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A pilot project launched by the the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Corrections is being met with positive results.
The project allows inmates at the Southwestern Detention Centre in Windsor to take courses to help them receive their Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
The program — which has been running since January 2016 and is now fully enrolled with students for its fall semester — is carried out by teachers in the Greater Essex County District School Board.
Kristin, a teacher at the Southwest Detention Centre whose full name cannot be revealed for confidentiality reasons, says the project has positively affected inmates and correctional officers alike.
"Actually it has been great," says Kristin. "The response has been tremendous and the students are very motivated to learn."
She also says students who are successful in class are generally better-behaved with correctional officers.
"I think a lot of them had negative school experiences before and so this is an opportunity to try it again,” says Kristin. “It is a small environment, it is a very supportive environment, so I think that they put themselves out there and they have been presently surprised with their success."
Above all, Kristin says the program is a way for students to have a second chance in life.
"I teach a little bit of everything, but basically what we are doing is trying to get inmates up to Grade 12,” she says. “So we want them to earn credits towards their Grade 12 diploma. I hope that it will continue, it is in its pilot phase and we are seeing a lot of success so I hope it continues."
The project's future is still ambiguous. However, members of the ministries involved say they will continue offering funding.