PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

The design of the project and its implementation was comprised of many elements including collaboration partners (government, private and non-profit), design of the overall phases of BEST, and utilization of community assets.

Collaboration partners

Four main groups of people were involved to create and implement BEST: the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), people with business experience to coach the participants (entrepreneurs/business executives/business students), willing participants from across Tennessee, and people with experience in curriculum design and delivery, especially around character development and teaching business and entrepreneurial skills. The response of so many organizations and individuals was extremely encouraging, as it took many volunteers to become engaged in BEST to deliver such a broad curriculum.

Government partner

With the beginning group of four BEST steering committee members, a concept brief was developed for a variety of TDOC individuals and departments to seek approval and partnership for this project including: William Gupton, Assistant Commissioner of Rehabilitative Services; Alayna Duffel, Director of Reentry Services; Rhonda Whitt, Director of Education, Wes Landers, Chief Financial Officer; Chuck Taylor, Deputy Commission of Administration; Tony Parker, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons; Jason Woodall, Deputy Commissioner of Operations; and Warden James Holloway and Chaplain Dan Haskins, Charles Bass Correctional Complex. Ultimately BEST was presented to Commissioner Schofield for a final green light for the project on April 14, 2014.

Private partners

It was crucial to identify individuals with the ability to teach the actual character formation and business/entrepreneurial parts of the curriculum. They came from local education entities (Nashville State Community College, Strayer University, Lipscomb University, Belmont University, Christ Presbyterian Academy) and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC) staff. Business plan development coaches were recruited from local business executives, Belmont University entrepreneur/business students, and the EC mentors. The power of networking also brought Richard Eddinger, CFO at Setech, to BEST as our financial literacy instructor. Utilizing the FDIC Money Smart curriculum for adults and small businesses helped develop financial literacy concepts about banking, credit cards, debt, insurance and more.

Nonprofit partners

BEST became a program of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, a 501(c)(3), in August 2014. As such, BEST became able to raise funds that were tax deductible and spend funds as a tax-exempt entity. Assistance from other regional nonprofits such as Project Return, Family Reconciliation Center, Tennessee Prison Outreach Ministry, Christian Home Ministries, and Dismas House will be available once graduates of BEST begin to leave the TDOC system and need transitional housing, family reunification services, assistance in getting a job, paperwork, etc. BEST has established relationships with leaders of these organizations and anticipates a good working relationship to continue.

Phases of BEST

The four phases of BEST referenced earlier are described in detail here. Phase One (three months of character development and personal transformation) and Phase Two (three months of business and entrepreneurial skills) approach was designed. Phase Three started after graduation but before release. Communication is maintained through letters, a quarterly newsletter, homework assignments and, for those still in the Nashville area, continuing in person contact. Phase Four starts upon reentry. This was designed to maintain the impact of the BEST program experience and not let it slip far from their minds.

Phase One

Phase One curriculum addresses five main domains: academic skills, citizenship, communication, social/emotional growth and technology (see Appendix 8 for details). The volunteer instructors engaged in targeting these areas as we met from 7:30-10:30 am and 12:30-3:30 pm Monday-Friday (see Appendix 20 for a sample week schedule). The final deliverable document was a capstone project; each man created his own Time Magazine Man of the Year that was a compilation of ten articles written over the course of Phase One (see Appendix 21 for an example).

Academic skills

Dawn Fears worked with this domain, drawing on resources from the book From Master Student to Master Employee by Dave Ellis. She covered learning styles, Myers-Briggs personality inventory, Discovery Wheel, critical thinking skills and more. The researcher worked on improving grammar and writing skills.

Citizenship. Glenda Lingo shared lessons about restorative justice and civic responsibilities. The researcher led discussions about servant leadership.

Communication

A major part of the communication domain was covered by Toastmasters speechmaking. Each man learned how to create and deliver ten speeches, learning discrete skills along the way (see Appendix 22 for list of speech projects). This was a daunting challenge for everyone, but they achieved their goal of completing the ten speeches that earned the designation of “Competent Communicator” from Toastmasters International. Four men also elected to pursue and attained the designation “Competent Leader” by fulfilling the requirements of that curriculum as well. Eight individuals from five different Toastmaster clubs in the area modeled a Toastmaster meeting on November 4, 2014. Afterwards, there were two Toastmaster meetings each week (see Appendix 23 for a typical agenda). One adjustment made was to not make it a competition. This fostered mutual support for skill development. Ultimately, each man completed the required ten projects. From the 4-6 minute “Ice Breaker” speech (with notes) to the 8-10 minute “Inspire Your Audience” speech (without notes) there was a lot of growth, particularly in their self-confidence. Brian Bailey taught conflict management and negotiation skills and Dr. Rubin Cockrell reinforced the importance of listening carefully to better negotiate good solutions to problems.

Social/Emotional

Mary Brennan and the Houses of Healing: A Prisoner’s Guide to Inner Power and Freedom addressed a major part of this domain. The practices of meditation, forgiveness, mindfulness, facing fears, and self-management were covered. In addition, Marshall Ganz’s “Telling Your Public Story: Self, Us, Now” worksheet was used. Dr. Malinda Davenport-Crisp and Tom Hallquist addressed the topic of interpersonal relationships. Dr. Rubin Cockrell share his knowledge of how to better manage relationships through listening carefully, not always an easy thing to do.

Technology

At least one day per week (sometimes two), the focus was on developing technology skills in the modern computer lab. The reality of today’s world demands that computer skills be taught, especially since virtually no one runs a business these days without the use of a computer. The skill levels upon entry to BEST varied from someone who had never touched a computer to a highly skilled computer user who could keyboard at approximately 100 wpm. The skills covered included basic word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and creating presentations using Microsoft Office 2010 software and keyboarding training using “Professor AWHFE” booklets obtained online here. The author had used that resource as a teacher in Texas.

Phase Two

Phase Two curriculum focused on the PreFlight material taught by John Murdock, Director of Education at the EC, supported by the weekly one-on-one meetings with Belmont University Entrepreneurship 3800 students, financial literacy taught by Richard Eddinger and continuing the Toastmasters curriculum. As in Phase One, we continued to host a variety of guest speakers and entrepreneurs who shared their experiences and insights with the men. In addition, EC trained mentors began coming in to listen to Launch Plan ideas and assist with further development of the plans. The final deliverables for Phase Two were a completed Launch Plan, P&L statement and PowerPoint pitch of their plan.

Belmont’s online catalog description for the course the students took from Professor Erin Anderson for the Spring 2015 semester was: ETP 3800. Service Learning in Entrepreneurship (3). Prerequisite: ETP 3000 or Instructor’s permission. This course will integrate service learning experiences in start-up entrepreneurial ventures into a seminar that examines a variety of issues common in entrepreneurship. The start-up ventures used for this course will include those supporting inner city economic development, newly created non-profits, or entrepreneurs seeking economic independence through business formation. Students will work with these entrepreneurs to assess their specific business needs, evaluate possible solutions, develop a plan of action, and assist with implementation. Self-reflection will be an important part of this process.

When the students enrolled in the course for the Spring 2015 semester, they had no idea that the service learning experience would take place inside a prison. On the first day of class, the researcher was introduced to the class and gave a brief overview of the program and fielded questions. There was much trepidation on the part of most of the class. Fortunately, most of them decided to remain in the course and ultimately found it to be an enriching and rewarding experience. They ultimately saw the value they added to the business planning process and the research they were able to do on behalf of their EntrePartneur. Some feedback from the Belmont EntrePartneurs:

“At first I was not very excited about this program. I really did not want to participate and almost dropped the class. I decided to try it and I’m so glad I did! I’m very happy to have been able to help Chris.” Courtney W.

“I would definitely recommend this class to future students. It’s an incredible experience, because you learn more by teaching to others, and it’s a class where you feel like you’re making a difference in a person’s life.” Evan N.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was initially skeptical about volunteering in the prison, simply because of the ways that the media has helped foster a very negative stigma…having a chance to work with men that a lot of society has given up on is a wonderful chance to put things in perspective.” Michael P.

“This class forced me to be in the mind set of starting a business. I knew Wes wanted to really start this. I had to create meeting agendas, discuss the plan, develop action items, and fulfill those actions. Wes and I could hold each other accountable.” Maggie F.

Phase Three

Phase Three begins the day after Graduation and continues until the graduate is released. Since individuals have different sentence lengths remaining, some may be in Phase Three for a short time; others may be in Phase Three for a few years depending on parole being granted or their full sentence being completely served. To maintain the impact of BEST, the author shares what is going on with fellow graduates who have been moved to different prisons, news updates and includes homework challenges that will then be shared through a quarterly newsletter called “The BEST Times”. The men who are assigned to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution or Lois DeBerry Special Needs will have the opportunity to visit with the author in person from time to time.

Phase Four

Phase Four begins when the BEST graduate leaves the prison. In some cases, someone from the BEST team or a BEST partner will be able to meet them at the gate. The BEST partners are called upon to provide their services and resources as needed upon release (housing, job placement, transportation, clothing, etc.). There will be biannual gatherings of graduates to check up on how their lives are going and encourage them to continue their successful reentry. A new reentry partner is We Stay Free which provides a 24/7 hotline for returning citizens to call should they need help, referrals or just a friendly, sympathetic person to talk to in the middle of the night when things often feel more overwhelming.