college behind bars where are they nowcollege behind bars where are they now

80% are BIPOC. They spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies. Recidivism rates skyrocketed for a variety of reasons, including this, and slowly, some privately funded programs started to come back in. to What will the field of college-in-prison look like? In August 2022, BPI joined colleagues across the field in issuing public comments in response to the Department of Educations proposed regulatory language. A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Once I put something in my stomach, I bike ride. Also with us are Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, graduates of the program. Yoon and Tatro both entered prison as teenagers, and both earned bachelor's degrees in the Bard Prison Initiative. We will hear Sebastian Yoon first and then we'll hear Dyjuan Tatro. Students accepted to the program take classes in prison taught by Bard College faculty, using the same materials and meeting the same standards as students on the college's main campus. And I'm wondering - I'm going to ask Sebastian. You are Korean American, right? Im trying to act younger than my age, so I sometimes listen to trap music. You can learn the math skills you need pretty quickly if you're motivated. DAVIES: And Sebastian, you can tell us a little bit about your transition. The journey to bring "College Behind Bars" started in 2012, when Novick and producer Sarah Botstein were invited to give a lecture for BPI students. DAVIES: There was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common. I went on to work for Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney on his attorney general campaign here in New York. This past is constantly being resurrected. In his senior project, BPI student Rodney Spivey-Jones 17 traces the long history of struggle against anti-Black racism in America. NOVICK: Yeah. Confronted with the "inhuman monotony" of life behind bars, Mr. Hall became a serious student, ultimately gaining admission to the Bard Prison Initiative, a competitive, full-time degree program run by Bard College. YOON: I would say that all my friends right now are my peers from the BPI program, and our network is really growing. - and wait until you get the all clear? And the Bard Prison Initiative, which was - began in 1999. When kids stopped bothering me, I guess I started feeling this false sense of empowerment. CONTACT: Eric Koch | ericdkoch@gmail.com BPI was founded in 1999, in the wake of the decimation of college-in-prison. Tune in for an unparalleled look inside @BPIBard, one of the most rigorous & challenging #CollegeInPrison programs. I mean, anybody who watches this film will think, gosh, I don't know if I could handle this stuff. The numbers that I remember from the documentary was that at - there were about 890 or so in the institution, 110 in the program, which is a pretty good number. Even after you graduate, as long as you are in a prison in which Bard Prison Initiative operates, you're allowed to take courses. College Behind Bars, the four-part documentary about the transformative power of education, premiered nationwide on PBS in November 25, 2019. You can just see this intellectual blossoming. Thats another thing I think is a spillover from prison: I saw the television as a space of conflict because people would argue over what to watch, so I stayed away from it. For streaming, visit pbs.org . You got this education, and you're trying to help people now. BPI was proud to partner with College and Community Fellowships #TurnOnTheTapNY campaign to restore access to New Yorks state-level need-based student grants, the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for incarcerated students. And they understand that research shows inmates who earn masters degrees behind bars have a 0% recidivism rate. By creating an account, you acknowledge that PBS may share your information with our member stations and our respective service providers, and that you have read and understand the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. NOVICK: I'd just add that one of the really remarkable things about this program is that the admissions process is looking for people who have kind of intellectual curiosity and determination. You have this big smile on your face when you're leaving the auditorium and the mess hall. The Bard Prison Initiative enrolls over 300 incarcerated students in six New York State prisons. So, to savor this rich, hot drink in my hand is so fabulous with cinnamon, not too much sugar. I'm going to ask each of you to give me your first impressions here. Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate. This film is about the transformative power of education while also confronting and challenging conventional thinking about the purpose of both education and incarceration. They spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies. Incarcerated men and women in New York State are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), one of the most rigorous college programs in America. : r/loveafterlockup. They both earned college degrees and are now employed. College Behind Bars is the inspiring, emotional, deeply human story of men and women struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes. The subjects and filmmakers reveal how the power of education changes lives. ALBANY,ReadMore, Tags: CCF, College in Prison, Press Release, TAP, Turn on the Tap, In this episode, listen to an in-depth conversation with Max Kenner '01, alumnus Dyjuan Tatro '18, and Vivian Nixon, Executive Director of College & Community Fellowship who discuss the impact of federal Pell Grant restoration; what's next for TAP restoration in New York; theReadMore, The Appeal featured several segments about BPI in two Justice in America podcast episodes, as well as an op-ed. In 2016, BPI was proud to join the first cohort of sites receiving experimental eligibility through Second Chance Pell. We need to be preparing people in prison for the 21st century, and I think there's no better way to do that than giving them a liberal arts education. But in reality, out here, the degrees matter. I recently binged born behind bars on A&E and was looking for any kind of update on these mamas/babies. Your education in that space can be interrupted in all types of different ways at any time of day. DAVIES: Yeah, this business of counts - I mean, Sebastian Yoon, do you want to explain this? The Residency leads to an ongoing community of practice that builds on over a decade of cultivating a nationwide network of leading universities and colleges in the field, through the Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison. Teaching resources for YOON: Oh. Incarcerated men and women are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative, a rigorous college program, where some make great strides while others . He started his college education behind bars. YOON: And it was a very interesting moment for me where I realized that the education that I was receiving in prison was the same education that I would receive had I gone to college out there. You can see then Minister. We always have to be mindful of how those people like myself are returning back to their communities and back to their families. college behind bars where are they now college behind bars where are they now. A QUIET START I allow myself to sleep no later than 7:30, because on a weekday I get up around 5. I had to write that I swept and mopped floors. These programs transform the negative impacts of criminal punishment and create radical inroads of access and opportunity to higher learning. For the NFLs My Cause My Cleats campaign, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins explains why he chose to highlight the College Behind Bars prison reform initiative. But the problem is that there can - bells can ring off in prison at any time. Lynn Novick's 'College Behind Bars,' four-hour PBS documentary about the Bard Prison Initiative and the impact of educational programs as part of prison reform, is provocative and inspiring. She spent four years in prisons taping material for the documentary, which is her solo directorial debut. There's an extreme amount of noise in prisons. They come to us for essay-writing classes and math tutoring so that they can prepare to get into the program themselves. And it was often a joke that I would show up at school and get all these awards, and they would say, but you were never here. With Botstein onboard as a producer, Novick set out to direct what became the four-part PBS docuseries "College Behind Bars." Executive produced by Burns, the documentary examines mass. BPIs newest initiative, the Bard Microcollege, expands yet further the scope and impact of this work, delivering high-quality liberal arts education to communities outside of prison through partnerships with community-based institutions. And you see this room, and then all of a sudden, reality just comes crashing upon you. In four years of study they become scholars, shatter stereotypes, reckon with their pasts, and prepare to return to society. I'm going to get emotional. And because the coffees so bad, we overcompensate with sugar or creamer. Vocational training is fine, but we should also be having an opportunity for higher education. So it has a ripple effect even beyond people applying to just - you know, the facilities where there is higher education have less incidence of violence and disruption and things like that. Tell me how the experience compared with what you expected. Through the personal stories of the students and their families, the film reveals the transformative power of higher education and puts a human face on Americas criminal justice crisis. My father never saw me as a bad person. Back in 2018, Netflix released its docuseries Girls Incarcerated: Young and Locked Up . You know, you forgot your book; you can't just go back and get your book. And I think what surprised my father the most was just how much I transformed while I was incarcerated. After serving 22 years in prison, he is making up for lost time, with a job at the Ford Foundation, good coffee and a long soak in the tub. NOVICK: Yeah, pretty much. And I went to prison for 12 years at the age of 19, 20 for assault. In 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act made people in prison ineligible for Pell Grants. Prison has the worst coffee, oh, my goodness thats one of the things I think anybody would tell you. I had to understand the idea of hubris, and I had to understand the idea of tragedy, and I had to understand these concepts. Who among us is capable of academic excellence? Dyjuan, what's it been like connecting with your family again? In spring 2021 the NYS legislature passed the bill, and it was signed into law in July 2021. So I walked out of prison on August 10 of 2017, and I was back in college on August 24 finishing my B.A. Who has access to educational opportunity? Sebastian Yoon, Dyjuan Tatro, congratulations on your degrees. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. Once enrolled, BPI students engage with the college full-time, embarking on a course of study that is ambitious and matches the breadth and intensity of any undergraduate learning experience. TATRO: Sure. The doc is also a moving portrait of individuals determined to defy the odds and build a better future for themselves.. YOON: And part of that crime bill, Dave, was comprised - allocating $10 billion to build more prisons, and $10 billion at the time was enough to pay for higher education in prisons for more than 200 years. Sebastian Yoon, your father was in the audience, right? All these things are intersecting and overlapping. GROSS: Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, our guests will be Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch, the former Wall Street Journal reporters who formed Fusion GPS, a private research company. Following the development of regulations issued by the US Department of Education, incarcerated students who are enrolled in approved programs are expected to be eligible for Pell in the 2023-2024 academic year. Good job. "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. So let's just listen to this. And I said, that's what I'm going to do, and I was in a different facility at that time - easier said than done. 2026. And, you know, one of the just greatest moments there is that when the BPI students were getting up to walk the stage, the president of the college, Leon Botstein, said - you know, he said these are some of our most distinguished and greatest students, and the whole student body stood and gave us a resounding round of applause. Learn more about this important amendment to the Merit Board rules, and its disproportionate impact on incarcerated women, on our blog. Colleges or universities partnering in the Consortium. And I think the answer is no. "College Behind Bars" follows students in the Bard Prison Initiative, a privately funded college program that began in 2001 in New York state prisons. Ken Burns is executive producer. With so much at stake, BPI is doubling down on our commitments to national engagement in policy and practice including The BPI Summer Residency for emerging programs and practitioners. GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Men and women in prison for serious crimes try to earn college degrees in this groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. Reimagining the place of higher education. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. For 26 years, BPI joined other advocates in championing the return of Pell eligibility for incarcerated students. College Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. Mr. Hall is the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired full-time by the Ford. So, you know, the - in the Greek, liberal arts education literally means education worthy of a free man. DAVIES: You know, I'd like, Sebastian and Dyjuan, to hear a little bit about how - reconciling with your families. But I had no life experience to bring to that. I mean, both - from the documentary, it seems that both of you had supportive families. But as we got to know the students, we began to understand the circumstances of their lives, which, as you say, were complicated, sometimes tragic, often involved exposure to violence and other tragic experiences. I had to show my passion. It's always a seminar style. I never saw a class where people weren't paying attention - not one - and we were in a lot of classes. If this kind of opportunity were widely available and the sort of foundational skills made possible, a lot more people could take advantage of it. So I started hanging out in the streets and, you know, I had a crew of boys that I always hung out with. Of course, I recognize where this comes from: I wasnt around children for 22 years. There's a lot of interaction with the students, with the professor and with each other, and a tremendous amount learning also goes on outside the classroom. Through the lived experiences of the students and their families, this is a groundbreaking story of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. Director Lynn Novick and graduates Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro talk about how the program changes lives. So when we start talking about what is best for people in prisons, Lynn said we should include them in that conversation. TATRO: You know, I'm not taking it back to my cell and going to sleep with it. No, I'm done. How can we have justice without redemption? I grew up in a single-parent household, the child of a disabled mother. YOON: Two more years after my bachelor's degree in 2017. James Herriots adventures as a veterinarian in 1930s Yorkshire get a new TV adaptation. Add College Behind Bars to your must watch list! Congratulations. As public funding of college-in-prison returns to the field the question shifts from Will there be college-in-prison? Tried as an adult for his involvement in the fight, Mr. Hall was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. As you will see in the film, there's tremendous potential among incarcerated people. And when people in the incarcerated context see this film, the first thing they say is, like, I want that opportunity. In early 2020 BPI began working with lawmakers to change Merit Board eligibility rules so that all incarcerated students can be eligible for early release based on earning college credits. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. After returning home, BPI alumni become independent taxpaying citizens. And I think - I was lonely. We can remove the first video in the list to add this one. It gave me the ability to put names to systems and things that had impacted my life. This is a scene where there's a group of brand-new students at the Eastern Correctional Facility, which is a maximum security facility in New York, just been admitted to the program after a competitive admissions process, and what we see is a not terribly large classroom and a group of 15 to 20 men in blue jumpsuits seated at typical classroom desks. They love this film. NOVICK: Yes, indeed. This is a full-time and long-term and total commitment. College Behind Bars. College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films and is directed by Lynn Novick. However, I would go to school, and just school - I could never reconcile it with the reality of my everyday life at home, and so I felt very isolated and disengaged there - skipped school very, very often. We should not expect that they are only capable of vocational training. I'm an uncle. Max Kenner, when he started it, was an undergraduate at Bard and just saw this need and, you know, convinced the college that it would be something that they should try to do. Hold on. You got to go back to your - I guess to your cell - right? "College Behind Bars" airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations. Parts One & Two. On November 24, 1990, James Wiley armed himself with a shotgun and brutally shot down his stepmother and two brothers in their home in Thermopolis, Wyoming. PBS chronicles 12 inmates who value education in 'College Behind Bars' The film fills the screen with stories about human transformation as cameras follow a dozen incarcerated men and women. However, I think that we also have to realize that we live in a country and we have an economy where the type of work that vocational training used to give you no longer exists. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. DAVIES: Yeah. YOON: So I believe that, you know, the degree is just a piece of paper, and I think there's too much significance tied to the degree. When we come home now, we often help each other get jobs. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This July we issued $650,000 in grants in the US and around the world. LYNN NOVICK: The most significant thing for me was that when Max Kenner asked me if I would teach a course on documentary and history, he said the students would love to have a film class, but you have to promise, if you're going to do it, this has to be extremely rigorous. DAVIES: Right. And I'm back at BPI today as the Government Affairs Officer, expanding - helping to expand access to college and prison through public investments in the work that we do. TATRO: Yeah. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. So there are a lot of things that impede your education in that space. 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