Students in the Prison Education Program who made the dean’s list stand with program administrators from Collins Correctional Facility and SUNY Jamestown Community College.

Nine full-time and 10 part-time students at Collins Correctional Facility enrolled in the Jamestown Community College Prison Education Program earned dean’s list honors for the spring 2024 semester.

To be eligible for the dean’s list, a student must achieve a minimum GPA of 3.50 or better while enrolled in at least 12 degree hours for full-time students, and six to 11 hours for part-time. Thirty incarcerated students participated in the program, an increase from 10 when it first began in the spring 2023 semester. The course offerings always include math and English, and grew to include four other subjects during the spring term. Technology is limited, with students using textbooks, pen, and paper to complete coursework.

Collins honored the students with a celebration and light refreshments provided by the Collins Culinary Arts program. Kelly Vannote, deputy superintendent of programs; Kate Piehler, education supervisor for Collins; Reid Helford, Prison Education coordinator; and Crystal Rose-Williams, interim vice president of Student Affairs at JCC attended the event to congratulate the students.

“While people in prison may not live among us now, almost all will again,” Helford said. “If they remain isolated and invisible, they are left to rebuild their identities and lives without the social support and recognition a broader community can bring. I want these men to be recognized as the complex, capable, and evolving members of our community that they are.”

According to Helford, the program is of increasing interest to the incarcerated population at Collins. With potential of nearly doubling program participants in the fall, Helford is working to expand the program’s resources to meet the demand.

“Teaching incarcerated students often challenges an instructor’s skills,” Helford said. Both teacher and incarcerated student grow together in the classroom. It’s an opportunity to develop trauma-informed teaching practices and experience perspectives from students whose lives may be different from their students on campus. I know that I am a more thoughtful teacher for having taught these men.”