Astrophysical Sciences helps launch first-ever crowdfunding initiative at Princeton to support Prison Teaching Initiative

Written by
Professor Jenny Greene
Nov. 14, 2016

Help us provide incarcerated students a high quality education! Princeton students and faculty provide free college classes throughout New Jersey’s prison system. Far more than a college education, we give students hope for their future. Join us in continuing to put “In the Nation's Service and the Service of Humanity" into practice!

We can’t do it alone. We need your financial support.

Here’s where you can show your support:  https://princeton.useed.net/projects/550/home

We don’t charge the students for classes. We are highly dependent on our funders like you to keep our program going.

  • With a transportation budget, we could bring in far more undergraduate tutors and teachers without cars. We could also increase our work in more distant facilities.
  • stipend for graduate administrators would allow us to recognize the phenomenal work our graduate students do.
  • Longer-term, we need to convert our part-time administrator into a permanent position to handle our 100 volunteers and 1,000 students.

The Mission of the Prison Teaching Initiative:
The mass incarceration epidemic is one of the great challenges in America today. Princeton’s Prison Teaching Initiative (PTI) aims to reduce incarceration rates in New Jersey by increasing access to post-secondary education in carceral facilities.  Since 2006 PTI has provided both rigorous coursework and strong academic support to all of our students. Like any college experience, we help our students reach their academic and professional potential. Central to PTI's mission is providing the full range of coursework required to obtain an Associate of Arts Degree to best prepare prisoners for their lives after prison. We are part of a larger network of post-secondary educators in New Jersey.

Why Prison Teaching?
There are more than 2 million people incarcerated in the United States today, disproportionately people of color. About 95 percent of all inmates eventually reenter society. In-prison education provides a positive social network, set of commitments, and support system that help students adjust to life outside prison upon release. Post-secondary education while incarcerated has been shown to drastically reduce an individual's chances of returning to prison.

Please support us today by visiting this link:  https://princeton.useed.net/projects/550/home
$10,000 will have an enormous impact on our ability to provide educational services to this disadvantaged population. Currently, Princeton University funds a part-time administrator, while most programs our size have multiple full time administrative employees. Additional funds would allow us to initiate exciting new projects, like creating one of the first-in-the-nation STEM degrees or expanding into combined classes, which bring current college students into prison for joint classes. 

News Category