The prison that now neglects to provide suitable educational facilities
for the instruction of its inmates is considered behind the times. A great
many inmates of penitentiaries are illiterate, and the prison night
schools afford an excellent opportunity to acquire the fundamentals of a
good education. This department is under the supervision of the
superintendent of public schools of Stillwater, who is assisted by a corps
of teachers chosen from among the inmates. The course of study corresponds
to the course pursued in the state primary and grammar schools. There are
fourteen classes, ranging from a, b, c class to one in advanced
bookkeeping. Three sessions are held weekly, and the school is popular
among the prisoners. Those serving reformatory sentences are compelled to
attend, but the voluntary attendance is always in excess of the
compulsory. During the season of 1907‐08 the average attendance was 164,
and of this number 48 were compelled to attend, while the balance, 116,
attended voluntarily.
The prison night school is in operation eight months during the year, and
is well partronized, many inmates receiving their first instructions in
reading and writing during their period of service. To the ambitious man
there is plenty of opportunity for self‐improvement, so it can readily be
seen that no one need wholly waste the time that he is compelled to serve
for infraction of state laws. When school is not in session inmates are
granted permission to have all the school books they require in pursuance
of studies.