On June 28, CoreCivic's Lee Adjustment Center in Beattyville, Kentucky, hosted a graduation ceremony to celebrate 12 student-residents who earned a GED and 28 student-residents who earned a Career and Technical Education (CTE) certificate. Among the CTE graduates, 16 completed the Fuel Education program and 12 completed the Carpentry program.

“Education is critical to the success of these students both during incarceration and their lives post-release,” said Daniel Akers, warden at Lee. “I am very proud of the dedication everyone has put forth so far on their education journeys, and I look forward to seeing their future successes, whether that be in education here at Lee Adjustment Center or when returning home to their communities."

The Carpentry program at Lee offers instruction on entry level job skills, including roofing, flooring, and wall systems. All skills are evaluated and verified through the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). Upon program completion, the students receive an NCCER transcript of the skills they acquired with an accompanying achievement score, along with five different industry-recognized certificates (IRC).

On the other hand, the Fuel Education program at Lee is a 42-week course that teaches skills ranging from installing, maintaining, and upgrading software and operating systems to troubleshooting, networking, system security, and basic coding. Students who complete the program receive a transcript reflecting their accomplishments, qualifying them for entry-level jobs and up to three hours of transferrable college credit. Upon completion of the Fuel Education program, students are also eligible to take the corresponding National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) exam to earn an IRC.

Since 2018, more than 130 GEDs and more than 600 CTEs have been conferred to residents at Lee. Ninety-five percent of incarcerated individuals will eventually be released and return to their communities. Participation in educational programs, such as GED and CTE, has shown to significantly reduce recidivism.