Schools at Correctional Institutions

 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) offers various academic and education programs at each of California’s adult state prisons. Their goal is to provide offenders with needed education and career training to increase public safety and reduce recidivism. All adult schools in the CDCR prisons are fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) to ensure the highest level of education, and some Career Technical Education programs offer industry standard certification.

The Office of Correctional Education (OCE) which is part of CDCR manages Educational Programs for inmates/students. Inmates/students with reading skills below the ninth grade level may attend Adult Basic Education. Adult Basic Education (ABE) is divided into class levels I, II, and III. These ABE programs are targeted to serve the academic needs of the inmate/student population. ABE provides opportunities for acquiring academic skills through an emphasis on Language Arts and Mathematics. The Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) assessment is used to determine the initial placement of each inmate/student into an appropriate ABE level.

ABE I includes inmates/students who have scored between 0.0 and 3.9 on the reading portion of the TABE assessment. ABE II includes inmates/students with a reading score between 4.0 and 6.9. ABE III includes inmates/students with reading scores between 7.0 and 8.9. To advance or promote from one level to the next, inmates/students must show curriculum competence, completion or achieve a higher TABE score through the TABE matrix testing process. As inmates/students progress through the ABE program levels, increasingly difficult language and mathematical concepts are introduced.

The ABE classes are designed to prepare the inmates/students for entry into a High School Equivalency program or a High School Diploma Program, if certain criteria are met. ABE programs are available to all populations through class assignments and as a Voluntary Education Program that may include tutorial support. In complying with penal code 2053.1 (4): “priority shall be given to those with a criminogenic need for education, those who have a need based on their educational achievement level”.

This prison-based program is part of the Office of Correctional Education.

Many ABE classes at prisons use Fisher Hill workbooks. Our workbooks are easy to use. Adults like our workbooks because the pace is reasonable, print is large, directions are in Spanish, there’s lots of pictures but the content is for adults. Teachers like our books because everything is ready to go! There’s an answer key at the the end of each lesson and an English translation of the Spanish directions at the end of each book.

 

    

                                                   

Visit our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to read more about our workbooks that help Spanish-speaking teens and adults learn English.