Vermont's Prison Education Programs Give Incarcerated People a Second Chance to Learn

The University of Wyoming’s Pathways from Prison program uses federal Pell Grant money and private donations to fund college education for inmates. The program offers four-year degrees and aims to provide them with the skills, tools and knowledge to reenter society in a positive way. Studies show educational programs decrease recidivism rates by 14.8%, and those participating in the program say their self-worth and sense of hope have significantly increased.

California is leading the nation in prison education. “There are now in-person community college classes in all but one prison in the state, enrolling some 4,000 students." Nationally, 4 percent of higher ed institutions teach for-credit classes in prisons. “It's been the most amazing experience of my entire life, as either a free man or as an incarcerated human being." Evidence shows that providing people in prison with education reduces recidivism rates. “A major study by the RAND Corporation found taking classes in prison cuts the chances of getting locked up again by 43%.”

In the Inside-Out Exchange program half of the students are college students, and the other half are prison inmates. The program has “expanded to about 150 correctional institutions across the globe” but the biggest takeaway is the effect it has on people. Students were “ engaged in a way they never had been in the classroom. For the inmates, suddenly their opinions mattered.”

A new program through Adams State University hires incarcerated professors to teach in prison bachelor’s programs, providing them training and income while giving more people access to education behind bars. Students report that they prefer learning from someone who understands their experiences and is available to connect with outside of formal classes.

At Connecticut’s MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, people experiencing incarceration have the opportunity to participate in postsecondary classes, even completing a certificate or degree. They’re able to do this because of the Second Chance Pell pilot program, started in 2015, which offers financial aid for inmates to access education. With bipartisan support, there’s hope that the pilot program will grow, as current research shows how the programming reduces recidivism and saves tax dollars.

The first class of students enrolled in the Wesleyan University Center for Prison Education has just graduated. The program awards participants with an associate degree from Middlesex Community College in general studies and intends to serve as a tool against recidivism by offering an opportunity for success after incarceration. The Center for Prison Education has existed since 2009, serving 138 students thus far, and started offering a degree option in 2016.

Many years of work to improve juvenile-detention centers in Mississippi may curb recidivism rates by increasing the quality of life in detention. Despite those efforts, however, centers might still be unable to give detained students what they need the most—a quality education.

Five Keys Charter School, established in 2003, works in various California prisons to provide education and job training to inmates. Since its founding, Five Keys has awarded 684 high school diplomas to inmates in custody and 712 more to people who completed their coursework at a network of community sites scattered around San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The Bard prison initiative, in New York, allows inmates at correctional facilities to take liberal arts classes and improve their opportunities to find work upon release.

Inmates who get correctional education are less likely to become repeat offenders, but education costs money. An organization is funding educational opportunities for prisoners in various cities in the U.S. to improve their reentry into society.