{"id":34846,"date":"2026-07-01T14:56:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=34846"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:56:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T18:56:57","slug":"incarcerated-students-publish-literary-journal-at-middleton-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/07\/01\/incarcerated-students-publish-literary-journal-at-middleton-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Incarcerated Students Publish Literary Journal at Middleton Jail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Essex Community College, in partnership with the\u00a0Essex County Sheriff\u2019s\u00a0Department,\u00a0recently published the\u00a0inaugural edition of\u00a0the\u00a0literary journal,\u00a0<\/span>Handwritten<\/span><\/i>. It\u00a0contains\u00a0nearly a\u00a0dozen\u00a0<\/span>original essays, poetry,\u00a0artwork\u00a0and creative writing by students at the Middleton House of Corrections.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NECC and ECSD have partnered together to bring educational programs to a wide spectrum of justice-involved individuals. In the jail, the college provides a variety of credit and non-credit classes. NECC Learning Specialist Alexander Hill said he got the idea to start a literary journal when he realized students at all levels were interested in sharing their stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"cover<\/a>

The cover of the inaugural edition of Handwritten<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere is so much beautiful writing coming out of these classrooms,\u201d said Hill. \u201cWhether it was an English for Speakers of Other Languages course, or a basic English 101, I realized we needed to find a way to show people this incredible work.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With support from the Sheriff\u2019s Department and NECC\u2019s Director of Correctional Education Will Haden,\u00a0Hill\u00a0solicited\u00a0submissions from students across the educational programs in the jail. He said he\u00a0was blown away by\u00a0the responses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there are a lot of preconceptions about who incarcerated folks are. But I\u2019ve seen a lot of these guys here are willing to step up and make big changes within their lives. There’s a lot of critical reflection,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI get to see real-time changes in their emotions, real-time changes in their relationship to education. It\u2019s extremely rewarding.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEducation has the power to change lives here,\u201d wrote one contributor about his educational journey. \u201cYou have a choice when you come to jail. Either to do time or to make changes in your life…I choose to make changes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NECC<\/a>

NECC Learning Specialist Alexander Hill<\/p><\/div>\n

Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger\u00a0noted the power of the reflections in\u00a0<\/span>Handwritten<\/span><\/i>: “This journal is a reminder that people are capable of growth and change when\u00a0they’re\u00a0given the right opportunities. The writing and artwork\u00a0in\u00a0these pages reflect hard work, self-reflection, and a willingness to learn.\u00a0I’m\u00a0proud of the students who shared their stories and grateful to our partners at Northern Essex Community College for helping us provide programs that prepare individuals for a successful future.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Handwritten\u00a0<\/span><\/i>was distributed digitally to students on their tablets, and printed copies were provided to staff across the NECC-ESCD education continuum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Student contributors and the NECC educational team are currently working on a second edition, scheduled for distribution this month.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Across the Sheriff\u2019s Department\u2019s 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 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>

Student artwork<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Northern Essex Community College, in partnership with the\u00a0Essex County Sheriff\u2019s\u00a0Department,\u00a0recently published the\u00a0inaugural edition of\u00a0the\u00a0literary journal,\u00a0Handwritten. It\u00a0contains\u00a0nearly a\u00a0dozen\u00a0original essays, poetry,\u00a0artwork\u00a0and creative writing by students at the Middleton House of Corrections.\u00a0 NECC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":34847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[14,18,20],"tags":[220,781,783,782,585],"class_list":["post-34846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-spotlight","category-students","tag-ecsd","tag-essex-county-sheriffs-office","tag-literary-journal","tag-middleton-jail","tag-students"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIncarcerated Students Publish Literary Journal at Middleton Jail - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Northern Essex Community College, in partnership with the\u00a0Essex County Sheriff\u2019s\u00a0Department,\u00a0recently published the\u00a0inaugural edition of\u00a0the\u00a0literary journal,\u00a0Handwritten.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/07\/01\/incarcerated-students-publish-literary-journal-at-middleton-jail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Incarcerated Students Publish Literary Journal at Middleton Jail - 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