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U.S. Department of Education visits Michigan prison
IONIA COUNTY, MI – It was a matter of seeing is believing for U.S. Department of Education leaders Tuesday.
James Kvaal, under secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and other federal education officials got an up-close view a relatively new initiative that gives certain prisoners an opportunity to earn a college degree.
Following a four-hour tour on the grounds of Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility on Aug. 30, Kvaal came away feeling “impressed” with the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) program, which is conducted in partnership with the Michigan Department of Corrections.
CPI is a five-year program, run through Calvin University, that gives an opportunity for a Christian liberal arts education to prisoners.
Kvaal and his office were interested in how Second Chance Pell grants have affected the program as the department is reinstating Pell eligibility for prisoners in 2023.
“One of the things that having permanent Pell grant funding will do is ensure there is a source of financial support for programs like this,” he said. The grants help incarcerated individuals access educational programs.
Prisoners who successfully complete CPI will earn a bachelor’s degree in faith and community leadership from Calvin University. After three successful years in the program, each prisoner will also earn an associate degree.
Officials saw first-hand how the program operates, engaged with students and observed a few classes in session as they walked throughout the Ionia prison.
The first stop of the day was inside the MTU First Education building to witness a classroom in session – on the first day of a new semester. Calvin professor Stacia Hoeksema was teaching a class, The Helping Interview.
From there, the tour shifted over to the prison’s library – stocked with 4,500 books – where education leaders interacted with the prisoners to better understand how the program is working for them.
Robert Hine, a sophomore in CPI, said every course is different when it comes to challenges, but overall the program has allowed him to make a dynamic shift in his life. Hine, 48, is serving a life sentence from a 1996 homicide case in Calhoun County, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
“I grew up in a violent home where violence was encouraged,” Hine told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “If you got into a fight, you better win.”
But now, with a 3.9 GPA, he has a new outlook on life. He’s not the only one to see it either.
“My family, especially my mom, has been very supportive and has noticed a change in my attitude,” he said.
The program is available to prisoners, like Hine, through donor and grant funding. It costs about $9,000 per student annually to operate with about $6,900 being covered by a Second Chance Pell grant. The additional money is funded through donors.
The U.S. Department of Education is in the process now of finalizing Pell grants, which will allow colleges and universities to create campuses inside prisons and jails and retain Pell eligibility, Kvaal said.
“For our part, we expect to see a lot of colleges and universities across the country creating new programs to serve incarcerated students,” he said. “We want to be in a position where we’re visiting, we’re listening, we’re connecting people so we make the most out of these new investments.”
As Tuesday’s tour continued, officials made their way through the Vocational Village building. Inside, prisoners worked on various skilled trades like automotive work, carpentry and electrical, and welding.
The Vocational Village is operated by the MDOC, but Calvin students and graduates volunteer as trades tutors to ensure successful completion by their peers who are in the trades programs, Kary Bosma, director of operations for CPI, said.
Calvin leaders said they are beginning to see its college degree program for prisoners reach full operation now. To date, 14 prisoners who began in the CPI program have been paroled. All 14 have not only remained out of prison, but are gainfully employed, program officials said.
The overall goal, they said, is to have a program similar to CPI in every Michigan prison.
“This is about giving people an opportunity to be the people they were meant to be,” Kvaal said, reciting prisoner Raymond Potts’ words.
In order to be selected for the program, candidates must have seven years remaining on their sentence until their first eligibility for parole. Offenders serving life sentences are also eligible to apply. Candidates must also have a high school diploma or GED, and the desire to study and serve others.
In May, the program hosted its first graduation ceremony , highlighting the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022.
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