In the News: D’Angelo Shares Expertise for School-to-Prison Pipeline Story

Jill D’Angelo, associate professor of criminal justice, shared her thoughts on the link between education and incarceration with reporter Kyle Mackie from National Public Radio affiliate WBFO.

Kicking off an ongoing series created by the station’s Education and Racial Equity desks, The School-to-Prison Pipeline Introduction, Part I aired on September 24. The series examines what the school-to-prison pipeline looks like in Western New York. The introductory piece pointed to a couple of national studies, including one that estimates the rate of incarcerated people who have not received a high school diploma to be between 65 and 74 percent.

D’Angelo said it’s not fair to place all the blame on schools.

“It’s obvious that kids who don’t finish school are much more likely to get involved in delinquency and then, of course, become adult offenders...but how do we help the schools?” she said. “If we’re not giving the schools the money and the resources and the training to enforce policies, create policies and enforce them, then how can we blame them as much?”

D’Angelo also said home life and parent involvement are critical to addressing student behavior and recidivism.