В тюрьме Калифорнии заключенные осваивают строительные профессии для успешной реинтеграции в общество

The work looks a lot like a construction site. Outside a classroom at California State Prison, Solano, a group of incarcerated men in hard hats, goggles and yellow safety vests climb a growing scaffold, carefully securing each piece as they work their way higher. Inside, other students are learning how to install water heaters, run plumbing and build out bathrooms in a two-story model house designed to replicate a real job site. Next door, the sound of brick being laid, one piece at a time, signals another class at work. For the men taking part in the prison’s career technical education programs, the structures taking shape inside the prison represent something bigger than bricks, pipes and scaffolding. They are building skills they hope will give them a better chance at a job, and a different future, when they leave. The programs are part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s broader effort to provide incarcerated people with education and career training to help them successfully return to their communities. At CSP Solano, that effort includes hands-on training in construction trades such as plumbing and masonry, taught by professionals with experience in the industries. “It’s like a trade school in junior college or any community,” explained Hillary Iserman, associate superintendent of education with CDCR. Students do not need special qualifications to enter the programs. They simply need to express an interest to their correctional counselor, Iserman said. Once they are in the classroom, however, the expectations are much like those they will encounter on a job site. “It’s helping them focus on everything from basic skills and work ethics, showing up, learning how to use the tools, to more advanced skills,” said Summer Peterson, a supervisor of correctional education programs at CSP Solano. For plumbing and construction instructor Chris Carr, that means creating as much of a real-world environment as possible. Carr has taught at CSP Solano for six years. His current plumbing and construction class students spend their days working through a curriculum that takes them from the basics to more advanced construction skills. Inside the classroom, the students have built a two-story model of a house, with different stations where they can practice plumbing, electrical, and other construction skills. Carr pointed to a water heater the students had installed, along with the equipment and connections necessary to make the system function. “The whole goal is to teach them a trade,” Carr said. “They come in not knowing any of it, and they work like it’s on a job.” The schedule is demanding. Students work and learn from about 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., learning not only the technical aspects of a trade, but the habits needed to succeed in the workplace. “It’s setting them up to succeed,” Carr said. That can mean something as basic as learning to be on time, he said, but the payoff can be significant. “When they parole, they can get good jobs, high-paying jobs,” Carr said. He has already seen the potential firsthand. One former student he knows went on to land a union job in Reno. He is now earning more than $30 an hour. That former student is expected to return to CSP Solano in October to speak to the current class at its graduation, when eight students are scheduled to complete the program. For Carr, those success stories are part of what keeps the program growing. “When I started, it was rough. But once we got guys into the program and they bought into it, others wanted in,” he said. The appeal is easy to understand for students such as Erin Chase. Before coming to prison, Chase said, his work experience was primarily in food service. He entered the plumbing and construction program knowing little about the trade. “I didn’t know what a saw was!” he quipped. Now, he knows the tools and how to use them, and he has learned the importance of discipline, leadership and showing up. “I’m proud to be a part of this program,” Chase said. “It’s an opportunity that will help me get ready so when I get out, I’ll have the discipline to show up. I’ve learned leadership skills, and it’s a good environment.” For fellow plumbing student Salevi Levi, the motivation is equally straightforward. “I wanted to acquire a trade so I can diversify my professional skills out there,” Levi said. “It’ll get me a better shot of success when I get out.” Levi had once focused almost entirely on football, dreaming of making it to the NFL. When that did not happen, he said, he had no other plan, and no coping skills. Now, he does. “I feel like I have a sturdy plan, instead of trying to just wing it,” he said. His advice to other incarcerated men is simple: Use the time to prepare for what comes next. “If you’re in prison and you’re not doing nothing, get a trade, learn a skill, prepare yourself to be out there,” Levi said. “You have to have a plan because things don’t always go the way you want.” Learning one brick at a time The lesson is repeated next door in the masonry classroom, where instructor Chris Robinson teaches students the fundamentals of a trade he first encountered himself in a vocational program in 10th grade. For students such as Lawrence Carolino, the attraction is the opportunity to learn a skill that produces something tangible. “I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity,” Carolino said. “They teach you a lot.” Masonry, he has learned, requires patience and repetition. Students may lay hundreds of bricks in a day, only to take them down and start again. “We have to lay 500 bricks; 100 go up every day, and then you have to take them all down,” Carolino said. “You have to do it over and over because that’s how you learn.” For him, there is something particularly satisfying about the finished product. “With electrical, you look, and you can say, ‘I did something,’ but you can’t see it,” he said. “With the bricks, it’s something you can see. I feel like I accomplished something.” Gregory Washington entered the masonry program for a similar reason. “I wanted to have some kind of vocation for when I eventually get out,” he said. “Masonry is definitely piquing my interest.” The growing interest in the programs is noticeable, Washington said. When he tells other incarcerated men what he is doing, many want to know how they can get involved. That demand is part of what has driven the expansion of career technical education opportunities at CSP Solano, according to CDCR officials. Skills with a purpose Career technical education is one piece of a much larger education and rehabilitation system operated by CDCR’s Division of Rehabilitative Programs. The department’s Office of Correctional Education provides academic education, career and technical education, physical education and recreation, library services, and transition programs at institutions throughout California. The goal is to help incarcerated people develop the education and job skills needed for successful re-entry, while improving public safety and reducing recidivism. The career programs span six sectors, including building and construction; business and finance; information and communication technologies; fashion and interior design; manufacturing and product development; and transportation. The programs are taught by journey-level craft professionals and lead to industry-recognized certifications. All adult schools within CDCR institutions are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, with credentialed faculty and support staff. The department reported 5,260 students enrolled in career and technical education programs statewide in 2026. And according to a recent CDCR report cited by the department, incarcerated people who pursued career technical education had, on average, a 14 percent lower rate of recidivism than those who did not participate in CTE. For CSP Solano Warden Andre Gonzales, the numbers are important, but so is seeing the change firsthand. Gonzales began his career at the prison 29 years ago as a correctional officer. He later became a sergeant, taught at the academy and worked in rehabilitation program development before returning to CSP Solano as warden. He said he has been struck by how much the institution’s rehabilitation programs have grown. Seeing incarcerated men learn a trade, while also having access to programs addressing addiction and other challenges, gives him hope that the work is making a difference. “It’s amazing to see the progress that they have made,” Gonzales said. He said the impact extends beyond the incarcerated population. “Staff sees it working and making changes,” he said. For the men in the construction trades classrooms, those changes can be measured in more immediate terms: a properly installed water heater, a row of bricks laid straight, a scaffold assembled safely. But the real test comes later, when the prison gates open and they head to construction sites to earn a living. Carr has seen that happen before, and it’s what he wants for his students. “It’s hard work,” he said. “But they can earn a good salary and support their family and kids with a high-paying job.”