Education Services

Unified School District #1

24 Wolcott Hill Road
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Phone: (860) 692-7537
Fax: (860) 692-7538
Directions

Acting Superintendent: Maria Pirro

Education continues to be one of the Department's most valuable assets in providing opportunities that will support an offender's successful reintegration back into the community. Education in the CT Department of Correction (DOC) is provided through Unified School District #1 (USD #1). USD #1 is a legally vested school district within the Department of Correction (DOC).

Our USD#1 motto is defined by the Latin phrase contained on the District's seal. The phrase, "Non Sum Qualis Eram" translates into English as, "I am not, what I once was." The hope is that through education, incarcerated individuals will be provided with some of the core tools required to change their path in life.

Academic and vocational training is provided to inmates through a variety of programs flexible enough to accommodate a variety of learning styles. Development of the learner's ability to reason and to know where to seek information through the use of technology and traditional means is considered to be as essential as the mastery of facts.

Unified School District #1 is one of the leaders in correctional education in the nation with over 200 employees in 15 facilities. All professional staff are highly qualified and state certified as required through the Connecticut State Department of Education. On a yearly basis approximately 40% of the inmate population attends some form of educational programming. Daily enrollment is approximately 2,500 students. More than 75% of the population does not have a high school diploma upon admission. According to the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), the average student functions at between a 5th and 6th grade level in reading, math and language arts.

A comprehensive adult basic education (ABE) program serves as the foundation for all program offerings. This program includes Adult Basic Education (ABE), General Education Diploma (GED) preparation, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and special education services. Alternative high school programs such as the External Diploma Program (EDP) and high school completion, vocational education, post-secondary education and enrichment classes, including transition and parenting skills are also offered to eligible students. A comprehensive 21-day Re-entry curriculum is provided in some of our facilities to assist students with their transition back to the community.

Annually, USD #1 awards in excess of 550 GED diplomas, more than any other educational system in the state of Connecticut. Through our vocational classes, students receive Connecticut Vocational Certificates in such careers as Auto Body Technology, Building Maintenance, Carpentry, Computer Repair, Cosmetology, Drafting CAD/CAM, Graphics and Printing Technology and Culinary Arts. The potential for employment upon release is further enhanced through work skill readiness programs and job fairs held at many of the Department's facilities.

Connecticut State Department of Correction