In this October 9 Week in Review, we highlight Ironwood’s educational expansion, DAPO’s community service and Secretary Macomber leading a tour of the San Quentin Learning Center.
Rehabilitation
Ironwood expands access to higher education
Ironwood State Prison in Blythe now hosts CDCR’s largest bachelor’s degree program.
In partnership with the University of California, Riverside (UCR), the institution transformed a dedicated area into a college learning space for 72 incarcerated students.
The classroom features UCR murals, including the university logo and Scotty the Bear mascot, creating a traditional college atmosphere.
UCR faculty teach university courses on site, giving students access to higher education while they serve their sentences.
The program demonstrates how education can support rehabilitation and create opportunities for students to build skills for their futures.
For students, the classroom represents more than a place to learn. It is a step toward new possibilities through education.
Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services
OVSRS attends National Day of Remembrance
Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services (OVSRS) staff attended the National Day of Remembrance at the California State Capitol.
The Sept. 25 event was hosted by the Sacramento Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children to honor victims and support families.
OVSRS staff connected with attendees and shared resources.
During the gathering speakers read victims’ names and families shared tributes, photographs and personal reflections. The event featured songs and a tribal healing performance honoring those who died.
In Our Institutions
Secretary leads San Quentin Learning Center tour
CDCR Secretary Jeff Macomber recently led Governor’s Office staff and other officials on a tour of the new San Quentin Learning Center.
The tour showcased the institution’s ongoing transformation and expanded rehabilitation efforts. It also highlighted the value of providing a supportive environment for staff.
Macomber noted the center offers spaces to foster successful rehabilitation and positive outcomes where residents commit to bettering themselves.
Division of Adult Parole Operations
DAPO reentry participants give back through community service
Members of the Community Reentry Unit (CRU) recently turned a meeting routinely focused on internal reflection into a community service project.
CRU members and 10 San Fernando Parole District Peer Reentry Navigation Network program participants traded meeting agendas for kitchen aprons. They joined partner BMO Bank to volunteer and prepare meals at Hope the Mission in Van Nuys.
Volunteers assembled salads, prepared banana nut batter, buttered garlic bread and portioned potatoes for baking.
Hope the Mission provides hot meals to people experiencing hunger and homelessness throughout the San Fernando Valley. The organization prepares over 25,000 meals each week for distribution at local sites.
The experience allowed participants to support their community while reinforcing a rehabilitation pillar: profound healing comes from serving others.
MCRP resident pursues a new future
Armando Tellez is turning his reentry journey into opportunity while he resides at the Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP) in Bakersfield.
Through the structure and accountability of the program, he has been able to focus on education, employment and personal growth.
He currently attends Bakersfield College and works at the Renegade Kitchen.
During a recent Parole and Community Team meeting, Tellez shared his experience with newly released supervised persons.
“It is easy to talk about wanting a better life,” Tellez said. “It is much harder to wake up each day and make the choices necessary to create one.”
His commitment to education represents more than earning college credits; he’s building new skills and expanding opportunities.
Every assignment he completes and positive decision he makes is another step toward the future he wants to build. Tellez said he’s not allowing his past to define him.
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