NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — Niagara County Community College is offering inmates at the Niagara County Jail the opportunity to participate in coursework as part of the SUNY Higher Education for the Justice-Involved initiative.
The initiative has been offered to 13 SUNY campuses in 20 state prisons. NCCC is one of the first to offer it to a county jail.
The classes will be taught by an NCCC faculty member who has been trained to teach students in a jail setting. The program officially launched in the summer of 2023 with a five-week English 101 course. Nine inmates completed the course, and now are eligible to move onto English 102.
“I have often said that individuals that commit crime need to be held accountable. While being incarcerated, I want to offer educational opportunities that can truly make a difference in their futures. An existing partnership with Orleans Niagara BOCES and now a new college program with NCCC help us to fulfill that commitment,” said Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti. “This programming is funded by inmate profit funds that are realized from commissary purchases and not taxpayer dollars. This makes sense to put that funding to good use and hopefully turn the tide for some of our incarcerated population.”
Niagara County BOCES teaches GED preparation courses to incarcerated students at the jail which has been instrumental in screening students who would be able to participate in the NCCC program. The screening would ensure that they are prepared to take college credit-bearing courses.
