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J.F. Ingram State welcomed Mike Raita and Cary Hill from U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville's office yesterday at Bibb Instructional Service Center in Brent. Raita and Hill were impressed by the quality training students receive and the extensive skills training certifications offered. The highlight of the tour was when the students conducted an in-person demonstration of the CNC Router. They left the facility inspired by the great work Alabama is doing to combat recidivism and strengthen reentry practices.
Dr. Larry Miller, Director of Limestone Instructional Service Center, gave the commencement speech for the Huntsville Day Reporting Center last week. Dr. Miller reflected back on his time with the group and the personal development he saw in every participant. He urged the individuals to keep going after their education goals and to become the best versions of themselves.
J.F. Ingram State attended U.S. Representative Terri Sewell's 13th Annual Job Fair in Bessemer earlier this month. During the job fair they met with several former students and established new employer connections for future graduates.
#careergoals #accs #correctionaled #reentry
J.F. Ingram State met with New Flyer of America in #Anniston earlier this month to establish a new career pathway for #logistics and #welding graduates. Jade Gantt, Scotty Curry, and Matt Poole met with officials to understand how they can best train their students to fill their vacancies.
#careergoals #partnerships #industryjobs
The Main Campus welcomed Marshall Macheledt and Bill Harris from the office of U.S. Representative Barry Moore for a tour of J.F. Ingram State last week. While on campus, they spoke with faculty and students to gain a better understanding of how Ingram State is helping its students acquire marketable skills that can lead to better jobs and lower recidivism rates in Alabama.
This month participants from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles PREP Center participated in the Skills for Success Food and Beverage and Heavy Equipment Operator laboratories!
The Food & Beverage lab, trained necessary skills to serve, host, and how to use knives, weights and measures, date marking, labeling and receiving, rolling silverware, and preparing corn fritter batter.
The Heavy Equipment Operator lab focused on components of a skid steer, moving equipment around barricades, and raise and lower the bucket to move and empty materials.
The skills participants acquire in these labs are directly applicable to the labor market. Ingram State is pleased to collaborate with Skills for Success on training.
We are excited to begin having conversations with another state that focuses on #correctionaleducation and providing workforce opportunities to their justice-involved citizens. In August, Dean of Instruction Butch Young met with an Iowa Office of Apprenticeship official and the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship to discuss Alabama's pathway for a successful registered apprenticeship program for individuals housed in a correctional setting prior to release.
The meeting was beneficial for all parties as both Alabama and Iowa look to create new pathways for individuals to enter the workforce and have sustainable success.
Attention Alabama! Stay tuned for the Skills for Success Innovation Unplugged podcast featuring ISTC Pardons and Paroles Programming Director LaShanda Hails. During the segment LaShanda discusses how Ingram State is assisting justice-involved students across the state through correctional education.
Ingram State hosted the 2024 Fall Institute last week featuring several guest speakers! During professional development, employees received recertification with the Alabama Department of Corrections, engaged in team building exercises with Troy University Continuing Education and Outreach, and learned about upcoming changes with the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
On the final day of training, the Paths for Success Foundation sponsored guest speaker Charles Clark to put everyone in the right frame of mind to take on the next year and focus on the mission, one day at a time. His words uplifted the room and everyone felt empowered going into the Fall semester.
President Annette Funderburk had the amazing opportunity to join the Alabama Community College System for a roundtable discussion with NBA legend Charles Barkley at Southern Union State Community College on Friday.
During President Funderburk's discussion with Barkley she explained the Ingram Story. The efforts of ISTC and the state of Alabama to reduce recidivism and equip justice-involved individuals with employable skills were truly remarkable to him. We are looking forward to possible future endeavors with Barkley and cannot want to see what the future holds!
“The number one way you can make life better is with an education. What the Alabama Community College System is doing for students in Alabama is just remarkable. It needs more exposure,” Barkley said.
It is a source of great pride for J.F. Ingram State that student artwork may be found in the Alabama Community College System Skills for Success Innovation Center in Decatur. The metal floral artwork is on show on the rear patio, while the stairwell features the air balloon painting. The artwork was featured in the yearly Oratorical and Visual Arts Contest in the spring. Please show us know how much you appreciate the pieces by leaving a comment below.
The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles and J.F. Ingram State collaborated to provide a presentation at the American Probation and Parole Association conference last month. LaShanda Hails, Director of ABPP Programs at Ingram State, and Rebecca Bensema, Assistant Director of ABPP for Reentry, spoke at the conference regarding the educational resources available to ABPP clients in Alabama. Ingram State is honored to collaborate with ABPP in order to inform our state counterparts about the significance of education for a successful return to society.
J.F. Ingram State is a proud partner with Alabama Public Television. APT's executive members toured Draper Instructional Service Center in Elmore last week to see firsthand how the college is spearheading Alabama's efforts in correctional education. Attendees had conversations with existing students, learned about the numerous program options, and experienced something eye-opening. J.F. Ingram State believes having the students tell our narrative is the most effective method to do it. Thank you for all who participated in the discussion and tour, we look forward to growing our partnership.
J.F. Ingram State is excited to recognize Adult Education Instructors Marilyn DeNeal and Michael Jones for their three years of service. They have serve as integral parts of the education pathway, and we look forward to their continued success.
J.F. Ingram State is proud to recognize Carpentry Instructor, Eric Trahan, and Office Administration Instructor, Dawn McClarin, for attending the Alabama Community College System Alabama Master Teacher Experience (AMTE) at Northeast Alabama Community College in Rainsville. During the training, they learned best practices in the classroom and brainstormed through everyday challenges with counterparts across the community college system. The training they received will be transferred into their classrooms and help improve the daily learning process of Ingram students!
Draper Instructional Service Center in Elmore hosted a Battle of the Barbers where ISTC Barbers faced off with Staton Correctional Facility Barbers. Each side hosted 5 barbers to represent their side for the showdown. Each baker had 30 minutes to meet with their client and perform a mid-fade haircut. Coming out on top from Ingram State, Antonio Ray, and from Staton Correctional Facility, Jaboree Watson.
#barbering #funcompetition #correctionaleducation
J.F. Ingram State would like to recognize Daphne Thompson and Danae Ware for passing their CDL test! Thank you #ADOC and #ALEA for assisting us during this process and being a partner in developing responsible citizens. We are honored to offer #CDL to four locations across the state and look forward to the next round of drivers!
#truckdriving #accs #correctionaleducation
This month Zeb Furgeson celebrated his 10 years of service with as an Alabama educator! Zeb is the #welding instructor at Limestone Correctional Facility in Harvest. He has worked in correctional education since 2020, and thriving as with nearly a full classroom every semester! Ingram State is proud to have Zeb on our team and look forward to the next 10 years!
#accs #correctioneducation #jfi #education
In 2024, J.F. Ingram State multiple students submitted artwork to the Alabama Arts Alive Festival in Florence. Ingram State is proud to announce that a #welding student from Main Campus in Deatsville received the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts Merit Award for his Proud Peacock.
Before the peacock took form, it was an older model type writer. The student took apart the typewriter key by key and hand constructed the keys into beautiful feathers and engineered the head from a pair of pliers. It is a great representation of his artwork and skills he learned in welding.
Take a moment to recognize his hard work by dropping a comment below!
#correctionaleducation #artcontest #accs
Recently, J.F. Ingram State students at Bibb Correctional Facility held a forklift operator training for select first and second semester students. These students now have a vital tool they can use during the road to reentry.
Did you know, according the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, Forklift operators' median salary in 2023 was $44,750? Did you also know that all career technical #ISTC students undergo a two-day forklift operator training and receive a certificate of completion?
J.F. Ingram State focuses on training students in areas where Alabama needs them the most, and where they can be successful when they reenter society. Forklift Operators are needed on almost every construction site, warehouse, industrial plant, and more. By having this one credential in their tool belt it tremendously expands their opportunity to find a career!
#skills4success #correctionaleducation #jfi #accs #developingresponsiblecitizens #secondchancepell #reentry