“Education,” the 17-year-old writes, “is what saved me in desperate times.”
Prisons
Posted inCollege Inside
Ban the box, not the books
Why college matters for people serving long sentences, a surprising barrier in Florida, and the power of reading.
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
A surprising barrier to college for Florida’s prison population
Being locked up in a Florida prison doesn’t make someone a Florida resident. And out-of-state tuition usually puts college out of reach.
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
First Person: Why college matters for people serving extreme sentences
“I needed a path to redemption in the eyes of my mother, my sons, and society that didn’t involve going home,” Rahsaan “New York” Thomas says. “I came up with becoming a writer because my voice was the one part of me that was still free.”
Posted inCollege Inside
The pendulum effect
As we look forward to Pell restoration in 2023, I’ve been wondering what it was like in 1994 when college programs across the country were suddenly shuttered after a federal law eliminated financial aid for people in prisons.
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
First Person: ‘Eventually luck got a hold of me’
Even after the government gave up on college for prisoners, many private funders did not, Tomas Keen writes. They still play an indispensable role in filling the gaps.
Posted inCollege Inside
Misconceptions of teaching inside
Perspectives from a photography professor at San Quentin. Plus, the latest on Pell.
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
Complexities, rules, and the power of self-discovery
Nigel Poor, a co-founder of the Ear Hustle podcast, talks about what she’s learned by teaching in prison.
Posted inCollege Inside
A critical juncture for prison education
The number of college programs available to the 1.8 million people in prison in the United States is expected to grow over the next several years as eligibility for Pell Grants is expanded to include students who are incarcerated.
Posted inCalifornia
Is new support the key to success for formerly incarcerated community college students?
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill that for the first time provides ongoing state support for programs at California community colleges to provide services to formerly incarcerated students.