Walls to Bridges (W2B) is the Canadian adaptation of the American program, Inside-Out, which partners universities with correctional institutions. This partnership, which involves the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services in Ontario, offers university credit courses to university and incarcerated students inside jails, prisons, and community correctional sites. All students who successfully complete a W2B course receive university credit.
W2B pedagogy addresses all students as collaborative co-learners. Students from outside the correction system are not ‘mentoring,’ ‘helping’, or ‘working with’ incarcerated students. All participants in the course are peers who learn together through experiential and dialogic processes.
In Fall 2017, WGS offered our first W2B course at the South West Detention Centre in Windsor, Ontario. The course, Tough Chicks, was created by Nancy Gobatto and was taught by Nancy’s friend and colleague, Dr. Cara Fabre. This positive outcome is possible only because the University of Windsor Administration actively supports this initiative.
W2B Mission Statement: We create educational opportunities in correctional settings where the experiences of teaching and (un)learning challenge assumptions, stigmatization and inequality.
Visit the W2B website: wallstobridges.ca
The Nancy Gobatto/ Walls to Bridges Fund
This fund was created to honour our Women’s and Gender Studies colleague, Nancy Gobatto, who passed away in August 2016.
Nancy was deeply committed to feminist education and its promise of social justice. She was particularly excited by her Walls to Bridges training and was looking forward to teaching the first WGS W2B course in Fall 2017.
The Walls to Bridges Fund will make it possible for incarcerated students to participate in university education by covering the cost of their tuition and books.
If you wish to make a contribution, visit the University's donation page. Please indicate that your gift is directed to The Walls to Bridges Fund.
We thank you for supporting this important project and for helping keep Nancy’s memory alive.