Contacts: Celia Chazelle, [email protected]; [email protected]
Program Description: TCNJ Center for Prison Outreach and Education coordinates and oversees new Associates degree tracks and a year-round, non-credit academic enrichment and tutoring program for incarcerated people of Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility and Garden State Youth Correctional Facility. It provides varied educational experiences in other penal institutions in central New Jersey, as well.
Degrees Offered: Starting January 2011: Associate Degree in Business Management (Garden State); Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences (AC Wagner).
Programs Offered: Since 2008 AC Wagner has provided incarcerated students with a range of non-credit high school and college level courses and individual and small group tutoring. The courses are both high school/college prep and introductory college level. Of the courses offered, one each semester brings TCNJ and AC Wagner students together in the same on-site classroom. The Center has partnered with Mercer County Community College (MCCC) to develop a College in Prison program that will allow incarcerated students at both AC Wagner and Garden State prisons to take college courses through MCCC and advance towards an Associate Degree in Business Management.
Unique Features: N/A
Headquarters: Ewing, NJ
Correctional Facilities Served: Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility, Garden State Youth Correctional Facility (both in Bordentown NJ), and other central NJ detention centers
Population Served: Juvenile and adult “youth” offenders under age 35 at targeted facilities. The population of the principal facilities, AC Wagner and Garden State, consists of males ages 18-35 at minimum, medium, and maximum levels of security.
Number of Students: Approximately 80 students per semester
Graduates to Date: None as yet; new degree programs will begin in January 2011
Year Founded: 2008
Founders: Celia Chazelle, Chair, Department of History, the College of New Jersey; Patrick Donohue, Director TCNJ Bonner Center
College/University/Organization Partnerships: The College of New Jersey Center for Prison Outreach and Education partners with TCNJ’s Bonner Center for Civil and Community Engagement, The Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program, Mercer County Community College, Camden County College, and Princeton University Prison Teaching Initiative
Funding: Second Chance Act Grant (TCNJ is the sub-grantee under the NJ DOC); Sunshine Lady Foundation Grant; Petey Greeene Prisoner Assistance Program funding to alleviate transportation costs; Corella and Bertram Bonner Foundation; Corporation for National and Community Service/AmeriCorps