A QUIET START I allow myself to sleep no later than 7:30, because on a weekday I get up around 5. But while I was receiving that education, as I said, it was liberating. Siena Poll Today Showed Huge, Bipartisan Majorities For Programs That Lower Barriers to Incarcerated New Yorkers Re-Entering Society WebCollege Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. I'm a math major, went on after that to do some project management and data collection for a tech company and then started thinking about how I could get back in the world. But I thought what just happened in the auditorium was also reality. TATRO: You know, I think that we want to have as many opportunities open to people in prison as possible. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. 4/22/2019 DAVIES: Dyjuan Tatro, what was your graduation experience like? And we're just a really tight cohort, and we see each other as family because we've been through the same struggles and we got the same education. Colleges or universities partnering in the Consortium. DAVIES: And if you're in class when it's time for a count, what happens? And so I was a little bit intimidated by that. Copyright 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), all rights reserved. Ill get up and just sit in silence in my apartment.. All rights reserved. And there's - I'll just let the listeners know there's an emotional moment here where you start to speak of your family, and you have to stop and compose yourself. And I think the answer is no. In 1994, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act made people in prison ineligible for Pell Grants. So we really take the opportunity that we had seriously and try to give back in real, tangible ways to the wider population. And they thrust you right back into prison. After the federal Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995. What Happens When Incarcerated People Get a World-Class Education? it is the only time that they can trust they . And, you know, we came to feel that it was important for them to - and they also felt it was important for them to explain themselves, how they see themselves, where they've been, where they are, through the lens of the education that they've been getting and their perspectives that have shifted over time. I just wanted acknowledgement and this feeling of power and security. And I always remember, no, no, no. NOVICK: I was just going to chime in one other thing, which is I've heard Dyjuan, Sebastian and the other students, as well as Max, say that, you know, it also just sort of changes the culture of the whole facility and that, you know, there's something positive going on and that people don't want to get in trouble so that they have an opportunity to be there, to stay there and to potentially be involved in the program. All these things are intersecting and overlapping. And so the film ends up and their stories end up, you know, raising some really important questions about violence and about harm and incarceration, and what is prison for, and what is the value of education? DAVIES: You know, I'd like, Sebastian and Dyjuan, to hear a little bit about how - reconciling with your families. The subjects and filmmakers reveal the inspiring story of how the power of education can change lives in College Behind Bars. Were they all like that, Lynn? I was a very precocious child. U.S. oyster bay snow crab combo meat puckett's auto auction okc does tulane have a track. Our associate producer of digital media is Molly Seavey-Nesper. 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. So, you know, Bard has some re-entry services, mainly job placement and career development. This is FRESH AIR. By Megan Heintz. When incarcerated students from the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Debate Union beat a team from Harvard, their victory made headlines around the world. College Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. In spring 2021 the NYS legislature passed the bill, and it was signed into law in July 2021. I'm going to ask each of you to give me your first impressions here. 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. danville jail mugshots; marlin 1898 stock; A new PBS documentary series tells the story of one program that's offering a rigorous liberal arts education inside maximum security prisons with encouraging results. I hope you'll join us. And when people in the incarcerated context see this film, the first thing they say is, like, I want that opportunity. Let's start with a clip from the documentary. DAVIES: Right. You know, he likes to tell me, you know, many people, when they get pushed down to their hands and knees, the easiest thing for them to do is just lay down. Your education in that space can be interrupted in all types of different ways at any time of day. College Behind Bars is an intimate look at the lives and experiences of a dozen BPI students and their families that confronts and challenges conventional wisdom about the purpose of both education and incarceration. NOVICK: Yeah, pretty much. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. Who among us is capable of academic excellence? My colleagues are aware of different types of cuisine and restaurants and whenever we travel together for work or have a lunch together, theres this tendency to talk about food and wine. I'm just interested in your perspective on this because I'm just - I imagine that, in a maximum security facility, there are a lot of folks who just didn't have kind of the educational kind of foundation to do college work the way you did, or maybe I'm wrong about that. But for the men gathered on this October afternoon, it. Im trying to act younger than my age, so I sometimes listen to trap music. So I know when I was in college and I was reading Greek tragedy or Shakespeare or, you know, classic texts, it was just an assignment to me. This is when you, Sebastian Yoon, are speaking at the graduation. What kind of courses are taught? But I had no life experience to bring to that. Men and women seek college degrees - and a chance at redemption - while incarcerated. I mean, both - from the documentary, it seems that both of you had supportive families. And one day, we went to a karaoke bar, and a fight erupted, and somebody ended up losing his life. So I started hanging out in the streets and, you know, I had a crew of boys that I always hung out with. College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films and is directed by Lynn Novick. That means that 50% to 60% of the 630,000 people who get out of prison every year are back in prison in three years. 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. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Novick is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and longtime collaborator of Ken Burns. Now he wants to help kids avoid prison. Prison is not an easy place to get an education. You're looking ahead. It gave me the ability to put names to systems and things that had impacted my life. College Behind Bars, an Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary about the transformative power of education. College Behind Bars is a production of Skiff Mountain Films, in association with Florentine Films and WETA-TV. Both of you went into prison as teenagers and came out as young men. And then you say, oh, this is my reality. Ken Burns is executive producer. Few completed high school; most earned their GED in prison. DAVIES: And have you both stayed in touch with folks you knew from the program and helped - people you helped? Most had circumstances early in their life, which were really, really tough, heartbreaking in many cases. DAVIES: Sebastian Yoon, what about connecting with your family? 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. "We all have. college behind bars where are they now college behind bars where are they now. YOON: There's this moment where you walk past his door, and all you see is curtains and officers waiting in, like, rows. You have this big smile on your face when you're leaving the auditorium and the mess hall. It was just a really, really moving moment to be celebrated on the main Bard campus in that way by all these amazing young people. Director Lynn Novick and graduates Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro talk about how the program changes lives. COLLEGE BEHIND BARS, a four-part documentary film series, tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States - the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). So just to have normal kind of conversation, people have to literally yell back and forth. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Tune in for an unparalleled look inside @BPIBard, one of the most rigorous & challenging #CollegeInPrison programs. 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. For now, the roughly 300 students taking . And I think we should just start being really clear about the scale of the commitment, first of all, that we're making to you and, secondly, that we expect of you. I finished my degree in the spring of 2018. You know, you forgot your book; you can't just go back and get your book. During the 2016 presidential campaign, they were hired by Republicans and then by Democrats and investigated connections between Trump and Russia. Back in 2018, Netflix released its docuseries Girls Incarcerated: Young and Locked Up . You know, that is not the type of thing you expect to be happening in a prison. YOON: I never stopped being a student. I'm a college student. There are counts. And I got there, and I took the entrance exam and sat in my cell and waited for the acceptance letter. Celebrating 200+ degrees in six graduations back in person with Congressman Bobby Rush. So I pedal pretty forcefully to get a workout. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. After the federal Pell ban in 1994, New York implemented a ban on TAP eligibility in 1995. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. DAVIES: You know, it's interesting, Lynn Novick. In this era of mass incarceration, America is the world's largest jailer, with more than 2 million men and women behind bars; 630,000 are released annually, and nearly 50 percent end up back in . So within the prison context, you know, people know who the guys are in BPI, and they come to us for advice. Faculty are going to be evaluating what you do as a student, exclusively. DYJUAN TATRO: You know, one of the most salient moments for me in my time in BPI is my first time walking in to the Bard library at Eastern Correctional Facility. How College in Prison Turns Around Lives and Saves Taxpayers Money, Knowledge & Redemption, A Conversation with Lynn Novick and Jule Hall, Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate. So I walked out of prison on August 10 of 2017, and I was back in college on August 24 finishing my B.A. BPI alumni overwhelmingly go home to their communities and give back in ways that positively impact the lives of others. 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. But I usually put on jazz or R&B. Ken Burns is executive producer. NOVICK: You know, Sarah and I, when we got into the project, we were focusing on the transformational aspect of it, power of education, and what did it mean to get this education while in prison? The bipartisan restoration of Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students is a clear political endorsement of the value of college-in-prison, signaling to New York that it is past time to also restore TAP. TATRO: You know, one of the great things about, you know, Bard is that it's recognized that it's not enough just to, you know, kind of issue a degree and give someone an education, send them back out into society. I guess you still treasure that moment, don't you? This is the thing we know how to do, and we happen to do it here. The Bard Prison Initiative enrolls over 300 incarcerated students in six New York State prisons. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). DAVIES: There was a time when higher education in correctional facilities was pretty common. That degree really means something when they leave this program with their degree from Bard. I never saw a class where people weren't paying attention - not one - and we were in a lot of classes. And it has had a profound impact on my personality and just the way that I move through the world today. A groundbreaking exploration of incarceration, injustice, race in America, and the transformative power of education. Born Behind Bars is a documentary series that takes place in a maximum-security prison in Indiana. We should not expect that they are only capable of vocational training. Starbucks is a place where people dont notice each other; theyre more focused on their computer or their phone. And they really love to engage the professors and each other, and that was true for every single class. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the four-hour film takes viewers on a stark and intimate journey into one of the most pressing issues of our time our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for the over two million Americans living behind bars. And there was a tremendous void. GROSS: Lynn Novick speaking with Dave Davies. And what the film shows and the work at BPI shows is that that cannot be more untrue. I just committed a bad act. And what's incredible is that you can also serve as tutors, so you're constantly working with other students who are trying to obtain their associate's degrees or bachelor's. And fewer than 4% have gone back to prison. The documentary prompts viewers to consider the importance of higher education in prison. We're going to start coursework Monday morning. You can learn the math skills you need pretty quickly if you're motivated. GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Justice in America Episode 29: Schools in Prison DAVIES: Yeah. Did you feel yourself changing as you moved through these courses? The four-part series follows the journey of men and women incarcerated in. Copyright 2019 NPR. Even after you graduate, as long as you are in a prison in which Bard Prison Initiative operates, you're allowed to take courses. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the four-hour film takes viewers on a stark and intimate journey into one of the most pressing issues of our time our failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for the over two million Americans living behind bars. Factory jobs are disappearing in this country year after year. They've earned college degrees and are now employed. Part of our job is to provide grants and support to other organizations and individuals who are working towards social justice reform. Sign up for the College Behind Bars newsletter to learn more about the film and events nationwide. 2026. We will continue our conversation after a short break. I mean, there's - it's in the prison auditorium - right? 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. James Wiley. Yoon and Tatro earned college degrees taking rigorous courses taught by Bard College faculty in a maximum-security prison. YOON: I would say that all my friends right now are my peers from the BPI program, and our network is really growing. My father never saw me as a bad person. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. Let's keep the noise down. I think that realization came to me when I sat down and began writing my first cover letter and my first resume. And then I came to crave it more and more. 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. Your support helps make this possible. TATRO: And, you know, I'll just add that we have been - we have done screenings in prisons from California to Massachusetts. DAVIES: Sebastian Yoon, tell us what it was like getting started in these classes. 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. DAVIES: This school also has graduation ceremonies, and this is very moving. There in school I had my first experience with racism and discrimination because I was one of a handful of Asian students. In the beginning, you don't even know how to use a comma. DAVIES: Yeah. Anyone can read what you share. My family took care of me for 12 years while I was in prison, and now I'm in a position in life where I can support and be there for them. And because the coffees so bad, we overcompensate with sugar or creamer. Going to ask each of you to give back in person with Congressman Bobby Rush,. 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