they needed to pass their CUNY tests. Comprehensive facilitator manuals and accompanying student handbooks focused on strategies to improve developmental skills in reading, writing and math. The same lesson plans and syllabi were used for each workshop. The syllabi included instructions, explanations and exercises for the different activities to be covered in each workshop. The workshop instructional model used a manual prepared by the Hostos Academic Learning Center and practice tests.
Specially trained, non-faculty facilitators delivered workshop instruction. To prepare facilitators for workshops, training sessions were provided during the spring 2010 semester. Development activities provided facilitators with the opportunity to improve their teaching techniques and strategies by reading essays on current teaching practices, observing other facilitators during workshop sessions, and by participating in discussion groups led by HALC staff. These development activities served to improve the facilitators’ knowledge of writing, reading and math theories, their ability to use a variety of pedagogical approaches during workshop sessions, and their understanding of the role that they played in the learning process. Participation of developmental activities was required of all basic skills facilitators.
In addition, CI provided training for HALC instructors on the characteristics of the reentry population and the criminal justice system, while developers from CUNY College Transition Initiatives provided two seminars on their work with GED-to-college transitions.
Coordinator and Liaison
The need for a coordinator and liaison between HALC, college administrators and CI was recognized early in the planning stages and I assumed the responsibility. I was present each night to take attendance, give counsel and troubleshoot.
Schedule
Students’ test scores were essential to the structuring and design of the pro- gram. CI and HALC worked with the testing office at Hostos to ensure that the students could take placement tests in a timely manner and as a cohort. Since most of the participants needed to pass one or more skills test, the 90 hours of instruction would be divided between reading/writing and math.
Because all of the participants needed to pass at least one part of the COM- PASS math exam, the first 45 hours of instruction, during the first five weeks of the program, would be assigned to math instruction. Students would be placed in either Mathematics 1 (pre-algebra) or Mathematics 2 (algebra) workshops based on their test scores.
At the end of the first 45 hours of instruction, students would be retested for their math exams. Students who successfully completed their math requirements would then be placed in a writing/reading workshop, while those who needed more assistance would continue to receive math instruction for the remaining 45 hours of the program.
Non-Academic Workshops
CI administrators were responsible for overseeing the non-academic programming which included workshops on identifying and realizing the elements that go into a successful college career; understanding requirements and taking responsibility for academic progress; fulfilling corrections and educational commitments by developing a strong partnership with supervision agents; the stages of an academic career; and the opportunities for and obstacles to a satisfying and sustainable career path.
Mentors
Mentoring services were provided for at least two semesters to each participating student. CI mentors were students who had at least two semesters of college experience and a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Mentors received training structured as a college course during regular CUNY academic semesters and had five mandated one-on-one meetings with mentees as well as regular group meetings and mentor support meetings during the semester. The focus of the contacts was to assess and facilitate the student’s academic progress and preparation for the academic mile- stones that occur each semester, as well as to provide connections as needed to supportive services.
CI’s peer mentors provided workshops for two evenings of the summer orientation program. During the first workshop, eleven CI mentors spoke about their experiences with the criminal justice system and the role postsecondary education played in realigning their lives after incarceration. An open discussion followed.
During the second workshop, CI mentors worked with the students in small groups to develop six-month, one-year, three-year and five-year goals. The students then presented these goals to the group. Each student in the cohort was matched with a CI mentor for the Fall 2010 semester and beyond.
Recruitment
Recruitment of the students was the responsibility of CI and was built into the organization’s schedule of student orientations. The students recruited for the program had been accepted into CUNY community colleges for Fall 2010, so the program had a CUNY-wide scope.
Incentives
The importance of incentives for retention was discussed early in the planning process, and CI was able to secure funding to cover subway passes for all students. Other incentives included fast-tracked eligibility for CI scholarships and, through a generous grant from The Sunshine Lady Foundation, a free netbook computer for every student who completed the program.
Program Launch and Program “Graduation”
A program launch and graduation were planned early and were seen as integral to creating a welcoming environment for the students.
The program began with a dinner during which the President of the College, the Provost of the College, the Director of the CUNY Black Male Initiative and the Director of CI welcomed the students to the program. The students then introduced themselves and spoke of their goals and aspirations.
The program ended with a graduation dinner during which the President of the College addressed the participants. They received certificates and netbook computers, and the mentors congratulated their mentees on their success.
Budget
Funding for the program came from College Initiative and from Hostos Community College.
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Program Results
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Discussion Of The Program Results For Summer 2010
Of the ten students enrolled in M1 workshop, eight of them completed the workshop, took the test, and all eight passed the exam.
Of the 15 students enrolled in M2 workshop, 11 of them completed the work- shop, took the test, and 6 passed the exam.
Of the seven students enrolled in the Writing workshop, all seven completed the workshop, took the test, and two passed the exam.
Of the three students enrolled in the Reading workshop, all three completed the workshop, took the test, and all three passed the exam.
The pilot was successful in that every student who completed the program passed at least one of the CUNY exams, and many of the students passed two of the exams.
The pilot encouraged the planning committee to continue with the program for the following summer.
When the 2010 summer program ended, the planning committee members met to debrief and suggest ways of improving the program for 2011.
Conclusion
The Hostos College Initiative Summer Program supports research findings in terms of the importance and significance of education for the reentry population (Brazzell, Crayton, Mukamal, Solomon, Lindahl 2009).
In the report on Building Pathways of Possibility from Criminal Justice to College: College Initiative as a Catalyst Linking Individual and Systemic Change (Sturm, Skolnick, Wu 2011), the authors utilize the case study method in illustrating the success of College Initiative in working with their community partners, and highlight the collaborative work of the Hostos College Initiative 2010 Summer Program in their success with an innovative method to assist those seeking college after incarceration.
In their June 2012 report, The New York Reentry Education Network (NYREN), “a group of leaders and organizations in New York City dedicated to increasing educational access and success for people with criminal justice back- grounds” highlight the work done by College Initiative and other organizations within the network that seek education as a means for permanent rehabilitation for those formerly incarcerated.
In their November 2013 publication, “Higher Education and Reentry: The Gifts They Bring”, the members of the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice bring home the point in first-person narratives of the life-changing effects of higher education on the lives of the members of the focus group of their study. The members of the focus group comment on the need and importance of faculty support in pursuing their educational and career goals and dreams.
In spring 2013, then College President Félix Matos Rodriguez established the Hostos Reentry Committee, and I continue to serve as a member of the committee. Through the former chair of the Reentry Committee, Professor Neil Hernandez, Hostos Community College has made contacts in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Manhattan Detention Center and the Brooklyn Detention Center as well as the Bronx Residential Reentry Center to offer the inmates the opportunity to include a college degree in their planning when they are released from the facility.
In the words of Tambu, a Calypsonian, in his song, “The Journey Now Start”, all of us—community and educational institutions are embarking on the formal journey of looking at higher education as one of the paths to success for those reentering society after incarceration.
And what happened to Jeffrey? When Jeffrey left my office, he left Hostos and College Initiative. However, Jeffrey made such an impact on me that he is remembered in each successful story of our participants and students. Because of Jeffrey, I am glad to have played a small part in the success of one segment of our college population.