Have you ever wondered about Ms. DiDonato’s crime class? Colleen DiDonato has been teaching about crime and social justice for the last fifteen years. Before coming to SCH, she taught a version of the class with crime as a unit, connecting how people’s identities impact their experiences in the criminal justice system with the sentencing that they face in prison. DiDonato developed her crime unit into the semester class Crime, Punishment & Justice in American Literature.
“I think that the course does a really good job of like, yes, our overarching topic is justice. But like, if you’re a woman, how does the justice system treat you, or if you are a minor, or if you are Black, or if you are poor, and my hope is that through that framework, kids can analyze, like all elements of society, and not just criminal justice.” DiDonato said.
To keep students engaged, Didonato teaches the course in mini-units that include podcasts, analysis of tables and graphs, read-throughs of first-hand accounts, writings, and documentaries. Mackenzie Hines, a twelfth-grade student, gave her feedback: “I like everything about the class… We do a lot of projects. Classes are [mostly] discussion-based, so [Ms. D] puts a lot of questions on [her] slides.”
Another driving force of DiDonato’s crime class is her passion. “I think because I’m passionate about it, the kids get excited about it as well…” she said. “She’s such a great teacher. And also it’s just a very interactive and interesting class. It’s not something that I’m dreading to go to.” said senior Taylor Foley.
DiDonato feels it is a very crucial part of her class to unpack how racial stereotypes are heavily used in the process of sentencing prisoners. “[The social justice system] affects different people, like, based on your race and class,” said Mackenzie Hines ’25. Sara Anello ’25 said, “there’s a lot of racial and otherwise inequity in who’s arrested and why and their sentencing,”
Last year, SCH was the first known high school in the country to offer a re-entry simulation to students. DiDonato offered this interactive method so her students could to discover some of the challenges that recently released inmates face after they re-enter society. In the simulation’s official proposal, Didonato explained that it provides “an understanding of the significant challenges faced by people returning home from prison. The simulation is a two-hour activity that prompts participants to walk in the shoes of an individual who has recently returned home from prison by providing them with tasks to complete within a certain amount of time. The exercise represents the first month in the life of someone returning home.” The simulation was “developed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and has previously only been offered to lawyers, [college] students, law enforcement officials, and social workers.”
DiDonato said, “I want them to understand the complexities of the justice system, how it has evolved historically, and also even changes today that are being made to make sure it’s more equitable.” She hopes students apply this knowledge after her class. Sara Anello said her perspective has changed after taking her class. “[It] has kind of impacted my viewpoints and how like people who live in more impoverished areas are more likely to be convicted or not be able to get out of jail.”
On a trip to the Eastern State Penitentiary, Anello explained, “We looked at a lot of the cell blocks, and we talked to about how the prison was run like everyone was in solitary confinement … like they had hoods put over their heads… so they couldn’t see each other. And the only book they could have for their first ten years of being there was the Bible.” They also visited the Penitentiary’s gallery while there. Aisling Daly ’25 said the gallery was “so beautiful… These people don’t have anything to do with their time. So, yeah, they like, just collect bugs or something, or whatever, something weird like that. But it’s cool to see how creative people will get just to spend their time.”
Taylor Foley claimed that she has acquired a new perspective since taking the class: “… it’s really something that you should learn, so that you don’t see the media and just be like, oh, they’re an awful person. Or you like, meet someone who has been criminalized… and judge them for that. Because there are so many things that go into it, and there are so many… wrongful cases.”
