THE PROCESS
Initially, the BEST Team formulated the vision and mission of BEST, contacting different similar entities in the United States to get more information. We decided to emulate the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in Texas. A concept brief was developed and presented up the chain of command at the Tennessee Department of Correction to gain final approval to implement BEST as a project of Lipscomb's Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership project for Karen Vander Molen.
BEST was inspired by the success of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in Texas. Although the researcher did not have a copy of the PEP curriculum, much was learned from their website, blogs, newspaper articles, and a site visit conducted in December 2013. The BEST model created a three month Phase One character development and personal transformation curriculum followed by a Phase Two three months of business and entrepreneurial skills training resulting in each participant developing a viable Launch Plan. Volunteer instructors were recruited by word of mouth about this opportunity.
BEST is not organized as a “boot camp”, but rather as a more intense study of oneself and creation of a new way of thinking about one’s future as well as developing concrete, realistic plans to start a business post-release. In addition, BEST participants will remain as engaged as they wish to after they are released, with their own BEST e-mail, online community, mentors available to consult and gatherings of BEST graduates on the outside. They may also apply for a BEST Microfund loan to kickstart their business. They may draw on the network connections they enjoy as a BEST graduate if they so choose.
Recruiting the Pilot Class
To recruit the pilot class, a one page flyer was posted in all the men's prisons throughout the state asking interested individuals to write a letter of interest. They were screened to make sure they had the prerequisite education (HS/GED), were within three years of coming up for parole or finishing their sentences, and had no Class A disciplinary reports within the past year. Those who passed that screen were sent a 12 page application to complete. The completed applications were then scanned and distributed electronically to three readers (BEST Team members) who scored each one using an online rubric. The results were compiled which resulted in a ranked list of candidates. That was submitted to the CBCX administrators who then reviewed the candidates and excluded some. Then the top 24 candidates were notified of their acceptance and asked to commit to the program which 22 did. TDOC moved the candidates to Charles Bass Correctional Complex, put them through the CBCX orientation and classes began October 21, 2014.
Phase One
In Phase One, ten volunteers delivered lessons covering the following domains:
• Academic skills
• Citizenship/Leadership
• Communication
• Social/Emotional
• Technology
In addition, over 20 community leaders and businessmen visited as Entrepreneur of the Week or Speaker of the Week. A weekly “Movie That Matters” was shared to reinforce the featured BEST value for the week. A key element of the Communication domain was the formation of the TIP TOP Gavel Club (Tennessee Inmates Progressing Toward Oratorical Preeminence). Meetings were conducted twice a week, with six or seven speeches given and evaluated per meeting starting in November 2014. An initial model Toastmasters meeting was conducted November 4 with Toastmasters from five area clubs (Green Hills, Caterpillar Financial, Bridgestone, Schneider Electric, and James A. Polk Toastmasters clubs) coming together to demonstrate how a meeting was run. Everyone completed his ten speeches by mid-March 2015. This allowed the speaking skills to be developed such that the delivery of Launch Plan pitches was built on the foundation of what was learned in the Toastmasters process.
Phase Two
Phase Two, originally slated to last six months, began January 26, 2015 with the start of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s (EC) PreFlight curriculum. Due to the anticipated closure of CBCX, BEST was asked to truncate the length of the course such that we would finish by May 1 instead of July 1, 2015. Fortunately, the men had already done some preliminary thinking and work around the topic of what their business plan might be thanks to Dr. Cockrell and Mr. Robertson’s work with them, so this was not deemed impossible, although it necessitated streamlining the curriculum. The men each submitted their initial Launch Plan to John Murdock, Director of Education at the EC to create a baseline score indicating their understanding of a business plan. The Launch Plans were scored by EC mentors using the EC scale. John delivered 14 weeks of direct instruction, just as he did for the regular PreFlight classes at the EC.
BEST was also given permission to download the 263 page PreFlight readings file to electronic tablets donated by Dr. Turner Nashe, Jr., NEXT 2014 Innovator of the Year and President of Innertainment Delivery Systems (IDS), a Nashville based company specializing in electronic delivery of curriculum in correctional settings. In addition to the PreFlight readings document, numerous PowerPoint movie files were available for the men to review in support of the EC curriculum. This was the first time that any curriculum was made available via electronic tablets in a Tennessee correctional facility. In addition, it is believed that this was the first time entrepreneurship curriculum was made available to inmates via electronic tablets in the United States, if not the world. The partnership and cooperation between TDOC, EC/BEST and IDS was noteworthy and groundbreaking.
Another aspect of Phase Two involved the one-on-one EntrePartneurs with Belmont students in Professor Erin Anderson’s Entrepreneurship 3800 class. Her 20 students came to CBCX once a week to sit with their assigned inside EntrePartneur to work out details of their Launch Plan, discuss strategic plans, identify research needed, go over findings, discuss where to find information, internet search techniques, and pose questions for further thought and discussion. The students found out how helpful their research abilities and business/entrepreneurial education was as they worked with the men to develop and refine their plans.
Phase Two also included personal and small business financial literacy instruction delivered by Richard Eddinger, a longtime businessman, utilizing resources from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in their “Money Smart” series.
Phase Three
Phase Three begins after Graduation and continues until release. During this time, quarterly newsletter are created to share information about what's happening with fellow BEST graduates, communicate information they may find helpful (especially post-release), and engage them in further educational challenges. In the first The BEST Times, a homework assignment was given based on the Customer Loyalty book by Jill Griffin which each graduate received from Mark Cleveland, serial entrepreneur and NEXT 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year. The results will be shared in the second issue. When possible, BEST volunteers attend parole hearings to speak on behalf of those coming up for parole. In some cases follow up visits are made with graduates and correspondence between BEST and graduates is always welcome.
Phase Four
Phase Four - RELEASE and BEYOND! Here's where the power of networking comes into play, especially with our partners:
Tennessee Prison Outreach Ministry
Dr. Jeff Cornwall - The Entrepreneurial Mind
Christian Home Ministries
Tennessee Department of Correction - especially Reentry and Housing
and of course the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.
Each graduate has their own e-mail address (thanks to DevDigital) and can participate in our online BEST community. If they are ready to think about actually starting up their business, they may choose to apply for a BEST Microfund loan which has very reasonable payback terms and rates. This opportunity was made possible through the generous donation of Dr. Turner Nashe, Jr. and Phylanice Nashe who believe in the power of second chances.
A routine of contacting the released BEST participants monthly will be ongoing by phone, text or e-mail, checking in to see how they are doing and if they need anything. An online closed group has been created on Facebook where BEST graduates and friends may pose questions, post information and share experiences. A quarterly newsletter will help keep everyone in touch and up to date on what is happening. DevDigital has donated webserver space to host BEST e-mails for all graduates. Semi-annual gatherings of BEST graduates will start later this year.