New grant from AIR helps Resilience Education extend high-quality training resources for HEP practitioners nationwide
Charlottesville, VA | Resilience Education is honored to announce a new grant from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), backed by Ascendium Education Group, which will support the development of comprehensive training resources for higher education in-prison (HEP) programs. These resources will ensure that instructors feel more connected and better prepared for the classroom, ultimately, resulting in better experiences for incarcerated students.
Resilience Education has been offering in-prison programs for the past decade. Every year, the team trains a new set of MBA instructors. Most business school students have never been to visit a prison—let alone taught in a carceral setting; adequate training is crucial for learner success. Through interactive discussions, instructors learn about the complexities of the prison system, the impact of trauma on learning, and the cultural considerations necessary for building strong connections with students.
Providing support for HEP instructors and mitigating the risk of burnout
The high levels of stress, a lack of preparation, and high turnover among HEP instructors are not conducive to learner success. Resilience is now leveraging its experience to build an interactive training framework. The research and development process involves consulting with current and former instructors, HEP program staff, and formerly incarcerated students (including those from programs run by other organizations). This process will help to identify knowledge gaps, ensuring these new training resources are robust and meet the needs of both instructors and students.
With support from the Laughing Gull Foundation, Resilience successfully piloted this training framework with Piedmont Virginia Community College’s HEP program, which demonstrated its effectiveness in diverse settings. This new grant from AIR enables the non-profit to draw from its learnings of training MBA students and faculty members at PVCC to develop resources fit for HEP programs across the country.
Collaboration among HEP practitioners with a focus on impact
Resilience will receive dedicated resources, collaborative programming sessions, and financial support to aid the development of its new training resources. AIR has assigned its grantees to pods, which serve as working groups for program implementation. The pods come together to collaborate, learning from one another as they build out their initiatives. Resilience Education has been partnered with Emerson Prison Initiative and the University of North Alabama (Restorative Justice Lab) to help HEP programs and instructors provide the best quality education to incarcerated learners.
“In our kick-off session, Resilience gathered with other non-profits and grantees to work on their projects at American Institutes for Research’s headquarters in Arlington, VA. It was great being in a room with like-minded individuals in the HEP space. I loved seeing how all of our work overlaps and where the gaps are for future research/resource development,” said Jessica Smith, Program Manager at Resilience Education.
Resilience Education team from left to right: Tierney Fairchild, Jessica Smith, Jessica Snow, and Sophia Bender Koning.
Extending training resources for instructors in carceral settings nationwide
The instructor training consists of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, as well as Darden’s esteemed Socratic teaching methodology. When combined, these structured approaches empower instructors to build confidence and self-actualization within incarcerated students. By focusing on preparation and support, these training resources aim to strengthen program implementation, reduce burnout, and ultimately improve outcomes for students in carceral settings.
“Our training framework is built on the understanding that teaching in a correctional setting presents unique challenges,” said Sophia Bender Koning, VP of Product at Resilience Education. “By equipping instructors with the tools, knowledge, and peer support they need, we can help ensure high-quality instruction and foster student confidence and success,” she added.
An instructor’s ability to navigate the complex and challenging environment of teaching in a correctional setting is critical to student success. With the appropriate support structures, these high-quality resources will help to mitigate the risk of burnout and thus foster greater success for students in HEP programs nationwide.
On April 10, Resilience will be conducting a training simulation at the National Conference on Higher Education in Prison (NCHEP) in New Orleans, Louisiana. The non-profit will also seek to identify new pilot partners. More information and the full conference agenda are available on the NCHEP website.
About American Institutes for Research:
The American Institutes for Research® (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance to solve some of the most urgent challenges in the U.S. and around the world. From education to workforce development, to healthcare service and delivery, community safety and well-being, nutrition, agriculture, and food security, AIR’s work drives toward practical solutions that improve lives for families and communities. AIR does this work because it is dedicated to closing gaps to opportunity and access across the lifespan. For more information, visit www.air.org.
About Ascendium Education Group:
Ascendium Education Group® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven by the belief that learning after high school gives people the power to build better futures. Our national philanthropy focuses on increasing opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds to achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training. We partner with organizations whose objectives align with our core strategies to expand opportunity, support learner success, and connect and align systems. Our grantees include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. To learn more, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.
About Resilience Education:
Resilience Education is a non-profit organization focused on breaking the cycle of incarceration by improving the economic mobility of formerly incarcerated individuals through high-quality business education and post-release support. By partnering with correctional facilities, academic institutions, and private sector allies, Resilience Education empowers formerly incarcerated individuals to excel in the workforce. For more information, visit www.resilience-education.org.
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