Center Prison Education; CPE) Teaching Assistant

Please note that although work-study status is considered for this position, it is not required. All interested students are encouraged to apply.

The Wesleyan Center for Prison Education Program seeks to hire an undergraduate Teaching Assistant to support course offerings at Cheshire Correctional Institution and York Correctional Institution for the Spring 2027 session.

The Teaching Assistants work closely with faculty who are teaching courses with the Center for Prison Education. Selected TAs travel to either Cheshire or York Correctional Institution for one regularly scheduled three-hour study hall session each week, with the possibility of attending class sessions as well.

Only seniors 21+ or grad students are eligible for this opportunity at this time.

• Eligible undergraduate students will travel to either Cheshire or York Correctional Institution for one regularly scheduled three-hour study hall session each week. During this time, the Teaching Assistant will meet with students about their coursework and provide course-specific academic support as needed.
• The duties of a TA, which are similar to those of a graduate Teaching Assistant on-campus, can include:
  • Lead/help discussion sessions,
  • Conduct objective grading tasks,
  • Create study materials, and
  • Assist with classroom instruction.
  • Complete study hall reports at the end of every session to be submitted to CPE staff.

• The ideal candidate has teaching or tutoring experience, has completed advanced academic work, and practices professional behavior when working with vulnerable populations.
• The candidate MUST have taken the courses being offered in our program previously, OR have relevant transferable knowledge and skills.
  • Proposed Spring '27 Cheshire Courses
    • COL/ENGL:
      Life Writing:
      Writing About the Self and From Experience (Prof. Barber)
    • MATH:
      Calculus I (Prof. Frost)
    • RELI:
      Mahatma Ghandi and the Politics of Nonviolence (Prof. Davis)
    • PHIL:
      History of Political Philosophy (Prof. Gruen)
    • GOVT:
      Solving the World’s Problems:
      Decision-making and Diplomacy (Prof. Gallarotti)
    • CSA:
      Advanced Applications (Prof. Angelillo)
    • ENGL:
      Composition II & Fiction Texts (Prof. Giannakopoulos)
    • MATH:
      Intermediate Algebra (Prof. Leone)
    • MATH
      0900:
      Elementary Algebra (Prof. Patel)
    • Additional courses To Be Announced
• Only seniors 21+ or continuing grad students are eligible for this opportunity at this time.
• All applicants will be considered for this opportunity, regardless of work-study status.

• This position starts at the date hired and runs through May 14th 2027. The start date is listed as December because student employees may need to be available for orientations before the beginning of the Spring semester. The regular schedule will start in January, and no work will happen over Winter Break.
  • If you are interested in being a CPE Teaching Assistant, you should be prepared to commit to at least one 5-hour block of time per week, when factoring in travel time to the prison from campus. Including transit, study hall shifts generally take place during any of the following blocks of time: 7:15am-12:00pm, 10:15am-3:15pm, 12:10PM - 5:0PM, and 3:50-9pm.
• There will be a mandatory meeting for selected TAs (specific modality and date/time TBD). New teaching assistants will also need to attend mandatory orientations at the prison.
  *
  * Note:
  
  if you are unable to attend the on-site prison orientation, you will not be allowed to enter the facility.**
• Depending on the course and faculty, additional hours may vary.
• You may also be expected to attend an additional time block, per agreement between candidate and faculty, as well as some hours spent outside of sessions for preparatory work.
• Expected attendance at additional training sessions as needed
• This position requires 5-10 hours of work per week depending on course needs and employee availability.

All Teaching Assistants will be paid $17.48 per hour. Both work-study and non-work-study students are eligible for the payment option. Work-study status does not impact eligibility or ability to be paid. Academic credit is also available for eligible courses with no impact on compensation amount.

Jareka Dellenbaugh-Dempsey, CPE Program Coordinator, jdellenbaugh.

Regular faculty will check in with the student weekly/bi-weekly to provide feedback on performance.