When Rashad Diggs first walked through the doors of the STAR Center in Lawrence in March 2025, he wasn’t sure what to expect. A few months later, he stood before a cheering crowd of staff, classmates, and family members celebrating his completion of the program and his next steps forward in life.

Rashad Diggs receiving his National Adult Honor Society Pin

Diggs is one of 26 justice-involved individuals recently recognized for graduating from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department’s Supporting Transitions and Reentry (STAR) program. Through its partnership with ECSD, Northern Essex provides the educational component of the STAR program. Recent ceremonies at the STAR locations in Lawrence and Lynn celebrated graduates’ academic achievements, including two students who earned their high school equivalency. Diggs completed the STAR program, has passed two of his five HiSET tests, and, along with three other students, was nominated for the National Adult Education Honor Society.

“The STAR Program is a tight-knit community, and it uplifts and gives people the confidence to succeed when they feel like they can’t do it on their own. Once you come here, you can feel it. Everyone is transparent, and they take their time with you. So, I want to say, ‘thank you’ to all involved,” Diggs told the crowd of supporters.

The STAR program, launched in 2022, was designed to help individuals transition successfully back into their communities after incarceration. For Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger, that mission is deeply personal.

“Before I was Sheriff, I was a police chief in Lynn for seven years, and served 32 years as a police officer,” said Coppinger. “I saw when people came out of jail and they came back to the communities, they were lost on the street, living in the shelters. A lot of times, they had no family friends; they go right back to a life of crime, and they go back to jail. So, when I ran for sheriff and I got settled in office, one of my major goals was to create a program or an entity that would bridge that gap between leaving jail and then resuming a normal, productive life in society.”

Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger

Since its creation, the STAR program has helped hundreds of individuals like Diggs. Students are matched with Navigators who guide them through education, training, and community reintegration. Some graduate in as little as three months; others take longer as they balance work, family, and personal growth.

Northern Essex provides the educational component of the STAR program, offering courses that build both academic and life skills. Across the Sheriff’s Department’s five facilities, the college provides HiSET preparation, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), digital literacy, non-credit electives, and for-credit college classes. As the educational partner for all sites across the ECSD continuum, NECC ensures students experience academic continuity every step of the way. Providing educational opportunities to incarcerated individuals is key to reducing recidivism and keeping our communities safe; research shows that nearly 95% of incarcerated individuals eventually return home, and those who participate in correctional education are significantly less likely to reoffend.

“The value of what we do collectively with our partners, like the college, is we’re preparing these inmates for successful reentry,” remarked Sheriff Coppinger. “And what that means is an increase in public safety for each of us, and for the 34 cities and towns in Essex County.”

That shared commitment to education, reentry, and community underscores the partnership between the Essex County Sheriff’s Department and Northern Essex Community College. For many graduates, the STAR program represents an opportunity to rebuild their lives, contribute positively to their communities, and chart a new path forward, supported by education, purpose, and hope.

To learn more about the STAR program, visit the webpage.