Awards and Appreciation, Jobs, Training and Facilities

Honoring Teacher Appreciation Week 2024

May 7, 2024

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2024, the following letter was issued by Shannon Swain, Superintendent, Division of Rehabilitative Programs, Office of Correctional Education (OCE).

Good morning. Not all heroes wear capes!

This is Teacher Appreciation Week 2024, and as always, CDCR and OCE have a lot to celebrate!

Teacher Appreciation Week written on a chalk board with a book and pencils on a desk in the foreground.

I believe the teachers, coaches, and library personnel provide the best education experiences in the most challenging environments. They help incarcerated persons, many of whom did not have the best experience in their educational journey before reaching CDCR, to learn and grow and thrive.

Adult Basic Education teachers dedicate themselves to increasing literacy and numeracy skills so students can earn a high school diploma or equivalency. Consistently reaching and surpassing learning targets, GED and high school diploma programs continue to increase high school completions, doubling the number of diplomas achieved (416 for fiscal year 2022-23) and an impressive 1,736 high school equivalency certificates earned! This effort is assisted by Peer Literacy Mentor Program teachers who assist incarcerated mentors by training them to partner with students to achieve the goal of high school completions.

The Post Secondary Education Program teachers continue to guide students through community college into bachelor’s degree programs and beyond, assisting over 14,000 unique individuals on their journey this past year. These teachers have become trusted partners of the college and university faculty that deliver higher education to our students.

The Career and Technical Education Program teachers provide real-world professional job skills to over 12,000 students in their respective trades. E-Learning is yet another program offered to our students, providing independent study opportunities related to personal enrichment and academic development.

Physical Education and Recreation teachers provide a wide variety of indoor and outdoor physical education and activities, including physical fitness training for firefighting training for our fire camps. Every Student Succeeds and Youth Offender Program teachers support our younger students on their journey towards successful program completions. .

Transitions Program teachers offered participants employability and financial literacy programs to over 7,000 students, preparing them for successful reentry into their communities.

Specially trained academic coaches provide support to students and teachers by supporting teaching and learning.

And, while this particular national appreciation week focuses on teachers, enter any library in CDCR and you will see library personnel supporting learning and encouraging progress with the patrons they serve.

Television specialists across the state support the schools by chronicling student success through photos and videos.

Teachers, coaches, library staff, and television specialists consistently go above and beyond in a very challenging environment every day. Not all heroes wear capes—and during this national teacher appreciation week, we celebrate all the fantastic folks who continue to bring world class learning opportunities to thousands!

Gratefully,

Shannon Swain, Superintendent
Office of Correctional Education
Division of Rehabilitative Programs

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