Smart Horizons Career Online Education (SHCOE) is pleased to announce that high school graduation ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m. EST on Friday, November 2, 2012 for 21 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections Madison Correctional Institution. High School graduation ceremonies will take place at the Madison facility.
The Florida Department of Corrections named SHCOE as an official provider of online education for inmates in Florida prison facilities in February of this year. Pilot programs went live at the Madison facility in April and at Ocala’s Lowell Annex Correctional Institution in May. The programs at Madison and Lowell are the first online secondary education programs at any correctional facility in the U.S., making the graduation ceremonies on November 2nd the first of their kind.
Founded in 2009, SHCOE is the world’s first AdvancED/SACS accredited online school district, offering an instructional program that enables students to earn an 18-credit high school diploma and a credentialed career certificate in one, comprehensive online program.
“Our focus in working with the Florida Department of Corrections is to lower recidivism,” said Dr. Howard Liebman, CEO and Superintendent for SHCOE. “Our program has been very popular among the inmates, as evidenced by these graduates, and there is quite a waiting list to enroll in the courses. We are honored to recognize the ground-breaking accomplishments of these 21 graduates and we are very proud of all the SHCOE students in Florida Department of Corrections facilities.”
Among the honored guests at the Madison graduation ceremonies will be Mr. William Carr, Assistant Secretary of Re-Entry for the Florida Department of Corrections; Ms. Tahnee Casanova, Bureau Chief of Re-Entry Programs and Education for the Florida Department of Corrections; Mr. Chip Case and Mr. Brewser Brown, Chief Lobbyists for SHCOE; and members of inmates’ families.
Florida Legislators and government officials and all media representatives are cordially invited to attend the ceremonies on November 2nd.