Who We Are

ContinuingtheDream (CTD) was founded in 2007 by retired employees of the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR).

Recognizing the urgent need to intervene before at-risk students migrate from high school to prison, CTD is leading the charge against the school-to-prison pipeline.

 For us, this work is personal. Far too often the youths we encounter in prison do not have a high school diploma or basic literacy. We teach them to read, write, focus, and rebuild. However,  we could not help but ask our selves, what if we had reached them sooner?

 In response, our founding members took responsibility for their role as professional law-enforcement officers in public safety beyond the prison gates to partner with the California unified school districts and the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) to identify students at risk of academic failure (or dropout) and provide the mentorship, support, resources, and accountability needed to help students graduate on time and stay away from prison.

CTD has long been committed to reaching at-risk youths by leveraging our experience in communication, conflict resolution, and behavioral intervention. This for CTD is more than prevention; it is our redemption. It is the transformation of our professional obligation into a force that promotes healing, guidance, and hope for our community, and most importantly, for our youth.

Our experiences demonstrates a great deal of knowledge.

Our experiences demonstrates a great deal of veterans, correctional officers, parole  agents, counselors, administrators, and educational leaders, agency cabinet level, warden,’s, directors, retired, with a variety of experiences in law enforcement.

 Our Board of Directors understands firsthand the impact of early interventions in preventing lifelong consequences.

Importantly, they've listened, learned, and now leading. 

Their work informs CTD's strategic alliances with the California unified School Districts ' Student Attendance Review Boards (SARB) as a leading resource specialist, and district officials, creating law enforcement support systems and referrals that uplift students before disciplinary issues escalate into consequences.

Students failing to obtain a high school diploma or a GED allow 80% of our country’s youth workforce to be offered employment before them. 

The youth with a high school diploma have better qualifications than those who do not. CTD is doing its part by providing what we can.

In 1974, California legislators enacted Education Code (EC) section 48320 to strengthen the enforcement of compulsory education laws and divert students with chronic absenteeism or behavioral issues from the juvenile justice system.

Furthermore, Section 48321 established the framework for creating the Student Attendance Review Board (SARB) at both the local and county levels across California unified school districts.

SARB serves as a critical safety net for the students, family’s ’ schools , facing persistent educational , economical challenges by providing interventions and support for schools, students, and families.

At ContinuingtheDream (CTD), our goal is to enrich the safety net through the expertise of correctional professionals, vast knowledge, and experience in mentoring.

Our goal is simple but urgent: to use our expert professionals who serve to change the lives of our community youths before incarceration becomes a reality.