Chris Hedges recently published a piece about teaching Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables with NJ-STEP. Read full article here
May 27, 2018
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Teaching Les Miserables in Prison
May 27, 2018
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Teaching Les Miserables in Prison
Chris Hedges recently published a piece about teaching Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables with NJ-STEP. Read full article here
From: https://www.truthdig.com
NEWARK, N.J.—This is the story of Emmanuel Mervilus, who got locked up for a crime he did not commit, whose life was derailed and nearly destroyed by the experience and who will graduate this spring from Rutgers University. It is a story of being a poor black man in America, with the exception being that most poor black men never get a second chance.
The only reason Mervilus got a second chance was because of one man, history professor Don Roden, who founded the Mountainview Program at Rutgers for formerly incarcerated students. This program accepts, among others, the students I teach in prison, one of whom, Ron Pierce, also will graduate this spring.
There are only a few saints in this world. Professor Roden is one.
Written by Chris Hedges.
Emmanuel Mervilus, who will graduate soon from Rutgers after being in prison, speaks in Newark, N.J., at an event sponsored by the Mountainview Program, which fosters education among those who have been incarcerated. (Mountainview Program)
April 6, 2018
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJ Senate Votes on Aid for Prison Education
Read the full story here
July 31, 2017
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Policy Levers Leading the Way to Reentry for Incarcerated Students
A recent piece from the American Education Council’s Higher Education Today:
Policy Levers Leading the Way to Reentry for Incarcerated Students.
May 22, 2017
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJSTEP Student Highlighted in Commencement Video
November 7, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJ-STEP Professor Awarded The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence
From: https://rutgersclassics.com/
Here’s another great Rutgers Classics first. Honored in the inaugural group of seven recipients of Rutgers New Brunswick’s important new faculty award—the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence—is Associate Professor in Classics Emily Allen-Hornblower.
In a ceremony Tuesday 4 October 2016, Chancellor Richard L. Edwards recognized Professor Allen-Hornblower in the category of Excellence in Service.
In presenting the award, Edwards cited “her heartfelt conviction that the Classics are of significance to people in all life situations and her dedication to bringing her scholarship beyond the university classroom to new audiences through her participation in the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons program (NJ-STEP)”.
Emily Allen-Hornblower has taken her teaching talents outside Rutgers’ classrooms, in an unusually visceral way. In November 2014 she spotted a feature in Rutgers Today about an ex-inmate and university student, Christopher Etienne, who managed to receive his undergraduate degree in large part through the help of Rutgers’ innovative Mountainview Program. It was then that Emily was inspired by the idea of being able to teach currently incarcerated inmates.
This led to her involvement with NJ-STEP, an association of colleges and universities that provide college courses for inmates and assist in their transition to college life upon release from prison.
September 13, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on The Iliad is doing hard time and the inmates love it…
“Maximum-security inmates at a New Jersey prison have been learning about the literary world with Rutgers University associate professor Emily Allen-Hornblower. But the novelty isn’t that they are studying literature, or even that they are doing it behind bars. ” Read More
June 30, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Second Chance Pell Offers Prisoners Grants for College Education
June 24, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJ-STEP Will Participate in U.S. DOE’s Second Chance Pell Pilot Program
June 13, 2016
by Chris Agans
Comments Off on NJ-STEP Student Ean Polke Highlighted Upon Completing His Degree
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
April 6, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Emily Allen-Hornblower’s teachings on tragic heroes resonate with inmates
February 26, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on President Obama visits Rutgers University–Newark to Promote Improvements in Criminal Justice
A recent Rutgers Magazine feature shares details on a recent visit from President Barack Obama, including a roundtable discussion he hosted featuring participants from NJ STEP.
February 5, 2016
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJ-STEP Program Lets Inmates Earn Degrees
November 4, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on President Obama Will “Ban the Box” to Help “Returning Citizens” Join the Workforce
November 4, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Recent Remarks by President Obama on Criminal Justice Reform Mention NJ-STEP
“I’ve spoken to men and women who are part of programs like NJ-STEP here at Rutgers-Newark. You’re giving prisoners a chance to start taking college courses before their release so that they can re-enter society with marketable skills.”
FULL REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY NEWARK
November 4, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on President Obama Visits RU-N and Talks Criminal Justice Reform
November 4, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Obama’s speech at Rutgers ‘strikes a chord deep down’
September 16, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on RU-Newark Welcomes Its First Cohort of NJ-STEP Students
This fall Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N) welcomes its first cohort of 10 students whose college careers began through the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) program. NJ-STEP, a statewide initiative administered by RU-N, works in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the State Parole Board, and a network of public and private, two- and four-year colleges to provide higher education courses to eligible individuals who are incarcerated in one of New Jersey’s seven correctional facilities. The program also assists in the transition to college life of released students who demonstrate they are college-ready and eager to improve their lives.
Full article here: RU-N Welcomes Its First Cohort of NJ-STEP Students
September 15, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Rutgers Expands Opportunities for Former Inmates
Rutgers is expanding its program that helps transform lives by giving former prisoners a chance to earn a college degree.
Since its inception in 2005, the Mountainview program has enrolled 100 former inmates at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. They have graduated at a rate of 73.3 percent – slightly below the university’s six-year graduation rate of 77 percent for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees. The program’s graduates have an overall 3.1 grade point average, with one former inmate having attained a perfect 4.0.
Twenty-five have earned bachelor’s degrees, five have earned master’s degrees and 49 remain active students.
Full article here: The Mountainview program comes to Newark
September 9, 2015
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Feds Launch Pilot College Program for Prisoners
December 10, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Youth in Juvenile Facilities are Eligible for PELL Grants
October 26, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on 3 New York Colleges to Drop Crime Queries for Applicants
October 8, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on NJ-STEP celebrates the graduation of 12 women at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility
October 8, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on “[Raritan Valley Community College] awards degrees to 14 inmates at Edna Mahan”
May 27, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on “Gov. Chris Christie Visits Mercer To Voice Support for Prison Education”
May 19, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on “NJ-STEP program wisely targets recedivism by educating prisoners”
May 16, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on Governor Touts Success of College Program for New Jersey’s Incarcerated Adults
May 13, 2014
by Eric Pereira
Comments Off on “Gov. Christie voices support for TCNJ’s work in NJ-STEP”
The College of New Jersey celebrates Governor Christie’s endorsement of NJ-STEP: “Gov. Christie voices support for TCNJ’s work in NJ-STEP”