Classroom at San Quentin State Prison

Faculty

Mount Tamalpais College promotes a student-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally-responsive model of teaching. Our volunteer faculty are drawn from some of the Bay Area's most prestigious colleges and universities and are placed as instructors and tutors at San Quentin State Prison each term, three terms a year. Faculty members typically spend eight to ten hours each week planning lessons, providing instruction, and grading assignments, and often co-teach courses with one or two others.

Interested in teaching with us?

We promote a student-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally-responsive model of teaching. During the semester, faculty commit eight to ten hours per week to teaching and preparing for their classes at San Quentin.

354
FACULTY
The number of faculty who provided instruction, tutoring, curriculum design, and student support in 2019.
8-10
HOURS
 Instructors commit 8-10 hours each week, teaching and preparing for classes at San Quentin.
27k
HOURS
In 2019, Mount Tamalpais College instructors and tutors donated 27,ooo hours of their time.

Rita Lucarelli

"Teaching at MTC has taught me that you do not need a fancy classroom with advanced technology for effective teaching; what you need is only engaged students who are eager to learn and who are truly appreciative of your work as a teacher."

Omair Akhtar

"I teach at MTC because I love helping students from all kinds of backgrounds grow their academic skills. MTC students are engaged, open, and up for challenges, making it a joy for me to teach them. I'm grateful to play a role in their transformation into shrewd observers of the world around them and effective advocates for themselves and others."

Martha Gould

“I became involved at MTC in 2014 as a team teacher for a math class, and have continued to volunteer as a general math tutor and as a team teacher for all levels of math. I am a retiree as a high school math teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District, so I enjoy using the skills I developed over my career. I believe in life-long learning, and appreciate the students at MTC who are challenging themselves and ask questions for deeper meaning.”

Jane Yamashiro

“I teach at MTC because
I believe in quality educational opportunities for all, incarcerated or not.”

FACULTY ENGAGEMENT

Mount Tamalpais College faculty members are engaged with the student community beyond their roles in the classrooms. They participate in conferences, act as research assistants, tutor in Study Hall, coach the Ethics Bowl team, and more.

Meet Our Faculty

Our volunteer faculty are drawn from some of the Bay Area's most prestigious colleges and universities and are placed as instructors and tutors at San Quentin State Prison each term, three terms a year.

San Quentin's First Academic Conference

Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reform—21st Century Solutions for 20th Century Problems allowed those most impacted by America's carceral system to contribute to the conversations that shape their own lives and futures.

We Are All Directly Impacted: Mapping Societal Wellness, Institutions, and Self

Exhibit detail, The San Quentin Project at BAMPFA

Jody Lewen Moderates Colloquium on Narratives of Incarceration at BAMPFA

2018 academic conference at San Quentin State Prison

Call for Papers: Academic Conference Spring 2020