A biweekly newsletter about the intersection of higher education and criminal justice. Written by Open Campus national reporter Charlotte West.

Short on time? Here what you need to know:

• Earlier this spring, San Francisco State University hosted a reentry simulation designed to educate the campus and community about life after prison.

• An agriculture program at Merced College in California unexpectedly benefitted formerly incarcerated students, reports Open Campus rural education reporter Nick Fouriezos.

• We want to hear about your experience with college and career during reentry. Due to an overwhelming response we got to a LinkedIn post, we’ve made this survey to help inform future coverage in this newsletter. Please take a few minutes to share your insights! The survey closes Monday, June 16.

• If you’re in Illinois, tune into WBEZ’s Prisoncast! this Sunday, from 2-4pm Central, airing on public radio stations across the state and at WBEZ.org. It’s a radio show made with and for people affected by incarceration in Illinois. I’ve been working with the team there on a story that provides a unique insight into the bureaucratic nightmare of education waiting lists. Learn more at WBEZ.org/prisoncast.

• ICYMI: Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of an extended Q&A with Erik Maloney, a lifer in Arizona, and Kevin Wright, a criminal justice professor at . They co-authored Imprisoned Minds, a book about trauma and healing published in December 2024.

How San Francisco State is educating its students — and the community — about life after prison

When Joseph Close got out of prison earlier this year, he hoped his probation officer would be there to help him. The support he received from the state came in the form of two $10 Target gift cards. 

Close’s release was sudden, to a city in Southern California where he knew no one. If it wasn’t for his connections with nonprofit organizations assisting people getting out of prison, he might have been on the street. “I had nothing but clothes on my back, a bar of soap, and deodorant,” he said. “I had no support.”

Earlier this spring, Close shared his story at a reentry simulation at San Francisco State University. The event was organized by Project Rebound, a support program for formerly incarcerated students. The goal was to educate students and the public about the challenges people like Close face when rebuilding their lives after prison. 

Those challenges range from housing, employment, and day-to-day tasks like using an ATM to navigating the bureaucracy of probation and parole. But this wasn’t just a theoretical exercise — it was part of the program’s efforts to reshape how the community thinks about the criminal justice system. 

Educating the community

The 70 participants in the event, which was open to the public, included San Francisco State students, recent law school graduates, people who have incarcerated family members, and even prison officials. The diversity reflected the event’s goal of educating those who had little — or only a theoretical understanding — of what reentry actually entails.

As they entered the room, participants received packets containing character assignments, fake money and a laundry list of requirements that included tasks such as obtaining IDs and attending court-mandated treatment — everything they’d need to do over four simulated weeks. Tables lining the edge of the room were staffed by volunteers assuming roles such as “probation officer” and “career counselor.” A large hand-written “Jail” sign was taped up on one wall — representing the more than 60% of people released from jail or prison who eventually go back. 

A facilitator explained the process and purpose to an attentive audience. “This simulation is not a game. It’s a reflection of very real barriers, frustration, and emotional toll that people face every single day when trying to rebuild their lives after prison,” she said. 

Read the rest of the story. 

A second chance through farming

John Pressell has been incarcerated for half his life, with intermittent stints that began when he dropped out of high school in 11th grade.

“I used to always look at education like, ‘Oh, I don’t need it,’” the 44-year-old says. As a teen, John felt like he was making plenty of money on the streets while living what he describes as “a criminal life.”

Two years ago, everything changed. After being released following a decade in state prison, John connected with Reform Merced, a California nonprofit that helps formerly incarcerated individuals rebuild their lives.

They placed him at their recently opened organic farm, where he now tends bell peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and seasonal crops.

“I enjoy working out around the field, I enjoy driving the tractor and I enjoy planting food,” John says. “It’s something that can actually stay with me in the future. Something to be proud of, where I can see people go to a grocery store, and think, ‘look, I grew that.’”

Merced College is one of six community colleges that have received $42 million in state and federal grants to create free competency-based programs for agricultural technologies across California’s Central Valley.

“When we first thought about this program, it was designed traditionally for the more traditional farm laborer and upscaling them for the workforce,” says Cody Jacobson, Merced’s director of ag innovation.

However, John represents somebody program leaders didn’t initially anticipate.

He’s one of a dozen or so formerly incarcerated students from Restore Merced who’ve enrolled in the AgTEC program, which allows students to work at their own pace through 14 skill areas, from digital literacy to equipment operation.

The partnership emerged when Restore Merced’s director reached out to explore educational opportunities for their workers, and it’s flourished since.

“It turns out that what they’re doing with Restore Merced is a great fit for what we’re doing. And these individuals who are trying to get their lives back on track, they’re eager to learn,” Jacobson said.

Read the rest of the story by Open Campus rural education reporter Nick Fouriezos in his Mile Markers newsletter.

We want to hear from you!

If you are formerly incarcerated, please take a few moments to fill out this survey about your experience with college and career during reentry. What do you wish you had known? What were the most important sources of information about education and work when you came home? This will help inform our future coverage and content in College Inside. The survey closes June 16. 

Let’s connect

Please connect if you have story ideas or just want to share your experience with prison education programs as a student or educator. You can always reach me at [email protected] or on Bluesky, LinkedIn, or Instagram. To reach me via snail mail, you can write to: Open Campus, 2460 17th Avenue #1015, Santa Cruz, CA 95062.

We know that not everyone has access to email, so if you’d like to have a print copy College Inside sent to an incarcerated friend or family member, you can sign them up here. We also publish the PDFs of our print newsletter on the Open Campus website.

There is no cost to subscribe to the print edition of College Inside. But as a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on grants and donations to keep bringing you the news about prison education. You can also donate here.

Interested in reaching people who care about higher education in prisons? Get in touch at [email protected] or request our media kit.

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