By Carolyn Jones, October 19, 2021
Formerly incarcerated students who wrote letters to their teachers — describing their hopes and dreams, asking for a second chance — were less than half as likely as their peers to return to jail, a Stanford University study found.
Researchers spent two years working with about 50 students in Oakland Unified who had spent time in the county’s juvenile justice system and had recently returned to their regular schools. Researchers asked the students to write personal letters to their teachers. Half the letters were delivered to the teachers, and half were not. The recidivism rate among students whose letters were delivered was 29%. For students whose teachers did not see the letters, 69% ended up back in jail.
“The letters helped teachers see beyond the stereotype. These were individual children in difficult circumstances who were asking an adult for help,” said Gregory Walton, associate professor of psychology at Stanford. “Ultimately, it’s all about love.”
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