Education in Prisons Helps Entire Family

50 year old John Townsend, a former inmate at FCI Morgantown has gotten back on his feet after his three year stay in prison.  Placed in FCI Morgantown because of minor vandalism and drug charges, Mr. Townsend presented exemplary behavior in prison once he received rehabilitation for his drug habit.  He was one of the first graduates of the six-week job preparation program.

Now, Mr. Townsend has become a manager of a local convenience store, working his was up from working in unloading deliveries and stocking the shelves.  However, both his stint in prison and the education that helped him are not unique just to John.  His son, Terrell, has also received a more traditional sort of education while in a juvenile center, but also proving that education works to rehabilitate inmates and reduce recidivism rates.




Deborah Townsend, John's wife and Terrell's mother, has called FCI Morgantown "a blessing."  It has helped her family get back on their feet financially and helped create a more stable environment for her, John, and Terrell.

She says that once Terrell saw his father learning while incarcerated, graduating successfully from a program, and finding a steady job inspired him to work harder in school and graduate from his program as well.

Both her husband and son are staying clear of trouble, and Terrell has even been able to rejoin the public school community as part of the football team.

English 304 Community Education is thrilled to have been a part of this rehabilitation, both of a man, and of a family.

This video was taken from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUfLtZYkRG4&feature=related

Work Study - FCI Morgantown

The success rate of English 304 Community Education's six-week intensive job preparation program at FCI Morgantown is astounding.  Starting with just six laptop computers, a printer, and Microsoft Office, this program has developed into a full course of job preparation for prisoners leaving jail.


While in the beginning, the program focused on the creation of résumés and cover letters, as well as a career fair at the end of the program, we have grown to having over 30 volunteers that assist in interview preparation, seminars on professionalism, assistance in finding transportation to and from jobs, and following up with ex-inmates to see how their jobs are working out.


This type of preparation and follow up has helped decrease recidivism rates greatly.  As our program continued to grow, we turned to the National Institute of Justice, the National Institue of Corrections, and the Office of Correctional Education for help.   These groups have implemented successful job preparation, practice, and placement for prisoners.  The key is finding groups - law enforcement officers, various companies willing to hire ex-inmates, and those business gurus, that are all able to work together to effectively build a practicing work environment for the prisoners.


We are slowly trying to implement this sort of program - day to day jobs with a hierarchy of job positions so that inmates are able to learn how to work as a team, progress within the job market, and establish a sense of timeliness and responsibility.


As we get more volunteers and receive the funding, we hope to implement this "work study" at FCI Morgantown.


Photo taken from: http://www.lacp.org/Graphics/PrisonersWorking.jpg

English 304 Community Education Helps Reduce Recidivism Rate at FCI Morgantown

FCI Morgantown hosts over 1,000 minimum security prisoners, and each day to these prisoners is a day closer to their release.  English 304 Community Education, a non-profit organization is dedicated to providing education to these prisoners on creating effective cover letters and resumes through a six week program, so when released, they find jobs.  Through grant money obtained from a proposal to the Human Fund, this program has effectively helped hundreds of prisoners already.

With the help of retired Economics professor, Cosmo Kramer, and other volunteers, English 304 Community Education provides computers and printers to the prisoners at FCI Morgantown so they can learn how to use software, such as Microsoft Office while also learning to write cover letters and resumes.  By providing these tools, as well as interviewing techniques, we are providing these prisoners with excellent opportunities to obtain jobs.  At the end of the six week period, prisoners are also given the opportunity to attend a job fair with potential future employers.

It is proven through various studies that by providing education to prisoners, recidivism rates decrease greatly.  This project has already helped numerous prisoners obtain and keep many jobs.  Inspired in part by a successful program in New York, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), English 304 Community Education has helped prisoners find better lives after prison, reducing the rate of prisoners returning to FCI Morgantown.

English 304 Community Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping adult learners improve their literacy and/or speaking skills.  In order to learn more about English 304 Community Education, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact us at:

Email: Eng304commedu@gmail.com
Phone: (555) 555-5555

Our offices are located in:
 G05 Colson Hall
1500 University Ave.
Mogantown, WV 26506

Photo available at: http://www.seiuca.org/assets/assetcontent/0e55bf1a-e84d-458e-8324-18458a5fd611/7f06529a-96fa-4a76-ab16-9dbdaa6fcd1b/2dd76402-4f59-4d90-8f88-9544b2a50ce5/1/prison_ed_small.jpg