California Rehabilitation Center Archives

Tessa Hicks Peterson poses and smiles for the camera during a photo shoot.

By Macy Puckett and Ila Bell 433 Views California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Rehabilitation Center, cdcr, Claremont McKenna College, CMC, CRC, Crossroads, Derik Smith, Inside Out, InsideOUT Writers, jec, justice education center, kenneth butler, Los Angeles, los angeles area, Male Community Reentry Program, mcrp, napier fellow, norco prison, pathway to BA, Paula Gutierrez, Pitzer College, Starting Over Inc, tessa hicks peterson, The Reintegration Academy, UCLA

Following a year of uncertainty regarding the program’s future, the 5Cs’ Justice Education Center (JEC) appointed a new interim director, Tessa Hicks Peterson, last month. Peterson has since initiated plans to pilot multiple new partnership models next fall for Inside-Out, as the program navigates reconstruction following its partner institution’s, the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) — also known as Norco prison — closure in the fall.
Inside students currently participating in Pitzer’s Pathway-to-BA program are set to graduate on May 19 after fulfilling the 32-credit course requirement. They will then be relocated to other prisons in California, but they haven’t been told which facilities they’ll be transferred to, according to Peterson.

Inside-Out students hold Pitzer College pennants in a classroom, smiling for a photo.

Arts & Culture Features

April 24, 2025 9:15 pm

Pitzer’s fourth cohort reflects on their journey with the Inside-Out B.A. Program

By Inside-Out Cohort 04 1532 Views 5c community, Alumni Network, California Rehabilitation Center, Cody, Cohort 04, Community, Community Empowerment, CRC, Dontè, Education, flow, Graduation, incarcerated, incarcerated students, Inside Out, Inside-Out Program, Jeter, Justice, Justice Education, Marcus, Organizational Studies, pathway to BA, Pitzer College, Prison, Prison Education, Prison Reform, pz, Reentry Programs, rehabilitation, Rich, ryan, Ryan B., Ryan C., Social Justice, Student Initiatives, Student Stories, Terry, Theo, Transformative Education, Wear My Pain, Wolf Pact

This May, the fourth cohort of Pitzer College’s Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA program will graduate with degrees in Organizational Studies, having completed their education in the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco. As incarcerated students, they have built a community of learning, care and transformation, bridging the distance between inside and outside through meaningful relationships and shared purpose.

A person wearing a blue, denim jacket, yellow pants, and a beige hat lays on a blue box with their arms and legs spread out to each side.

Arts & Culture Features

April 23, 2021 12:46 amApril 23, 2021 12:49 pm

‘I always feel free when I dance’: Incarcerated choreographers enchant in dance film directed by Scripps College professor

By Ava Francis-Hall and Averi Sullivan 4312 Views California Rehabilitation Center, Choreographer, Choreography, Dance, Inside Out, Performance, Performative Activism, Prison, Prison Abolition, Prison Education, Prison Reform, Selina Ho, Suchi Branfman, Virtual Dance, Virtual Performance

As part of her residency inside the California Rehabilitation Center, Scripps College dance professor Suchi Branfman directed a short film featuring the dances of incarcerated choreographers.

A man wearing a blue jumpsuit and a blue mask sits at a computer.

Arts & Culture Features

March 26, 2021 1:13 amJune 1, 2021 2:53 pm

Incarcerated students flourish in online Inside-Out program despite tech difficulties

By Michele Tang 5312 Views California Institution For Women, California Rehabilitation Center, Claremont McKenna College, Inside Out, Pitzer College, Prison, Prison Education

Through Pitzer’s Inside-Out program, currently incarcerated students are seeking degrees while participating in progressive classes with other 5C students.