CEA 80th International Conference
August 2–5, 2026 · Bellevue, WA
CEA 80th International Conference · August 5, 2026 · Bellevue, Washington

Beyond Connectivity

A Holistic View of Corrections Education Technology in Washington State

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC)
Technology Innovation and Support Team

  • Chastity PenningtonAssociate Director of Corrections Education
  • Joanne MunroeCommunity of Practice Coordinator
  • Andy DuckworthTechnology Innovation Officer
  • Mustafa AlshehabSenior Software Engineer
  • John MichelSenior Support Engineer
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Corrections Education

A two-agency partnership serving students statewide

How DOC and SBCTC work together — with colleges, faculty, and navigators — to deliver education across Washington's 10 adult correctional facilities.

Chastity PenningtonAssociate Director of Corrections Education · SBCTC
DOC and SBCTC linked with colleges and facilities around student learning Students at the center DOC SBCTC
Two agencies, one mission — student learning at the center.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
A two-agency partnership

Shared responsibility, statewide reach

Department of Corrections

Operates facilities

Provides access inside Washington’s adult correctional facilities so instruction can happen securely on site.

SBCTC

Coordinates instruction

Administers the interagency agreement and coordinates corrections education across partner colleges.

Delivered under statutory reporting mandate — reaching all 10 Washington state prisons.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Who delivers it

Colleges, faculty, and navigators

Same academic and workforce standards as campus — with support from intake to reentry.

  • 6 community & technical colleges delivered programs in FY25.
  • Faculty teach onsite, inside facilities.
  • Statewide navigator cadre — facility-based and community-based — guides students from intake to reentry.
Colleges, faculty, and navigators connected around student learning Colleges Faculty Navigators Facilities Students at the center
People and institutions deliver the learning — together.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Who we serve

Thousands of adult learners, many starting points

  • ~4,542 students served — about 5,000 including intensive management, treatment, and closed-custody settings.
  • Full adult age range — most between 22 and 44.
  • Wide range of starting points — from first high school credential to college-level coursework.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Programs

Meeting students where they start

A continuum of basic education, workforce training, and growing postsecondary pathways — designed around student readiness, not a single entry point.

Basic Education for Adults

GED, High School+ diploma, English language acquisition, and pre-college.

Workforce training

Construction/building trades, welding, HVAC, automotive & diesel, business, and computer technology.

I-BEST

Pairs basic skills with technical training so students build both at once.

Pre-apprenticeship

Construction Trades pathway recognized by the state apprenticeship council.

Growing postsecondary offerings

Academic certificates, associate degrees, and transfer pathways to four-year institutions.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Outcomes · FY25

Credentials that open doors

Each credential means a student better prepared for employment, further education, and stable reentry.

High school credentials

GED and High School+ pathways completed in FY25.

Workforce certificates

Industry-aligned credentials that support employment after release.

Associate degrees

College degrees earned — with pathways toward further education.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
From partnership to practice

Collaboration makes student learning possible

DOC, SBCTC, colleges, faculty, and navigators share one continuum — from access inside facilities to credentials that support reentry.

Next: Joanne Munroe on the Community of Practice.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Community of Practice

From isolated practice to interdependent system

How infrastructure, a Community of Practice, and student success form one arc — trust and collaboration at the center.

Joanne MunroeCommunity of Practice Coordinator · SBCTC
Infrastructure enables Community of Practice, which accelerates student success Infra structure Community of Practice Student Success enables accelerates
Infrastructure enables community — community accelerates student success.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026

Infrastructure

The Technical Foundation

  • Secured educational internet
  • 10 adult correctional facilities
  • DOC ultimately accountable
  • SBCTC stewards day-to-day
  • 7 colleges partnering at facilities

“The network is live. The foundation is real.”

Community of Practice

The Mechanism · Trust Rebuilt

  • Formed organically by practitioners
  • DOC + SBCTC + colleges in dialogue
  • Shared troubleshooting → best practice
  • Faster problem solving · silos opening
  • Relationships replace bureaucracy

“Trust is not a deliverable. It is a precondition.”

Student Success & Reentry Readiness

Data-Informed · Standards-Driven

  • Technology-enabled instruction
  • Credential + workforce readiness
  • Equity across all facilities and practices
  • Reentry + warm handoffs
  • Policy change + institutional support

“Is the learning happening?”

The Arc: From Isolated to Interdependent

Before
  • Siloed practitioners
  • Parallel problems
  • No shared language
  • Slow resolution
Connecting
  • Practitioners found each other
  • Shared troubleshooting
  • CoP takes shape
  • Dialogue opens
Collaborating
  • DOC + SBCTC + Colleges
  • Trust rebuilt
  • Best practice shared
  • Roles clear
Beyond Connectivity
  • Interdependent system
  • Seamless collaboration
  • Learning accelerated
  • National model
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Beyond connectivity

Trust first — then learning accelerates

The network is live. The Community of Practice rebuilds trust. The question that remains: is the learning happening?

Next: Andy Duckworth on collaborative IT processes.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Corrections Education IT & DOC IT

Collaborative processes that keep learning possible

How SBCTC and DOC IT work together — through shared processes, clear expectations, and regular connection — so educational technology can move forward inside a secured environment.

Andy DuckworthTechnology Innovation Officer · SBCTC
Two partner teams connected through shared processes and ongoing meetings SBCTC DOC IT
Partnership in practice — two teams, shared processes, one educational mission.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Collaborative processes

We don't solve these problems alone

Shared processes turn cross-agency work from ad hoc coordination into a reliable partnership — so educators and students aren't left waiting on unresolved handoffs.

  • Agreed frameworks for security, service expectations, and change.
  • Clear channels when incidents or reviews need both teams at the table.
  • Standing meetings that keep trust and shared responsibility current.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
When it matters most

Summer 2026 laptop security incident

A real test of the partnership — both teams responding together so educational technology could stay secure and learning could continue.

  • Joint response across Corrections Education IT and DOC IT.
  • Security first — within DOC accountability for the secured educational internet infrastructure.
  • Learning protected — day-to-day educational technology stewardship kept students and educators in view.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Shared frameworks

The processes that guide everyday work

Clear, shared expectations help both agencies innovate inside established guidelines — without reinventing the path for every request.

Security Design Review for WaTech

Structured review so changes meet statewide security expectations before they move forward.

Service Level Targets

Agreed expectations for how work is prioritized, supported, and followed through.

Security Baseline

A common reference for what “secure enough” looks like in the educational technology environment.

URL Approval Process

Work in progress — building a clearer path for reviewing and approving educational URLs together.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Cross-team meetings

Relationship is a practice, not a project

Standing forums keep people connected — so problems get shared early, and progress stays collective.

  • Weekly IT — with DOC participating once a month.
  • OSN meetings — connecting practitioners across the network.
  • SBCTC IT / DOC IT leadership check-in — keeping leadership alignment current.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
From process to partnership

Collaboration is part of the infrastructure

Shared processes, joint incident response, and regular cross-team meetings are how SBCTC and DOC IT keep educational technology trustworthy — and learning possible.

Next: Mustafa Alshehab & John Michel on the Open Prison Education platform.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Open Prison Education

A shared platform for learning behind the walls

A secure, open-source platform built specifically for incarcerated students, faculty, and staff — a tool that connects learners to real, transferable education.

Open source Corrections-appropriate Offline-capable
Mustafa AlshehabSenior Software Engineer · SBCTC
John MichelSenior Support Engineer · SBCTC
An interconnected network of people and organizations working together
Technology as a connector — linking people, colleges, and institutions around learning.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Why it matters

Education behind the walls is hard — and it shouldn't be

Commercial tools assume open internet, unmanaged devices, and trusted networks. Corrections education is the opposite reality — and for a long time, many programs faced it alone.

Limited connectivity

Access is intermittent, restricted, or fully air-gapped. Students still need to study every day.

Strict security policy

Devices must be locked down, monitored, and verifiably compliant.

Limited options, tight budgets

Programs need enterprise capability without enterprise licensing.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
The approach

A learning platform built for this reality

A secure, full-featured platform built specifically for incarcerated students, faculty, and staff — with Canvas at its core and student learning at the center.

Canvas LMS at the core Security baked in Works offline Operator-friendly
Student learning at the center of a connected ecosystem of the Department of Corrections, colleges, educators, facilities, and partners DOC Colleges Educators Facilities Partners Students at the center
The technology is the connector; student learning stays at the center.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Familiar & transferable

The same tools students will use on the outside

  • Hosts the open-source Canvas LMS — the platform used by colleges and K–12 districts worldwide.
  • Students build digital literacy on real, transferable software.
  • Credits and course content transfer cleanly to outside institutions.
  • Open source means no per-seat licensing.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Beyond connectivity

Learning that doesn't stop at the network's edge

When the network is down, learning keeps going — then syncs when it returns.

  • Offline-capable desktop client — browse cached courses, draft assignments, sync when the network returns.
  • Optional offline libraries keep foundational learning available regardless of network state.
A student laptop that keeps working offline and syncs with the server when the network returns Server Student laptop
Works when the network doesn't — syncs when it returns.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Trust & shared responsibility

Innovation that corrections can say yes to

Accountable

Department of Corrections

Ultimately accountable for the secured educational internet infrastructure and the guidelines innovation must live within.

Stewards

SBCTC & partners

Support and steward the day-to-day educational technology work with colleges, educators, and practitioners statewide.

Designed for yes: continuous security controls, comprehensive logging, and open-source auditability mean progress happens within DOC guidelines — built on trust between agencies.

Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
Open by design

Built to be shared — and improved together

  • Every component is on GitHub — every change is auditable, and every facility can adapt it.
  • Shared improvements benefit every adopting state.
  • Built on industry-standard open source — Canvas, Docker, PostgreSQL, and Qt.
A community of practice connecting facilities and states that once solved problems in isolation
A community of practice — solving together what we once solved alone.
Beyond Connectivity · CEA 2026
From connectivity to community

Technology connects us — people make it matter

OPE is a tool; the outcome is students learning and partners collaborating across Washington and beyond.

Mustafa and John welcome your questions and dialogue.

1 / 25

Use ← → or Space to navigate · S for speaker notes · F for fullscreen