Dean of Prison and Reentry Education Program (PREP)

Position Summary

Under the general direction of the Vice President of Instruction, the Dean of the Prison and Reentry Education Program (PREP) will support processes that prepare incarcerated and reentry students for success in higher education, degree attainment, and in the development of career readiness skills. The Dean of PREP will facilitate collaboration among the Los Rios colleges and prison personnel to increase the number of programs, degree pathways, Career Education (CE) courses and programs offered to incarcerated students. The Dean of PREP will work with instructional, student services, and CE leadership at American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake, and Sacramento City Colleges, and interface with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, and Sacramento Probation Department. Such facilities may include Folsom Men’s Facility, California State Prison, Sacramento, Mule Creek State Prison, Sacramento Sheriff’s County Jail, and Sacramento County Probation Youth Detention Facility. The Dean will identify barriers and advocate for interventions to increase student enrollment, retention, and completion. The Dean of PREP will also support the ongoing work of reentry programs at each college campus, integrating existing wrap-around student services.

This position is supported by Strong Workforce Program funding. The position requires additional CDCR background clearances to gain entry into facilities/settings.
 

Typical Duties

LEADERSHIP / COORDINATION
 

• Providing on-going leadership and direction in the coordination of course scheduling, teaching assignments, facility oversight, and managing supplies and equipment.
• Collaborating with prison partners on the use of instructional facilities in support of the PREP program.
• Supporting faculty, staff, and/or the college in seeking external funding to strengthen the PREP program.
• Providing leadership for the continuous development of specialized PREP programming.
• Fostering a culture of student success, which encourages course completion, degree and certificate completion, transfer, and career readiness skill development.
• Resolving student, staff, and faculty concerns and conflicts using conflict resolution techniques.
• Functioning as the first line administrator in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of assigned instructional programs and services.
• Coordinating the faculty and staff selection process including developing and reviewing selection criteria, recruiting, screening, interviewing, and recommending within areas of responsibility.
• Providing administrative leadership in the development and management of the budget in areas supervised.
• Coordinate on-going facility access for instructors, and one-time facility access for performance evaluation review teams and program guests
• Collaborating with colleges’ Career Education leadership representatives, instructional deans and department chairs to implement programs geared toward improving incarcerated and re-entry students’ ability to find employment upon release.
• Working with the Vice President of Instruction, area instructional deans, Academic Senate, and department chairs to recruit faculty for instruction in the prison program.
• Working with Instructional Scheduling Assistants and Accounting Specialists to create teaching assignments.
• Working with colleges’ student services professionals to identify, schedule, and coordinate wrap-around services to incarcerated students.
• Oversee required facility memos to ensure instructional supplies and materials are cleared and available in facility classrooms.
• Coordinate the selection, purchasing, inventorying and delivery of instructional materials for in-facility programs.
• Supporting reentry efforts in-facility.
• Supporting the Reemerging Scholars/Rising Scholars re-entry programs for each college campus.
• Integrating existing wrap-around student services, and outreach.
• Coordinate districtwide efforts to enhance reentry support and data collection processes.
• Overseeing development and implementation MOUs with external organizations and entities, and with the faculty union.
• Representing PREP in regional and statewide network meetings.
• Supporting community outreach and funding opportunities.

COLLABORATION / TEAM BUILDING
 

• Serving as a liaison between PREP and multiple internal and external agencies.
• Working cooperatively with the administrative team in support of college and District goals and serving on teams, committees, and work groups as appropriate.
• Partnering with designated prison personnel to provide services to students.
• Organizing meetings for faculty, instructional deans, and related college personnel with prison education partners.
• Working with colleges’ career counseling and transfer programs to enhance career pathways for formerly incarcerated students.
• Working with colleges’ student support programs to ensure prison education students have equitable access to student support services.
  
   

PROJECT DOCUMENTATION / DELIVERABLES
 

• Conducting on-going program evaluations with all stakeholders (e.g. CDCR partners, students, faculty, and classified support staff)
• Auditing PREP program to ensure compliance with the requirements of both the State Chancellor’s Office and accreditation requirements concerning curriculum, faculty, and students.
• Evaluating and assessing the use of instructional technologies.
• Preparing proposals, requests and reports relating to schedules, staffing, budgets, and textbooks.
• Developing and administering the PREP budget and external grants.
• Working with program chair, department chairs to develop class schedules, unit plans, and program plans.
• Tracking of PREP student headcounts and enrollments to ensure accuracy of prison education data.
   

TRAINING / STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND SUPERVISION
 

• Overseeing staff and faculty recruitment, selection, onboarding, evaluation, and on-going professional development.
• Supervising program chair, coordinators, and faculty in assigned instructional programs.
• Overseeing required facility clearance and background processes for faculty and staff.
• Coordinating processing of faculty ESA and travel authorizations as applicable.
• Ensuring that prison education students have equitable access to enroll in courses.
• Coordinating and directing the supervision and evaluation of all classified staff.
• Performing other duties as assigned.
   

Minimum Qualifications

1. Have a master’s degree from an accredited institution.
2. Have one year of formal training, internship, or leadership experience reasonably related to the administrator’s administrative assignment.
3. Have an equity-minded focus, responsiveness, and sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, including those with physical or learning disabilities as it relates to differences in learning styles; and successfully foster and support an inclusive educational and employment environment.

NOTE:
Applicant must meet the minimum qualifications of a faculty discipline at the college. To review the minimum qualifications for faculty disciplines, refer to Minimum Qualifications for Faculty and Administrators' in California Community Colleges which can be found at the California Community Colleges website then "Minimum Qualifications Handbook".