In a quiet room in Seaverns, the conversation isn’t your regular English class. Aside from grammar and essays, it’s about second chances. In Upper School English teacher Heidi Hojnicki’s Impact Lab: Beyond the Bars, the focus of the class isn’t just on fiction or grammar; it’s on humanity. The class explores what it truly means to reenter a society coming out of prison, guided by impactful voices from both in and out of the criminal justice system.
“The big question that guides the course is how we can improve the transition from prison back to society for people who have been incarcerated,” Ms. Hojnicki said.
While the class still has a focus on regular English skills, it also incorporates so much more. Beyond the Bars has become a class for empathy, inquiry, and change. It evolved from a prison literature course Ms. Hojnicki taught for several years in a more action-based lab that studies reentry after prison and the process it takes to go back into the community after incarceration.
Inspiration for the class came from powerful books such as “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson and “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander. “There’s a quote from Stevenson that’s always stayed with me,” Ms. Hojnicki explained. “You judge a society not by how it treats the people at the top, but how it treats the people at the bottom. I don’t think people in prison are the bottom, but society often depicts them that way. Those voices deserve to be heard.”
To bring those voices directly to KO, Ms. Hojnicki invited two different guest speakers who both offered different perspectives on the system. Tara Brooks, a supervisor for the Board of Pardons and Parole, and Calvin Arey, who was personally incarcerated, and has now dedicated his life to teaching and educating others on his personal experiences with the system.
Ms. Brooks visited the class on Sept. 22 to share the Department of Corrections’ approach to reentry and pardons. “It was the first time my students had ever heard directly from someone within the Department of Corrections,” Ms. Hojnicki said. “It gave them a perspective we hadn’t had before.”
At the time, students were reading “Just Mercy” and “The Master Plan” by Chris Wilson, two works that examine the obstacles of imprisonment and the long road to rebuilding a life after prison. Brook’s insight into the administrative and rehabilitative sides of reentry gave students a more robust understanding of what happens beyond the prison walls.
A few weeks later, the class got to welcome Calvin Arey, whose story moved the students. Mr. Arey, who is now 38 years sober, struggled with alcohol addiction, which led him down a path of in-and-out prison time. During his incarceration, he became part of a landmark case that ended the unfair “bread and water” diet in solitary confinement. Since his release from prison, he’s worked as a real estate agent in Boston and even volunteers with the Prison Book Program, helping inmates access books that can help with inspiring growth and learning.
Mr. Arey’s honesty about his individual struggles and triumphs left a strong impression on the class. Senior Hadley Hersh was especially amazed by his true character. “He was honest about how hard reentry was, especially because of his alcoholism,” Hadley reflected. “What really stuck with me was when he said staying sober wasn’t about quitting, it was about not starting again.”
Another student in the class, senior Marlee Diana, reminisced on how hearing from both speakers broadened her understanding of criminal justice. “Hearing from both sides really changed my perspective,” Marlee said. “When you read about someone who’s incarcerated, it’s completely different from meeting a person who’s lived through it. It made everything feel more real and even made me think about how I treat people in my everyday life.”
The discussions are connected closely to the books students read in class. “The Master Plan” entails Chris Wilson’s personal transformation during incarceration, while “Just Mercy” highlights the flaws and injustices in the legal system. “It all tied together,” Hadley said. “Calvin’s story showed how the fight for redemption continues even after release.”
Beyond the class reading, these visits encouraged students to think critically about rehabilitation and humanity. “I think the Department of Corrections wants to help rehabilitate prisoners,” Hadley remarked, “but at the same time, they also have to focus on keeping society safe. It’s a balance they have to consider, both helping inmates and protecting the public.”
For Ms. Hojnicki, that balance and the human stories behind it are what make teaching Beyond the Bars so meaningful. “Hearing from people like Tara and Calvin helped my students see the humanity in those our system often overlooks,” Ms. Hojnicki said. “It’s one thing to read about injustice, but it’s another to look someone in the eyes and hear how they lived through it.”
As KO seniors continue their conversations in Beyond the Bars, one thing is clear: the lessons they’re learning go far beyond the classroom. They’re learning that redemption, empathy, and change begin with listening and that every story, even one that starts behind bars, deserves to be heard. “Hearing from both Tara Brooks and Calvin Arey gave us two sides of the same story,” Marlee said. “It made me realize how complicated reentry is and how important it is to have empathy.”
