Author Archives: NJ-STEP Admin

Drew Theological School Launches Master of Arts in Religion with NJ-STEP

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Drew Theological School Launches Fully-Accredited Master of Arts in Religion Program Inside East Jersey State Prison

Building upon the historic Partnership for Religion and Education in Prisons program Drew Theological School has announced the launch of a fully-accredited Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) program offered to incarcerated students with its Partnership for Religion and Education in Prisons Program (PREP) at East Jersey State Prison (EJSP). The program marks an historic milestone as the first graduate degree taught entirely inside a New Jersey state prison.

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PREP partners with the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) consortium, which provides associate’s and bachelor’s degree-level educational services to the New Jersey incarcerated population. The Theological School is a founding member of NJ-STEP.

Read full release here

Princeton University Laptop Donation Will Modernize NJ-STEP Classrooms

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From original post on Patch by Sarah Salvadore.

PRINCETON, NJ — Last week, officials from Princeton University donated 53 laptops and other tech gear to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

The laptops and tech gear will be used in two state prisons as part of the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) consortium.

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Last week’s donation represents an important milestone for incarcerated college students in New Jersey, who previously did not have access to laptops, and prepares students as they transition to campuses and the job market ready for modern technological requirements.

“With this donation, we celebrate the commitment of our students to their educational journeys, and their resilience, curiosity, and intelligence that inspires us to all continuously improve the educational programming and opportunities we offer,” said Jill Stockwell, Associate Director of the Princeton Prison Teaching Initiative.

“These labs, which will be used by incarcerated undergraduates throughout New Jersey, represent a vital step in preparing our students for the 21st century campuses and job markets they will come home to.”

Read full article here.




NJ-STEP featured in recent ITHAKA S&R report: Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships

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Excepted from report announcement here:

By Ess Pokornowski – When revised federal Pell Grant regulations went into effect in July of 2023, one of the provisions stipulated that college in prison programs would now be obliged to document how they or the organizations they partner with provide reentry services. Ithaka S+R’s new report, Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships, examines how colleges and community organizations can best partner to deliver effective services for reintegrating students. This report represents the first findings from a multi-year project made possible with funding from ECMC Foundation. Access the full report here.

NJ-STEP Student featured for work with New Jersey Small Business Development Corp.

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Lavonta Bass was recently featured by Rutgers Business School for his work assisting program coordinators who are training incarcerated men and women interested in starting their own businesses when they re-enter society. He is also hoping to participate in the RU Flourishing Program run by the Rutgers Advanced Institute for the Study of Entrepreneurship and Development. Read full article here.

Rutgers Business School senior Lavonta Bass

NJ-STEP Students Dive Into Engineering Research at Princeton University

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The Princeton’s Prison Teaching Initiative (PTI) team recruit and support a cohort formerly incarcerated undergraduate research interns each summer. In addition, PTI has brought higher education classes to prisons across New Jersey since 2006, and is a founding partner of the National Science Foundation’s STEM-OPS network, which advances STEM learning opportunities for people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. Read full article here.

Touring Princeton’s High-Performance Computing Research Center gave the group a peek inside the data hall that hosts complex computations for research such as modeling the formation of galaxies and the collisions of subatomic particles

NJ-STEP and Alumni Featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education for College Reentry Supports

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From Kelly Field, “Of the 374 prison-ed programs surveyed by the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison in the 2019-20 academic year, less than one in five offered direct pathways to a campus program, and even fewer — 14 percent — provided re-entry services. Among those that did, the most common supports were admission and financial-aid counseling, a 2021 report by the Alliance showed. Fewer than 20 percent offered technology or housing support.”

NJ-STEP, along with NJ-STEP alumni Carmelo Ortiz were both recently highlighted for their reentry supports in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Read full article here.

Regina Diamond-Rodriguez (seated) says it’s important for students who are formerly incarcerated to spend time on campus.

Drew Theological School Committed to Restorative Justice and Reentry Efforts Through Education

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Excerpted from https://drew.edu/stories

Drew PREP, which has been offering classes in two New Jersey prisons for more than a decade, brings the Drew classroom into the prison setting with the goal of equally educating both incarcerated (“inside”) and Theological School (“outside”) students through the sharing of diverse experiences, identities, and belief systems. More than half of the Theological School faculty and more than 100 inside and outside students have studied together in Edna Mahan and Northern State correctional facilities in New Jersey.

The program, which had been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is relaunching in the spring 2022 semester with a new initiative to offer the first graduate level certificate program in the state of New Jersey. The certificate will be piloted at East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, New Jersey.

Drew’s PREP certificate in religious leadership and social transformation is available to inside students, and a certificate in restorative justice and prison ministries is available to Drew Theological School master’s degree students. The program builds a theological, analytical, and practical foundation for developing religious leadership skills for social transformation.

Read the full article here

Drew University Extends the NJ-STEP Pipeline with Spring 2022 Launch of Master’s Level Pilot Program

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Excerpted from https://www.state.nj.us/corrections, 12/8/21 press release

Drew University will be joining the consortium of degree-granting higher education institutions, which includes Rutgers University and Raritan Valley Community College, as part of the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative to provide educational services to the New Jersey incarcerated population. East Jersey State Prison in Rahway is the first institution to offer post-graduate credits.

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“At East Jersey we have the highest number of people who have graduated from NJ-STEP, completing their associate’s and their bachelor’s degree,” said Dr. Darcella Sessomes, NJDOC Assistant Commissioner, Division of Programs and Community Services. “We are excited to launch this program at East Jersey State Prison for those individuals who wish to take the next step in their continuing educational journey.”

Officials from Drew and other colleges toured East Jersey State Prison to assess educational spaces and determine the interest in and viability of the program. “Our pilot graduate certificate program is in religious leadership and social transformation, and is open to people of all faiths or no faith tradition,” said Rev. Dr. Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre Interim Dean of Drew Theological School. “The interdisciplinary program has its roots in
theological studies and develops leadership for the common good.”
Students in the program gain experience in graduate studies earning them 15 credits and a head start to pursue a master’s degree in their field of interest.

The pilot program is scheduled to offer its first class to coincide with the 2022 spring semester.

Full NJDOC press release here.

https://www.state.nj.us/corrections/pdf/PressRelease_PS/211209_NJDOC_PARTNERS_WITH_DREW_UNIVERSITY.pdf

‘Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act’ Would Remove Barriers To Higher Education For Americans With Criminal Justice System Involvement

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From: https://www.insidehighered.com/

Advocates say now is the time for colleges and universities to move “beyond the box” and stop asking criminal history questions on admissions applications. A Senate bill would help make that happen…

Click here for press release from Senator Schatz and full Inside Higher Ed article.

Residents of Middlesex Juvenile Detention Center receive education from Middlesex College

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Excerpted from centraljersey.com

Middlesex College students and Middlesex Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) residents are being uplifted by an expansion of R.I.S.E – Reaching Individual Success through Education  – a program serving an underserved population in the detention center.

Thanks to recent grant funding from the Middlesex College Foundation and the New Jersey Governor’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee, Middlesex College has been able to expand to even greater heights its R.I.S.E. program for JDC residents.

The program has grown from Middlesex College offering college programming to Middlesex JDC residents to having Middlesex JDC residents actually earn college credits as Middlesex College students.

Read full article here

Incarcerated graduates say degrees help them “transcend” prison’s walls

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Courtesy of Tyler Kendall, cbsnews.com

“Lavonta Bass’ khaki-colored prison uniform peeks out from beneath his cap and gown. Honor cords are draped around the 42-year-old’s neck. He has spent over a decade in prison but says he was fine delaying an early release if it meant his son could see him graduate as valedictorian.

“I think it was a symbolic moment for him,” Bass told CBS News. “For me to really show him that although I’m here, I’m still trying to do things to better myself.”

CBS News gained exclusive access to East Jersey State Prison for a graduation ceremony in November. Bass was one of 56 incarcerated students who earned a degree — an associate’s from Raritan Valley Community College or a bachelor’s from Rutgers University. “

Read the full story here.

NJ-STEP Student Ean Polke Highlighted Upon Completing His Degree

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Courtesy of Kevin Shea, nj.com

“The last time Ean Polke was featured in local newspapers was 2004. He was the defendant in a murder trial, charged with gunning down a city teen two years earlier.

During one court session, a prosecutor held up the gun Polke used and photographers captured Polke’s baby face staring at the firearm. It was front page news. He was 22.

Late last month, Polke, now 34, posted the news photo on his Facebook page as a throwback. But on top of it was an updated photo of him: wearing a Rutgers University graduation gown, staring at a medal he wore in commencement exercises in May.” …

Read the full story here