
The Dukes County Sheriff’s office is now offering inmates at the Jail and House of Correction the opportunity to utilize Education Over Obstacles tablets.
The tablets provide inmates with the ability to access educational, vocational, and social-emotional learning and rehabilitation content, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.
The release cites a RAND study that found inmates who participated in educational programs had 43 percent lower odds of recidivism than those who did not. Inmates are able to access courses that carry college credits, they can study for GED and HiSET exams, take language-learning courses, and complete interview skill-building courses. Inmates can also earn music or video content for time spent completing educational programs.
Dukes County is the second Jail and House of Correction in Massachusetts to adopt the program.
The program is led by former Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School director Bob Moore, who is now the sheriff’s office’s inmate education coordinator. “I like when I see that someone is learning more about domestic violence; about anger management, meditation, or the 12-step program. It is wonderful to have insight into what [inmates] are thinking about in preparation for their return to the community. To know that they care about doing better,” Moore said.
This whole article is a bit of an insult to the incredible efforts Sue Larsen put in running a very conscientiously prepared curriculum for the residents of Dukes County House of Correction. This wasn’t just her who needs the credit but a number of guest volunteers who gave of themselves to improve the residents lives.
Against the backdrop of a retiring Sheriff, not all that engaged in much of anything, Susan and her volunteer teachers labored onwards.
These efforts which never got the support or credit they deserved were human in their fundamental nature and far surpass the mere introduction of some technological device.
Residents benefited from the face to face time, rather than staring at yet another screen.
The DCHOC is much poorer without her able education efforts.
Residents already had full access to every bit of those education resources the tablets contain. This is nothing new at all. It would have been nice if the Sheriffs Dept had put out a press release recognizing the efforts which were already happening everyday.
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