What We Do
Correctional facilities are filled with youth who struggle in traditional educational settings and have been let down by adults. Too many have experienced abuse or neglect, unsafe neighborhoods, homelessness and/or involvement in the foster care system.
Gateways raises public awareness on why it is important to not leave these youth behind.
College student Maya had the eye-opening opportunity to take a class through Gateways, an education program that enables incarcerated youth to learn alongside college students. In this premiere episode of Gateways, Maya tells us about the program that introduced her to her four friends, J.J., Terrence, Christian and Daniel, who have all been at one time or are currently incarcerated, and how their lives were improved through education.
How Our Programs Work
A Gateways education, like most offerings at Evergreen, is not your typical academic experience.
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 Classes
Evergreen faculty offer the Gateways College Class twice a week inside the Green Hill School, a juvenile correctional facility for young men under age 21.
Unique features include:
- Evergreen 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
College students from Evergreen and community volunteers provide academic mentoring within Washington’s Juvenile Justice an Rehabilitation Administration facilities. Gateways’ Academic Mentoring Program engages youth through individual, peer, and group mentoring models.
Exposure and access to higher education, in all forms, is the major component of the program. 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
Why We Do It
Students with disabilities, and those who require special education services, are four times more likely to be incarcerated. Youth of color are over-represented, both locally and nationally from arrest rates to adult court transfer.
Juvenile correctional facilities cannot meet these complex and unique educational needs alone.
Over 98% of all incarcerated youth are released and return to our communities. However, most do not return to school, earn a high school diploma or pursue post-secondary education.
How We Do It
Gateways provides the individualized approach needed to reengage incarcerated youth in learning and community. Our focus on culture—helping all students learn their own and respecting others—is critical to breaking the cycle of incarceration, violence and recidivism.
Ways We Engage Incarcerated Youth
- Evergreen faculty lead seminars at juvenile correctional facilities for course credit at no cost to youth
- Youth get time with Evergreen students and volunteers who serve as academic mentors and coaches
And our program works. Since 1996, over 1,000 incarcerated youth have made academic gains in attendance, grade-level promotion and unlocked their potential for change.
Past Events
Technology Access Foundation
Gateways staff Marcenia Milligan and Talib Williams celebrating the work of the Technology Access Foundation at their annual Varsity Luncheon. The Foundation equips students of color for success in college and life through the power of a science, technology, engineering and math education.
Visit from Dr. Lynette Tannis
Dr. Lynette Tannis, author of the new book, Educating Incarcerated Youth - Exploring the Impact of Relationships, Expectations, Resources and Accountability - spoke to Gateways faculty and students on Evergreen's Olympia Campus.
Gateways Partnership Impacts
"Gateways has challenged me to be the best that I can be by working toward goals that are influenced by dreams. It has given me the confidence, determination and insight to see that dreams can be achieved through education. Becoming a part of the program has challenged me to be a leader who focuses on learning and on teaching others the value of education.”
- Gateways Academic Mentoring Program Participant