Lethbridge Polytechnic is celebrating some good news thanks to the Alberta government.
The Inmate Education Grant agreement with the province has been renewed. It stipulates that the post-secondary’s Lakeshore campus, which is located at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, will receive about $2.1 million over the next three years. The agreement allows the polytechnic to provide programming for incarcerated individuals.
Officials note that programming at the Lakeshore campus 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 Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis. “Through Lakeshore’s valuable in-facility programming, inmates can access educational resources and instruction that will set them up for success after release.”
The programming at Lakeshore is offered through Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Centre for Business, Arts and Sciences. Officials say the main goal is to offer reasonable opportunities for inmates to take part in and complete courses that could increase their ability to successfully reintegrate into the community when they are released.
“We are excited to continue offering educational programming for our students at Lethbridge Correctional Centre and Medicine Hat Remand Centre. This grant will allow us to continue to provide students with tools that will help them succeed,” says Kimberly Pregernig, educational coordinator and Academic Upgrading instructor at Lakeshore.
Pregernig works alongside two full-time instructors, seven casual and a program assistant at the campus. They deliver the three educational streams available to students:
- Academic Upgrading – basic adult education courses like math, language arts, social studies and science, which help strengthen literacy and numeracy skills. Courses are the same as those at the polytechnic’s main campus, with students earning credits that can be used for entrance to 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 that is related to different areas like carpentry, small engine repair and construction safety.
The Lakeshore campus also offers Indigenous-centred education through an Indigenous Release Planning course. The polytechnic says it is 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 of the 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 courses to inmates since the late 1970s.
