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MMC Prison Education Programs Persevere Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

Students, faculty, and administrators of Marymount Manhattan College’s Bedford Hills College Program (BHCP) and Taconic College Program (TCP) have worked to maintain academic operations, despite the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus in New York State and the resulting limitations on outside visitors to the correctional facilities.

“I am so proud of our students and awed by their dedication,” says Lisette Bamenga, Academic Coordinator for the TCP.  A week after the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision suspended all visitations to combat the spread of COVID-19, Bamenga met Taconic’s deputy in the parking lot and received a box filled with papers, folders, and envelopes. When she returned home, she inspected its contents. “I was overwhelmed with emotions as I realized that students had turned in assignments for every class. All our students are doing well, and all are appreciative of our sticking by them—there are many notes from the students thanking all of us profusely for not giving up on them and continuing the semester.”

Students in the Taconic College Program continue to complete assignments, which are collected and... Students in the Taconic College Program continue to complete assignments, which are collected and delivered for grading.The logistics of teaching within the prison system are already difficult, and the pandemic has only further complicated instruction. Both Bamenga and Aileen Baumgartner, Director of the Bedford Hills College Program at the nearby maximum-security facility, say the faculty have been instrumental in keeping students’ routines as normal as possible. Luckily, program administrators and faculty were able to provide revised syllabi and work materials to their students before the facilities shut down, and they have worked out a system for continuously delivering materials back and forth from the students inside the facility to the faculty on the outside. “Now, each Friday, student work is handed to me at the gate and I drop off about 120 packets that include more paper and pens, corrected papers and exams, copies of articles professors want students to read, and new assignments,” says Baumgartner.  “And always a letter from me.” 

MMC’s prison education programs are among the few that have successfully maintained academic operations in spite of the widespread isolation and social distancing policies necessitated by the outbreak. Many other programs have simply had to shut down, with negative effects for those incarcerated, explains Drew Leder, Ph.D., MMC’s Ferraro Fellow for Prison Education and Public Philosophy. “It took a lot of work and foresight from many people on the inside and out, but MMC has found a way to keep things going, to keep students learning, and to keep work being transmitted between students and faculty.”

We are grateful to all of our instructors and staff who have dedicated and invested their time to continuing to provide an education to the students at the BHCP and TCP campuses. From all of us at MMC, thank you. 

Published: April 03, 2020

remote-learning

Taconic Student Granted Clemency

On December 24, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to an MMC student completing her studies at the Taconic Correctional Facility, citing a clear demonstration of significant rehabilitation and a commitment to her community. Only 21 incarcerated people were granted clemency in 2020 out of more than 1,000 requests from New York State inmates.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo Credit: Chris Rank, Rank Studios