McCosh Hall
Room 28

Moderator: Chiara Benetollo *21, executive director, Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice and Equity, The Petey Greene Program. Panelists: R.L. Goldberg *21, instructional specialist, Prison Teaching Initiative; Jill Stockwell *17, associate director, Prison Teaching Initiative.

There are more people incarcerated in the United States than in any other country, and the U.S. also has the highest incarceration rates in the world. Black and Latinx people are disproportionately affected by mass incarceration: Black people are incarcerated at six times the rate of Whites. According to the most recent available data, 30% of those who are incarcerated do not have a high school diploma or GED, and only 5% have a college degree. Education not only is essential to disrupt the cycle of incarceration, but it also helps create spaces of freedom that are not dominated by carceral logics inside prisons and jails. This panel will bring together representatives from the leadership of the Prison Teaching Initiative (PTI) and the Petey Greene Program (PGP), two Princeton-based organizations that support the academic goals of incarcerated learners, offering college-level courses, tutoring, and college readiness programs inside state and federal correctional facilities in New Jersey and across the northeastern US. Building on their experience designing and implementing academic programs in correctional facilities, the panelists will discuss recent policy and legislative changes that have the potential to dramatically expand access to education in prison, while reflecting on the many challenges that still stand in the way.

Sponsored by the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni