Superintendent honors Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6, 2025

During National Teacher Appreciation Week, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for the extraordinary work you do every day.

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”
BB King

While BB King may not have been speaking directly about correctional education, his words are especially true for our students. Education offers a sense of agency and personal growth that cannot be taken, regardless of their circumstances. Yet, through your dedication, you offer them something invaluable: the gift of learning, empowerment, and hope.

As educators in a correctional setting, you have chosen to share your talents in one of the most impactful environments, where knowledge becomes a pathway to freedom, opportunity, and redemption. Your learning environment is often where an incarcerated person believes in their own potential and envisions new possibilities for their future.

Your impact is profound. Every day, you challenge students with reflective questions to apply critical thinking and their past experiences to make connections to educational content. You support literacy and numeracy development to lead to high school completion in preparation for career technical education and postsecondary readiness.

You promote health and wellness through physical activity – whether in gyms or on the field, expand their worldview with technology and recreational reading materials, and provide tools, resources, and financial literacy to empower them to build better lives.

Correctional education is, without a doubt, transformative – and so is your work.

As I begin my new role as superintendent of the Office of Correctional Education, I am honored to stand alongside a community of instructional leaders who embody the values of service, resilience, and transformation.

Thank you for inspiring hope and making a positive change in our communities.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, thank you.

Genevie Candelaria, Superintendent
Office of Correctional Education
Division of Rehabilitative Programs

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