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Illiteracy
Continued from Page 2A
But states are only required to report
on a set list of outcomes for this, said
Sean Addie, director of correctional
education for the U.S. Department of
Education. And states are not required
to use these federal funds for correc-
tional education, so they wouldn’t
haven’t have to report anything if that
was the case.
“The short answer (to) what educa-
tion is available to adults is ‘it depends,’
“ Addie said. “It depends on the state or
system and it depends on the individual
prison.”
Funding for low-level readers
After being suspended from elemen-
tary school, Cody Madrid, a prisoner at
Snake River, went to another school and
did well. He earned mostly Bs and Cs in
middle school, he said, and with the help
of his high school teachers, earned his
diploma. In his free time, he likes read-
ing about history.
But Madrid struggles to find text
clues and understand what he’s read in
emails and memos, or detailed instruc-
tions – any large chunk of text.
“I just go super quick, then I don’t look
at it,” he said. “And I get all the wrong
answers.”
To pass out of his reading level, Ma-
drid, 23, needs to receive a score of 235 or
higher on the CASAS exam. He’s taken
the test multiple times, with his highest
score, as of June 10, reaching 232.
He expects to be paroled in 2024. He
wants to enroll at Portland Community
College, then figure out what comes
next.
“Take your time,” Madrid offered as
advice for others working on their litera-
cy skills. “And if you need any help, ask
the question.”
While education programs are cru-
cial for adults in custody, there is limited
state funding.
The Oregon Department of Correc-
tions operates on an approximately $2
billion budget per biennium.
The department is responsible for a
range of services, including addiction
and mental health treatment, cognitive-
behavioral programming and educa-
tion.
About $11 million of the department’s
budget — about 5.5% — is allocated to
adult basic skills development educa-
tion. This umbrella category covers ev-
erything from basic reading skills to
GED prep.
There is no funding allocated specifi-
cally for low-level readers.
Corrections officials estimated the $11
million covers about $3,000 to $3,500
per student for contracted adult basic
education services. With COVID-19,
they said, they have served fewer stu-
dents this biennium than normal.
U.S. Census Bureau data show Ore-
gon’s per-pupil spending on K-12 stu-
dents as of 2021 to be about $12,450 per
student.
Some states spent more, such as the
California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation’s estimated $176.8
million for “academic adult education,”
which includes but is not limited to ba-
sic literacy programs. California’s pris-
on population is about eight times larger
than Oregon’s. But state officials would
not give a per-pupil estimate.
Jennifer Black, the acting communi-
cations administrator for the Oregon
Department of Corrections, said the
agency’s executive team has not final-
ized its areas of focus for the next bien-
nium.
“This is an ongoing discussion,” she
said. “Education is an important com-
ponent of the programs provided in our
prisons.”
Liz Merah, press secretary for the of-
fice of Gov. Kate Brown, said the gover-
nor’s priority remains to create a “seam-
less system of education from cradle to
career,” including expanding early
learning programs for rural families,
families of color and those with lower
incomes.
“This work is important, but the
criminal justice system does not have
sole responsibility for many of the chal-
lenges facing our communities, includ-
ing adult literacy,” she said.
“By making these investments, com-
bined with DOC’s work to administer
adult education programs for (adults in
custody), Oregon is aiming to close the
equity gaps in all our systems.”
Barriers to access
Scott “Scottie” Smith is finishing his
fourth prison sentence, following juve-
nile detention throughout his teens. The
nearly 30-year-old said he’s never
stepped foot in a high school.
He didn’t take education inside seri-
ously. His mandatory classes were just a
way to pass time, he said, until he start-
ed Heather Goldblatt’s basic education
course at OSCI in Salem and started to
pay attention. Now, he’s a graduate of
that class, working to pass his final two
tests before he earns his GED.
“It really put me forward,” Smith
said.
He now sees education as the key to
getting out and staying out. Smith
wants to have an in-person graduation
ceremony; he wants to start his own
business.
“I used to be a high wire, like, active
gang member out there,” he said. “Now
I’m focused on getting all that together.”
Students and educators in correc-
tions face barriers uncommon in the
K-12 setting.
Class rosters can change daily or
weekly. Class times might not consider
students’ work schedules or counseling
sessions. They may be interrupted if
there is a lockdown due to a fight or they
have to return to housing units for
count. They disproportionately have
past trauma and are dealing with other
issues like gang politics and addiction
recovery. Some classes are only avail-
able in wards with certain security lev-
els.
As students entered Heather Gold-
blatt’s classroom at OSCI one morning
in May, they each grabbed the blue or
black folder with their names on it from
a table.
The group of students that day —
some of whom have been incarcerated
for a matter of months, others for dec-
ades — discussed the merits of driver-
less cars. The words “pros” and “cons”
already were written and underlined on
the whiteboard. As they debated their
initial opinions, Goldblatt transcribed
the ideas. They watched a video, read an
opinion piece and debated again.
At the end of the class, Goldblatt
asked the students to write a paragraph
expressing whether they each thought
life would be better with driverless cars.
Goldblatt said she adjusts her teach-
ing and materials to fit the varying levels
of students. She also works to create an
environment in which students are will-
ing to make mistakes, take risks and still
feel supported, which can be especially
challenging in a prison setting.
“A big part of what creates an ‘institu-
tionalized mentality’ is the severing of
human relationships,” Goldblatt said,
referring to an idea that incarcerated in-
dividuals should keep their heads down
and ‘do their time.’ “Grey areas or com-
plexities and layers and pros and cons
and all those sorts of higher-level think-
ing skills are pretty challenging to sus-
tain in here.
“They’re not encouraged. They’re not
rewarded. They can get you in trouble.”
Goldblatt said she worries most
about what happens when her students
are released back into a world that’s
filled with grey. And that’s why she’s ad-
amant about creating a supportive
atmosphere behind the fence.
“Education is almost the only place in
the institutions where we can do some-
thing different. We are in a classroom,
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together,” she said. “Yes, we’re develop-
ing literacy skills, which are so impor-
tant … but almost more importantly,
we’re keeping those connections to hu-
man relations, to a bigger world that’s
outside of this dreary world that we’re
in.”
Hundreds of Oregon prisoners are
waiting to get into these classes.
Social distancing and other CO-
VID-19 safety requirements are among a
long list of reasons for wait times. Re-
sources and available space were cited
by Hightower as the primary reasons.
Most prisons were not built with edu-
cation as the main focus, and rooms are
used for multiple purposes. Classrooms
also are used for substance abuse treat-
ment and religious services, for exam-
ple. And when in use, these areas re-
quire security, which is limited by staff
scheduling.
“Students may also be on the waitlist
because they have medical or mental
health issues that are taking preceden-
ce,” she said. “(Placement) in a disci-
plinary unit may also keep them on the
waitlist.”
In Washington, their waitlist of more
than 1,700 is about the same as the num-
ber of students enrolled. Corrections of-
ficials there said waitlists have de-
creased during the pandemic, as the
prison population also has decreased.
Oregon’s prison population has been
roughly stagnant in the last year. How-
ever, there was a decrease from more
than 14,000 in Jan. 2020 to about 12,000
in June 2021.
There’s a disparity statewide for who
is waiting the longest.
The Statesman’s analysis of Oregon
Corrections data found about 7% of
those testing below the eighth-grade
level are women, matching the portion
of women in the total state prison pop-
ulation.
But more than 67% of these low-liter-
acy female prisoners have never been
enrolled in the proper education pro-
gram. About 44% of men who are low-
level readers have never been enrolled
either.
More than half of the state’s Black
prisoners assigned mandatory literacy
education have never been enrolled.
Corrections officials said the state
has not looked into the reasons for the
disparities.
‘They’re going to
be our neighbors’
Kristina Landrum makes answer
keys, grades assignments and works
with students on particularly tough
See ILLITERACY, Page 4A
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