On March 5, the Center for Teaching at CT State Middlesex hosted a Lunch and Learn event to explore the Center for Prison Education (CPE), an innovative public-private partnership with Wesleyan University. Tess Wheelwright, the program’s director at Wesleyan, shared insights alongside faculty members involved in the initiative.

The well-attended event, which included faculty from Tunxis, provided an opportunity to address questions from those considering teaching in the program, explore its growth, and acknowledge the college’s vital role in its success.

The Middlesex partnership with Wesleyan began in 2016 as part of the Second Chance Pell program, designed to provide incarcerated students with a pathway to earn an associate degree. Through this collaboration, students in prison can enroll in a mix of courses offered by both institutions. Over the years, Middlesex has conferred 57 associate degrees to CPE students.

During the lunch, a CPE graduate shared that, as a young person, he despised school but came to recognize its life-changing power while in prison. He described his dedication—waking up early each day to study and reading past midnight to prepare for classes. He emphasized not only the transformational impact of CPE on students but also its profound effect on faculty.

The CPE faculty agreed, highlighting numerous examples of how students’ grit and determination propel them to achieve their educational goals. They also described the experience as both rewarding and infectious.

“Prison education is less of a societal expense than incarceration is. If you educate them, they contribute to society; they become someone who is a leader within the community,” said Marisol Garcia, a 2020 CPE graduate from Middlesex. Her quote was shared in the CPE presentation. Marisol is now working toward earning a law degree.

To date, the CPE program has offered 210 courses, about 25 per year. Approximately 77 students between York Correctional Institution (CI), Connecticut’s only women’s state prison, and Cheshire CI, a men’s maximum-security prison, have earned CPE degrees. Course subjects range from sociology to biology, political theory to advanced calculus.

The Center for Teaching promotes teaching excellence through the sharing of ideas, the interaction of faculty members, and the creation of coordinated professional development opportunities. Each CT State campus has a Teaching and Learning Consultant (TLC), a member of the faculty who is also responsible for coordinating these efforts on their campus. CFT is a colleague-to-colleague endeavor. Workshop topics are developed by a committee of faculty and staff and reflect the suggestions, talents and pedagogical needs of the college community.