Lane College is teaching classes to incarcerated men

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ)-

Lane College is teaching classes to incarcerated men as a part of the Second Chance Pell experiment.

The second change pell experiment began in 2015 as a potential solution to prisoners being released and then returning to prison later. Pell grants became available to some prisoners to cover educational expenses. The education experiment worked.

"There’s a 43 percent decrease in students prisoners going back to prison. That’s a big saving for the American taxpayer and it helps the students. So we heard about that and we applied for it when they had the second round of funding in twenty-nineteen and were one of the six or seven schools nationwide that were selected to participate in the program,” says Ricard Donnell the senior advisor to the president at Lane.

Lane college began teaching classes at the northwest correctional complex in Tiptonville Tennessee. The first cohort is comprised of 10 students who already have their associate's degree from Dyersburg state. They chose business as their field of study and began classes on Monday.

“On Monday when classes began you could tell the students were eager to learn. And we don’t always have that every day when I go to class, students don’t always have that thirst,” says Linda Theus the chair of business at Lane college.

The classes are currently being taught online but they are expected to be in person at the prison beginning in January. If everything goes as planned the ten men are expected to graduate with their bachelor's in business in 2023.