THE PETEY GREENE PROGRAM
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Mission Statement
The Petey Greene Program (PGP) was founded in 2008 to provide additional resources to education programs within correctional facilities. The Program promotes academic achievement in correctional facility classrooms and supports the future success of incarcerated people by providing individualized supplemental tutoring services. To achieve these goals, the PGP seeks and builds relationships with correctional facilities, universities, and colleges. With the help of these partner institutions, PGP recruits and thoroughly trains undergraduate and graduate students to serve as volunteer tutors in prisons and jails. Our volunteers offer tutoring in adult basic education, high school equivalency, ESL, and college programs. At the same time, the Program aims to raise awareness about the importance of education in criminal justice policy and to strengthen public support for education programs in correctional facilities. Our tutoring services are 100% donated to the correctional facilities we serve.
About This Cause
The Problem Although the United States spends $86 billion on corrections annually, incarcerated people get few resources for successful re-entry. 90% of incarcerated people will ultimately be released. Of those released, two-thirds will return to prison within 3 years. Incarcerated people have a literacy rate that is well below that of the general population. Between 35 and 40 percent of people in prison have not completed high school. There is subsequently a high need for quality education at a variety of learning levels. Cyclical recidivism weakens communities and families, and perpetuates social and economic inequalities. The Petey Greene Solution College and graduate student volunteers tutor incarcerated students and help them achieve their GEDs and other academic goals. Our volunteers provide much needed individualized tutoring that meets incarcerated students where they are, enabling them to reach their academic goals, reduce their risks of recidivism, and break patterns that result in poverty. The Petey Greene Program is unique in focusing on high school equivalency, the first rung on the ladder of academic achievement and workplace readiness. Further, we bring together two very different communities -- colleges and correctional facilities and achieve positive results. Our Model is Effective New Jersey Department of Corrections 2013 impact analysis found: Students who received weekly Petey Greene Program math tutoring accelerated by, on average, one full grade level over the course of a semester. Those who received weekly reading tutoring accelerated by 1.5 grade levels. The 2014 RAND Study: How Effective is Correctional Education documents: those who receive education are 43% less likely to return to prison. In the 2017, 717 tutors donated 9,268 hours in 8 northeastern states at 37 correctional facilities. Lives Are Transformed The Petey Greene Program is named after Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr. who was a legendary TV/radio talk show host, and community activist who overcame a drug addiction and a prison sentence to become one of the most distinguished media personalities working out of Washington DC. Inspired by Greene's transformation and accomplished life, our co-founder, Charlie Puttkammer established the Petey Greene Program in Petey Greene's honor and to inspire others to contribute to and work toward similar transformations. Our enthusiastic volunteers work one-on-one with incarcerated students, many of whom never had a first chance at a quality education. Erich Kussman, a member of our first class of incarcerated students had these comments: “Petey Greene Program had a life changing impact on me. The volunteers inspired me. They gave me hope. They encouraged me to believe in myself and that I could achieve my GED. I am now a graduate student at Princeton Theological Seminary. I run a youth ministry in Newark to give back some of what was given. All of this I attribute to Petey Greene Program”. Another important Program benefit is the effect it has had on the lives of our volunteers. They report that their tutoring experience had a profound impact on their lives and influenced future academic and career decisions. This year we invited onto our Board one of our former volunteers. Clare Herceg, Princeton '11, has pursued a highly successful non-profit management career and currently serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at First Place for Youth. Clare shared these observations: “Tutoring with Petey Greene was my most formative experience in college and helped solidify my commitment to serving those disadvantaged by unjust systems. I came to Princeton with a desire to help others, but without an awareness of the drastic un-equal access to opportunity that existed in our society.” Our volunteers gain a better understanding of our criminal justice system and the incarcerated people they tutor. They become engaged citizens. Joseph Barrett, Princeton '14, former volunteer, and Rhodes Scholar noted: “ As a tutor, I learned that providing education in prisons is a way of restoring dignity. Petey Greene works toward two immediate goals, providing a useful direct service to incarcerated people and meaningful work for volunteers. The Program aims towards a larger goal: building a criminal justice system that prioritizes rehabiliation and opportunity.