How Our Programs Work

There are no pre-programmed majors, core competencies, or prerequisites. Faculty prepare descriptive syllabuses, as opposed to prescriptive curriculum. Classes and workshops link theory to lived experience and current events.

Gateways College Class

Evergreen faculty offer the Gateways College Class twice a week inside the Green Hill School, a juvenile correctional facility for young men under 21. Unique features include:

• Evergreen college students and incarcerated youth learn together in the same classroom.
• Both college and high school credits can be earned.
• Incarcerated youth help design lesson plans and lead workshops with other students.

Academic Mentoring Program (AMP)

Evergreen college students and community volunteers provide academic mentoring within Washington’s Juvenile Justice & Rehabilitation Administration (JJ&RA) facilities. Gateways’ Academic Mentoring Program (AMP) engages youth through individual, peer, and group mentoring models.

Exposure and access to higher education, in all forms, is the major component of AMP. Mentors help youth identify their interests and develop goals based on their sentences. Gateways staff work to connect youth with a wide variety of resources both within the institutions and community.

This project receives support from the Washington Campus Compact College Access Corps, part of the AmeriCorps program.

Community Education

Gateways is a program rooted in social justice and social change. We educate locally and nationally on the educational needs of incarcerated youth. We partner with a wide range of community groups and within both public and private sectors to:

• Conduct presentations, workshops and trainings
• Create opportunities for youth to tell their own stories