The ONLY thing I could find was the recent murder of the pregnant (at the time of filming) CO Breann Leath who apparently . It raises questions we urgently need to address: What is prison for? And with time, as we become scholars, the idea that we should be limited to just vocational training just becomes absurd. YOON: My family has been super supportive of me, as you'll see in the documentary, especially my father. Did you feel yourself changing as you moved through these courses? When I look at the scenes of the classroom in the documentary - it's a four-part documentary, and there are a lot of scenes - these classes are a lot more orderly and focused than I remember any of my college or high school classes being. 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). And that had been true for over a generation, and it was well understood and accepted that education was an essential part of criminal justice and of rehabilitation. Mr. Hall is the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired full-time by the Ford Foundation, where he works as a program associate, developing strategy and analyzing data for grants to advance, gender, racial and ethnic justice. 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. Funding for College Behind Bars is provided by Bank of America; PBS; Ford Foundation / JustFilms; National Endowment for the Humanities; Meg & Tomas Bergstrand; Regina K. Scully; The Lise More, Funding for College Behind Bars is provided by Bank of America; PBS; Ford Foundation / JustFilms; National Endowment for the Humanities; You can learn the math skills you need pretty quickly if you're motivated. How can we have justice without redemption? 2026. TATRO: And, you know, I'll just add that we have been - we have done screenings in prisons from California to Massachusetts. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. Were they all like that, Lynn? DAVIES: And the crime that got you in was that you shot someone in retaliation for an attack on you and your sister, right? Rodney has been incarcerated for 17 years and is currently incarcerated at Fishkill. 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. 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. College Behind Bars is perhaps one of the best documentaries that Ive seen about criminal justice in the past 5 years. James Wiley committed a heinous crime at 15 years of age. 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. So when we start talking about what is best for people in prisons, Lynn said we should include them in that conversation. 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. I think that realization came to me when I sat down and began writing my first cover letter and my first resume. 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. So I started hanging out in the streets and, you know, I had a crew of boys that I always hung out with. After returning home, BPI alumni become independent taxpaying citizens. But while I was receiving that education, as I said, it was liberating. Ill fix me a scrambled egg with a cinnamon raisin bagel in my toaster. What I prize is the education and the knowledge that I received in the process of obtaining that degree. GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Meg & Tomas Bergstrand; Regina K. Scully; The Lise Strickler & Mark Gallogly Charitable Fund; a fund at The New York Community Trust; Patty Quillin through the Meadow Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Barbara & Richard Novick; Chicken & Egg Pictures; The William H. Donner Foundation; Hartley Film Foundation; Bertha Foundation; The Harnisch Foundation; Compton Foundation; and Lisa Philp; and members of The Better Angels Society: There are bells. 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. Incarcerated men and women are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative, a rigorous college program, where some make great strides while others . So you can be in class midway, and if the bell rings because the count was off or if there's a security problem, then you have to go back to your cells. I know it's not love after lockup but I couldn't really find a relevant sub. Sign up for the College Behind Bars newsletter to learn more about the film and events nationwide. But one of the things that was also great - there are instances where the other prisoners would accommodate us, where they would say, you know, the Bard guys are working at this table; let's go over here and make noise, or, like, the Bard guys are in the room - in their rooms studying. It's about a program in which professors of Bard College give college classes in six correctional institutions. 4/22/2019 Jule Hall walks through Sunnyside, Queens, his neighborhood. Helping prisoners go to college helps New York, Press Release: TURN ON THE TAP NY PRAISES GOVERNOR HOCHUL FOR INCLUDING TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR INCARCERATED NEW YORKERS IN BUDGET, WBAIs On the Count The Prison And Criminal Justice Report, BPI and College Behind Bars in The Appeal, College Behind Bars with Max Kenner and Sebastian Yoon. My mother left me and my siblings when I was 5, so my dad raised us three - my older brother and my sister - by himself. And this is not obviously the happiest part of your life, but - and you can say as much as you want about it, but I think the audience would be interested in knowing a bit about what your life was like coming up. It's about a program in which professors of Bard College give college classes in six correctional institutions. I mean, Dyjuan, I think you had a brother who had been - a younger brother who'd struggled and had been incarcerated at some point. And I remember walking in and seeing men like me in prison uniforms, except that they were speaking Mandarin. 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. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR, and we're discussing the new four-part PBS documentary "College Behind Bars." 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. Creating educational opportunities in prison nationwide. And I kind of froze in place and just looked around the room and just felt really, really inspired. DAVIES: It's to literally count to ensure that every inmate is is accounted for. YOON: For me, a liberal arts education cultivated in me conceptual and intellectual openness that invited me to consider worlds outside of my world from different times, thought and space. And before the 1994 Clinton crime bill, there were college programs in almost every correctional facility in America. CAST OF CHARACTERS Im ashamed to say this, but I people-watch. "We all have. I sit in there for about 30 minutes with my phone on the side playing music. DAVIES: You know, I was going to ask about relations with, you know, other prisoners. In four years of study they become accomplished scholars, shatter stereotypes, reckon with their pasts, and prepare to return to society. DAVIES: And that's from the documentary "College Behind Bars," directed by our guest Lynn Novick. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). TATRO: Oh, I think that couldn't be further from the truth. Men and women earn college degrees - and a chance at new beginnings - while incarcerated.MoreMore. And I'm wondering - I'm going to ask Sebastian. Ill take care of the preliminaries, brush my teeth, get dressed, and I shoot straight to the Starbucks two blocks away. DAVIES: You know, it's interesting, Lynn Novick. I go to bed around 9 or 10. 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. And they really love to engage the professors and each other, and that was true for every single class. Its about two miles away. College Behind Bars, which airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday night, offers TV audiences a rare window into the U.S. correctional system. So within the prison context, you know, people know who the guys are in BPI, and they come to us for advice. And they are first eligible for an associate degree, and then if they can that, they can apply to get a bachelor's degree. College Behind Bars is directed and produced by Lynn Novick; produced by Sarah Botstein; edited by Tricia Reidy ACE; produced by Salimah El-Amin and Mariah Doran;original music by Jongnic Bontemps; cinematography by Buddy Squires ASC and Nadia Hallgren. 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. And I think the answer is no. Factory jobs are disappearing in this country year after year. In one of our most power episodes ever, BPIs founder Max Kenner and recent graduate Sebastian Yoon join Adam this week to discuss howReadMore, One graduate, featured in a new PBS documentary, shares the ups and downs of earning a degree behind bars. Adult learners are, you know, much more mature and have life experience. Could you talk just a little bit about the process? I'm a college student. And what this education does is it untaps (ph) that potential. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. So I walked out of prison on August 10 of 2017, and I was back in college on August 24 finishing my B.A. I'm Terry Gross. Its always with me, said Mr. Hall, 44, of prison. The documentary, "College Behind Bars," airs tonight and tomorrow night on PBS stations and will also be available for streaming. They spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies. And when I actually started my courses, I was shocked by how rigorous and how demanding the program was. Others that have to do, you know, kind of routine prison jobs instead of being in class - was there jealousy or resentment? The Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) works to redefine the availability, affordability, and expectations typically associated with higher education in America. It's two different systems, right? College Behind Bars, a four-part documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker Lynn Novick takes you on an intimate journey of a dozen BPI students who are earning their college degrees while incarcerated. I'm Terry Gross. Tell me how the experience compared with what you expected. I can give them different types of advice. Bad Boys bakery was a social enterprise set up in HM Prison Brixton, in the UK. Lacy Aaron Schmidt was just 14 when he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Alana Calahan, in Columbia County, Georgia. 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. 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. : r/loveafterlockup. For now, the roughly 300 students taking . And then they're like, strip. By signing up for BPI emails, you are agreeing to receive news and updates from BPI. LAVENDER AND TRAP I will either boil water or run a bathtub because on Sundays, I love to take a hot bath, with lavender Epsom salts. DAVIES: Lynn Novick, give us the basics of the program. And so, you know, this experience has not only been personally rewarding and amazing for me. So currently, I work as a program specialist with the Democracy Fund of Open Society Foundations, which is one of the biggest philanthropic organizations in the world. And then you say, oh, this is my reality. We will continue our conversation after this short break. 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. Kind of how large are the classes? My family loves Bard College. Are they right about that, Dyjuan? Our guests are Lynn Novick, who directed the documentary, and Dyjuan Tatro and Sebastian Yoon, two graduates of the program. TATRO: And so I got to walk across the stage on Bard's Annandale campus with the other 400 students in my year in 2018. And that totally allowed me to reimagine myself. One of the Bard professors said, you know, I don't have all these multimedia tools that you do in a big institution, but when you're in a class where everybody's done the reading, you don't need them as much. You're looking ahead. 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. College Behind Bars, an Emmy-nominated, four-part documentary about the transformative power of education. Episodes. 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. All Rights Reserved. You can just see this intellectual blossoming. Become a BPI supporter today and join a passionate community that believes in the power of education. They have both been to prison. 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. So you have this problem where you have to try to juggle these two realities, one of which is so beautiful and one of which is so dark and disgusting where you have to reveal your body and your orifices. I'm going to ask each of you to give me your first impressions here. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. 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. There's an extreme amount of noise in prisons. Today, BPI enrolls over 300 incarcerated students full-time in programs that culminate in degrees from Bard College; it offers extensive support for its alumni in and around New York City; and, it has developed the BPI Summer Residency, an intensive, experiential, and hands-on series of workshops on the nuts and bolts of college-in-prison for new and emerging practitioners led by BPI staff and alumni. college behind bars where are they now. Virtually none return to prison. NOVICK: Yeah, pretty much. Dyjuan, you want to share something? Theres not many bathtubs that can accommodate me, but I have a bathtub that partially can, as long as I put my legs up on the wall. At BPI, we are committed to investing in people, reinventing institutions and making genuine education more accessible. You may change your parameters at any time using the link found at the bottom of every email. Well, you know, for a number of the graduates - and this was true of Sebastian, not Dyjuan - there was this - there's this terrible paradox where, you know, the fact that you are completing your college degree and graduating doesn't mean that you are released from prison. Your purchase supports PBS and helps make our programming possible. Skiff Mountain Films 2019 | info@skiffmountainfilms.com As they begin their studies at Eastern and Taconic Correctional facilities, they discover that they will be held to the same high standards as Bard College students on the main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson. 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. And I think - I was lonely. Parts 3 and 4 air Tuesday. So it totally enthralled me and motivated me to go after this education with pure zeal. 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. 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. I'm an uncle. Our guests today are Lynn Novick, who directed the documentary, and two graduates of the program, Sebastian Yoon and Dyjuan Tatro. Men and women seek college degrees - and a chance at redemption - while incarcerated. Who has access to educational opportunity? And when we leave this room tonight, there is now something that can be taken away from you that's completely different than when you walked in. And then this changed in the '90s when we had the crime bill, right? And as I move forward in life and as I work to be a part of this social justice reform movement, I feel very passionate about it and excited that we are going to make progress. I mean, I think, you know, having taught in the program myself, you walk into class, and the students are there. I was a lonely kid. We, you know, without quite realizing at the beginning, have ended up exploring this really deep question. This is a full-time and long-term and total commitment. 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. We can remove the first video in the list to add this one. The basics of the program the education and the knowledge that I received in the process any using., Alana Calahan, in the past 5 years, brush my teeth, get,... College classes in six correctional institutions does is it untaps ( ph that. 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