Rising Scholars
Submitted By: Kimberly Haglund
CAEP Staff/Partner
Website: ttps://www.canyons.edu/administration/instruction/risingscholars/
Type of Practice: Learner Transition
Program Area(s): ABE / ASE, ESL / EL Civics / Citizenship, CTE / Workforce Prep / Pre-apprenticeship
Region: Los Angeles Basin
Consortia Involved: Santa Clarita Valley Adult Education Consortium
The Program of Practice
Thousands of individuals are incarcerated in California’s 58 county jail systems, and nearly 90% of them are within 10 miles of a community college. At College of the Canyons, we decided early on that we wanted to serve this population of students since we have a county jail just 5 miles from our main campus. We joined the Rising Scholars network at its inception in 2015 offering credit courses at our local jail, Pitchess Detention Center, but realized after a few years that we needed to expand our offerings to maximize our impact. Since joining the Rising Scholars Network, we have offered 36 credit and over 50 noncredit courses onsite at Pitchess Detention Center (PDC), Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF), and Online through Zoom for individuals living in transitional homes around Los Angeles County. We also offer on campus support for justice impacted students through the School of Personal and Professional Learning's office where there is a space for Rising Scholars students to come and study, grab some coffee, gain assistance, or meet and talk with other Rising Scholars students.
The Response
As the only Community College that has an MOU with Los Angeles Sherrif’s Department (LASD), we have developed an invaluable collaborative relationship with the Department. LASD currently awards our students with milestones for every 60 hours of coursework completed with us. These milestones earn credit toward early release time for the inmates housed in any LA County Jail. Further, many inmates are required by a judge to take our Life Skills courses as part of their sentence. Many students show their certificates to judges during court dates and parole hearings, which can impact their release dates and ability to reunite with their children. Initially, we focused primarily on delivering our Life Skills courses to students at PDC and CRDF, but now that we have an established relationship with LASD they asked us to expand our offerings beyond Life Skills to vocational classes using their existing facilities. This has resulted in a rapid expansion in our course offerings, enrollment numbers, and certificate earners. Most of our expansion has been through noncredit course offerings. Since we are serving students in county jails with shorter stays (compared to state prisons stays tend to be longer), our focus has been on offering noncredit courses focused on vocational trainings, life skills, and transitional support for the move from jail back to the community
The Unique Features of the Program
The mission of College of the Canyons is to deliver an accessible, holistic education for students to earn associate degrees, certificates, and credentials, to prepare for transfer, and to attain workforce skills. We champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and global responsibility, while providing clear pathways in an engaging, supportive environment where all students can successfully achieve their educational goals.
Our Rising Scholars Program perfectly exemplifies our mission. Students taking credit classes earn units to fulfill IGETC requirements and move closer toward degree attainment, while those taking noncredit courses earn certificates and credentials and develop workforce skills. Beyond academics, our RS Program also helps students learn everyday life skills for a successful transition back into society with a clear pathway to achieve their educational goals. We are the ultimate champions of equity, diversity, inclusion, and global responsibility in a population of students that has been underserved in the past.
Lastly, our RS Program directly relates to our foundational institutional commitment to student support and cultural diversity. Our RS program has made our student population more diverse as these students come from a variety of different backgrounds, socially and economically, to continue to enroll in courses at College of the Canyons upon release to build on the skills acquired while incarcerated.
Any California Community College with a county jail in their service area can replicate this program. It’s not easy, but it is doable. We have already met with several colleges to share our RS Program model. We have also presented at statewide conferences and hosted events highlighting the importance of our having a robust RS Program. We also have all of the curriculum for our RS courses posted on a public site for any colleges interested in replicating our courses. Lastly, we are in the process of training Compton College to take over our Rising Scholars Program at CRDF. CRDF is in the service area of Compton College, but when they lost their accreditation, we agreed to serve the jail until they were ready to take over. They are now in the process of developing their curriculum and infrastructure based on our model and we hope other colleges will follow suit if they don’t already have a RS program
The Outcome
Most of these students show their certificates to judges during court dates and parole hearings, which can impact their release dates and ability to reunite with their children. Our Rising Scholars students receive comprehensive support both inside and outside the jail system including guidance from a dedicated counselor, workshops on reentry resources, tutoring, basic-needs coordination, and assistance with Financial Aid and other campus programs and enrollment:
Noncredit Enrollment Totals at CRDF and PDC:
Fall 2021 to Summer 2022 Enrollment Total: 5020
Fall 2022 to Summer 2023 Enrollment Total: 4914
Fall 2023 to Summer 2024 Enrollment Total: 6954
Fall 2024 to Summer 2025 Enrollment Total: 7100
Noncredit Certificate Earners
Winter 2022 to Summer 2022: 144
Fall 2022 to Summer 2023: 267
Fall 2023 to Summer 2024: 448
Fall 2024 to Summer 2025: 390
Current Offerings:
Noncredit Life Skills Courses Being Offered at PDC and CRDF
NC.LSKL-050 - Cleaning Up Your CA Criminal Record
NC.LSKL-060 - Parenting Strategies I
NC.LSKL-061 - Parenting Strategies II
NC.LSKL -070 - Anger Management I
NC.LSKL -071 - Anger Management II
NC.LSKL-080 - Domestic Violence I
NC.LSKL-081 - Domestic Violence II
NC.LSKL-090 - Addiction and Substance Abuse I
NC.LSKL-091 - Addiction and Substance Abuse II
NC.LSKL-100 - Personal Health and Wellness (course created based on RS student requests)
NC.LSKL-101- Mindfulness Strategies for Stress Management (course created based on RS student requests)
Basic Skills NC Courses Being Offered at PDC and CRDF
NC.ENGL-001 - Essential Reading and Writing Skills I
NC.ENGL-002 - Essential Reading and Writing Skills I
NC.ESL-1A - Beginning Low A
NC.MATH-001- Whole Numbers
NC.MATH-002 - Fractions and Mixed Numbers
NC.MATH-003 - Decimal Numbers
NC.MATH-004 - Percentages
NC.MATH-005 - Rates and Proportions
NC.MATH-006 - Signed Numbers
NC.MATH-007 - Algebraic Expressions
NC.MATH-008 - Graphs and Lines
Vocational and Workforce Preparation NC Courses Being Offered at PDC and CRDF
NC.CAWT-10B - Word Processing Basics
NC.CAWT-10C - Spreadsheet Basics
NC.CAWT-10D - Digital Communications for the Office
NC.CAWT-10E - Introduction to Access
NC.CSKL-001 - Time Management
NC.CSKL-002 - Business Writing in the Technology Age
NC.CSKL-003 - Critical Thinking (Problem Solving and Decision Making)
NC.CSKL-004 - Customer Service
NC.CSKL-005 - Negotiation
NC.CSKL-006 - Personality Styles
NC.CSKL-007 - Successfully Managing and Developing People
NC.CSKL-008 - Workplace Communication Strategies
NC.CSKL-014 - Public Speaking in the Workplace
NC.CSKL-015 - Adaptability
NC.CSKL-016 - Digital Fluency
NC.CSKL-017 - Empathy
NC.CSKL-018 - Entrepreneurial Mindset
NC.CSKL-019 - Resilience
NC.CSKL-020 - Self-Awareness
NC.CSKL-021 - Social-Diversity Awareness
NC.CSKL-022 - Emerging Leaders
NC.CSKL-023 - Organizational Leadership
NC.CUL-001 - Culinary Safety and Sanitation
NC.HLTH-001 - Adult and Pediatric CPR, First Aid and GED
NC.VOC-010A - Commercial Sewing I
NC.VOC-010B - Commercial Sewing II
NC.VOC-012A - Commercial Painting I
NC.VOC-012B - Commercial Painting II
NC.VOC-013A - Commercial Printing I
NC.VOC-013B - Commercial Printing II
NC.VOC-030 - Gardening and Pest Management
NC.VOC-031 - Garden and Landscape Design
NC.VOC-040 - How Trauma Impacts Children and Youth: Awareness and Identification Training
NC.VOC-041 - How Trauma Impacts Children and Youth: Intervention and Prevention Training