A renewed Inmate Education Grant agreement with the Government of Alberta means Lethbridge Polytechnic can continue offering quality programming for incarcerated individuals.
The agreement, renewed by the Government of Alberta’s Public Safety and Emergency Services in July, stipulates that the polytechnic’s Lakeshore campus, located at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, will benefit from about $2.1 million over the next three years. Lakeshore programming is also delivered at the Medicine Hat Remand Centre through correspondence.
“It’s essential that we support opportunities that can help put incarcerated individuals on the path to a brighter future,” says Mike Ellis, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services. “Through Lakeshore’s valuable in-facility programming, inmates can access educational resources and instruction that will set them up for success after release.”
Education at Lakeshore campus is offered through the polytechnic’s Centre for Business, Arts and Sciences. The main goal of programming is to provide reasonable opportunities for inmates to participate in and complete courses that may increase their ability to successfully reintegrate into the community.
“We are excited to continue offering educational programming for our students at Lethbridge Correctional Centre and Medicine Hat Remand Centre,” says Kimberly Pregernig, educational coordinator and Academic Upgrading instructor at Lakeshore campus. “This grant will allow us to continue to provide students with tools that will help them succeed."
Pregernig works with two fellow full-time instructors, seven casual instructors and a program assistant at Lakeshore campus. Together, they deliver the three educational streams available to students:
- Academic Upgrading – basic adult education courses such as math, language arts, social studies and science, to strengthen literacy and numeracy skills. Courses are the same as those offered on Lethbridge Polytechnic’s main campus with students receiving credits that can be used for entrance into post-secondary programs.
- Personal Development – skills development courses for life and employment such as addictions awareness, anger management, family violence prevention and release planning.
- Job Employment Skills Training – exposure to specific job skills providing inmates with experience related to various vocations such as carpentry, small engine repair and construction safety.
Lakeshore campus also offers Indigenous-centred education in the form of an Indigenous Release Planning course – the only one of its kind in Alberta.
“Lakeshore campus is a very important and successful contributor to the range of programming offered by Lethbridge Polytechnic,” says Dr. Kevin Smith, dean, Centre for Business, Arts and Sciences. “It’s admired throughout the province as illustrated by the program’s expansion to the Medicine Hat Remand Centre.”
Lethbridge Polytechnic has been offering education courses to inmates since the late 1970s. Over the decades, the courses have evolved into the programming that is offered today.