冲破教育的藩篱

监狱教育倡议改变了被监禁学生的发展轨迹

Article by Leigh Cooper大学传媒
Photos and video by Garrett Britton大学视觉制作

The United States has only 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prisoners. 

And, of all the states, Idaho is at or near the top in terms of incarceration rates. Most years, Idaho ranks in the top three in the country for prison admissions and prison populations. More than 10,000 Idahoans are currently residing in state prisons, mostly for victimless crimes. 

“我们是一个大规模监禁的国家中的一个大规模监禁的国家，”他说 Omi Hodwitz他是365滚球官网的教授 criminology. “但是大规模监禁的策略 
并不能改造那些被定罪的人.” 

In fact, upwards of half of those released from prison will engage in crime again within the first year. 

But there is a proven way to help people exit the reincarceration cycle — education. Hodwitz and the 文学、艺术和社会科学学院 (CLASS) started the 365滚球官网监狱教育计划 to present a different future for incarcerated students — a program that also provides educational opportunities for on-campus students.

“The steps I have taken on this journey towards a higher education have left me with an incredible sense of accomplishment and a feeling of self-worth never before present in my life,项目中一名被监禁的学生说. “当我开始意识到自己的潜力, 隧道的尽头终于有了光明, 给了我美好未来的希望.”

霍德维茨收集了被监禁学生的评论. 为了保护学生的匿名性，本文没有使用他们的名字.

The Silver Bullet

根据司法部和维拉司法研究所的数据, offering education in prison can cut reoffending rates nearly in half and the more advanced the education, 这些速率越低. 受害率和政府支出也是如此.

“这在各方面都是双赢的，”霍德维茨说. “Offering education to incarcerated communities facilitates a successful transition back into the community. They’re better socialized to integrate and they have knowledge and skills that will help them find good employment.”

Unfortunately, in the 1990s, 联邦政府取消了所有为被监禁学生提供的佩尔助学金. Pell Grants are federal grants available to low-income students across the nation. 当他们被监禁的学生被取消时, 它在三年内将监狱大学项目减少了99%.

Now, three decades later, the federal government is selectively reintroducing prison-based Pell Grants as part of a national experiment. Recognizing the importance of education in prison, U of I applied to be part of the experiment.

In 2021, the federal government granted U of I access to Pell funding for two prisons in Idaho — the Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino, a men’s prison, 以及波卡特洛女子惩教中心. 这是I大学监狱教育倡议(PEI)的开始。, 一个为被监禁社区提供教育机会的项目.

“这个项目是一个重要的拓展机会. It corresponds with our land-grant mission which uniquely positions U of I to serve all our citizens and provide them with greater educational opportunity,” said Sean Quinlan, 他是CLASS的院长，也是该计划最大的支持者之一.

欢迎所有学生

2022年秋天，PEI迎来了第一批被监禁的学生. Pell students in the PEI program can earn one of three fully online degrees: organizational sciences, 传播学与通识研究.

“这是发生在我身上最棒的一件事,” one incarcerated student said. “我的生活从此变得更好了，现在我对未来充满了希望.”

According to Hodwitz, 学生们的功课做得很好, 这个项目每学期都在发展. She estimates there are roughly three dozen active PEI students across the two facilities.

“I have seen more people go from hopeless to hopeful because of this program than any other program I have been a part of,一名被监禁的学生说.

As of July 2024, the federal government is extending Pell funding to any partnership between educational and correctional institutions that meets the criteria. Including incarcerated students in the Pell Grant program does not reduce the number of grants available because all who are eligible for Pell Grants receive them.

“The U of I’s Prison Education Initiative has greatly affected participating students in a positive way. The benefit is an opportunity for the residents to earn a degree and upon reentry, 找一份能维持生活的工作,” said Kent Shriver, 奥罗菲诺监狱的副监狱长. “This opportunity is not only changing the lives of the residents, but their families as well. I believe this will have a generational impact helping to break the criminal cycle.”

In Fall 2024, 伊利诺伊大学的项目将扩展到博伊西的爱达荷州立惩教中心, 爱达荷州最大的监狱, allowing more incarcerated Idahoans to take advantage of the opportunity the PEI offers.

For Idaho, the benefits could be greater than simply keeping individuals from returning to prison.

“累犯会破坏社区凝聚力和社区安全,” said Hodwitz, 在爱达荷州需要PEI. “The pattern of cyclical reincarceration is damaging not just for the individuals who are caught in that cycle, 对社区和国家也是如此. 我们的项目改善了社区健康和成功.”

不可能的学生伙伴

PEI不仅影响被监禁的学生. 它为伊利诺伊大学的在校学生提供了机会.

阿玛拉·贝利是犯罪学和社会学三年级的学生, works as a PEI intern. 他们的主要工作是策划第二届Beyond the Wire年度艺术展, which features art by the incarcerated community and helps provide funds to incarcerated students for items like transcripts and textbooks.

这位莫斯科人通过Inside Out与PEI项目建立了联系, a class that brings on-campus students and incarcerated students together at the prison.

Through Inside Out, “outside” students work on extracurricular academic projects with their “inside” incarcerated peers. These unlikely sets of students have published books and articles together and collaborated on research projects.

作为一个“外来”学生, Bailey worked with an “inside” student on a research project that found that the physical recreation needs of the prisoners were not being met. 两人的研究成果在一次国际犯罪学会议上发表.

“It’s incredible to know that I’m working alongside and learning from people who society has deemed irredeemable and unforgivable — but they are acknowledged by the university,” Bailey said. “我想扩大每个人接受教育的机会, 不管他们的生活环境如何，做到这一点真的很令人兴奋. 能参与其中，我感到无比荣幸.”