The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention should implement an education system equivalent in quality to traditional public schools in all juvenile prisons to lower recidivism rates, reduce poverty, and shrink the achievement gap. The United States is a leading world power, with the largest economy in the world, a 99% literacy rate, and safe drinking water available for all ("North America: United States"). But there is one thing off with all these positive statistics; the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. This problem is not based on crime rates. In fact, crime has gone down (Kearney and Harris) but the incarceration rate continues to rise. There is a direct tie between graduation rates and incarceration rates. States with higher levels of high school graduation usually have an imprisonment rate lower than the national average (Page et al.). Minorities are also more likely to face educational barriers and therefore have a disproportional population in prison as compared to the general public (Page et al.). Education is the root of many problems and solutions, and juvenile prison is a perfect opportunity for mandatory learning. This is where the reconstruction must start; by educating the youth in jail a chain reaction will occur, with lowering recidivism rates, a smaller educational disparity, and a reduction in poverty.Recidivism is a large problem. The goal of prison, along with punishment for whatever crime committed, is to rehabilitate the prisoners and set them on the right track. In juvenile prisons this is especially important because the minors have not developed fully and are usually more impressionable than adults who have been committing crimes for much longer. Juveniles in prisons have also most likely not graduated high school and the less education a person has the greater likelihood of he or she getting involved in illegal activity. More than 75% of people in jail will end up incarcerated later on. Over half of those arrests happen in the first year after release from jail ("Recidivism"). Many of these prisoners start out in juvenile prison, where they are not educated or skilled in a specific field and have trouble finding a job. There are many ideas of how to rehabilitate prisoners. Some think that the punishment of prison alone will be enough to scare criminals out of committing future crimes. But this has not sufficed. Recidivism rates continue to climb because once out of jail the ex convicts have nothing to do once they are set free. They spend just spent time isolated from society, not progressing or gaining new knowledge. If they are juveniles, not only do these inmates have a criminal record, making it harder for them to get into jobs, but they also have not gotten a full education. They are lagging behind others their age because they have missed school or dropped out, and they are also lacking other experiences their peers may have had. This severely limits job choices and forces many convicted minors back into whatever got them into prison in the first place. The majority of arrests among minors are made for larceny-theft ("Juvenile Justice"). The need for survival overrides the fear of being sent back to prison. Which is why juveniles need to be educated and given new opportunities even when incarcerated.Many argue that whoever has committed a crime is in jail and does not deserve an education. While it is true that those in jail do not deserve better treatment than those not in jail, it does not mean that they do not deserve a second chance at life. Unless a prisoner has gotten a life sentence the inmate will be reentering society and needs to be properly equipped. Every person in America is entitled to a high school education and prisoners should be treated no differently. The purpose of prison may be to punish, but it is also to make sure prisoners do not return, and education is the easiest and most effective solution. Educating prisoners will also save American taxpayers money. Over 70 billion dollars a year are spent on the correction system in the state, federal, and local governments (Schmitt, Gupta, and Warner). This money could be saved and put to better use by reducing the number of prisoners in prisons, which would decline sharply along with recidivism rates.Along with reducing recidivism rates, education in prisons will help to close the achievement gap. Wealthier communities have more access to good education and education in prison is a step towards equal and quality education in every community. This does not mean that in order for a person in a poor community to get an education he or she must end up in jail. Education in juvenile prison is just one step towards good education for all. The quality of education is far worse in areas with high poverty and among minorities, which is where many criminals get arrested. A greater percentage of minorities live in poverty than whites so high poverty areas also tend to be more minorities ("Children Living in Poverty"). Over half of criminals arrested are black and Hispanic while they only make up a quarter of the total population ("Criminal Justice Fact Sheet"). A simple way to start to bridge the gap is in prison. If juvenile minorities in prison are able to turn their lives around instead of ending up back in jail, it could have a profound effect on the lives of all minorities. Right now there is a distinct gap between minorities and whites in many aspects of life including, higher education, high paying jobs, and high socioeconomic status ("Ethnic and Racial Minorities"). The root of these causes starts with education. The average minority student scores lower than white students in all areas of school (Vanneman et al.). This is not because whites are smarter but because they are offered more opportunities. When juveniles do not get a good education and they lack behind in other aspects of life. If inmates were well educated in jail after their first offense and did not return to prison, the inmates would lead a better life as well as pass on their values and knowledge to their community and to their children.Once minorities are given educational opportunities in jail, the programs will lead to a decline in poverty because those breaking the law are usually poor or have earned money illegally. If juvenile prisoners are educated in prison they will have access to many new opportunities and higher paying jobs. The horrible situation of prison can be used in a productive way to better lives and reduce poverty. People in poverty have lower graduation rates and college attendance (Rumberger). If someone in poverty ends up in jail, that could be their chance to turn their life around. This doesnt mean that in order to get a good education a person should end up in jail but imprisonment is a good opportunity to educate youth. The more educated a person is the more opportunities that person is able to have. If those who are most in need and most at risk receive a good education not only will they have many more opportunities open to them, they will be able to pass these opportunities on to their children.Some may argue that jail is not the place to give new opportunities, and that these options should be given to law abiding citizens. It is true that good education opportunities should be given to law abiding citizen that need it, but one does not cancel out the other. Opportunities for education should be given to everyone equally and a person being imprisoned does not change that. The argument has been made that if people are in jail they threw away their chance to have a good education and future. The criminal committed the crime and the criminal must deal with the consequences. This type of thinking is why the US has such high poverty rates and crime rates. Just because a person goes to jail does not mean he or she do not get any more opportunities. In fact, if they dont get help or assistance, most likely that person will end up back in jail or poor because they do not have the education necessary to get a stable job. If poverty in America is going to decrease, the people who are poor must be helped. If impoverished populations are able to succeed they can pass their success onto their children. More successful parents have successful children and with the education and success of current poor populations, future generations will have much less poverty ("Parental Education"). Prisons hold many impoverished people, and by educating them, in addition to educating other poor people, poverty in America will begin to shrink.Education in juvenile prison would have a huge effect on recidivism rates, the achievement gap, and poverty levels if implemented correctly. Education can transform a place, and quality education in leading countries is part of what allows them to succeed. Education is shaping new generations, and the more educated people are the more the United States will progress. Only 40% of the country goes on to higher education after high school (Calvert) and 11% of juveniles do not even graduate high school ("Fast Facts"). Implementing a good education system in juvenile prisons will encourage the juvenile criminals to continue their education through high school and onto college. If that is not an option then a GED or high school diploma will significantly open job opportunities. The percentage of jobs open to those without a high school diploma is 26 percent and those jobs are low paying and unsustainable. The percentage open to those with a diploma is 40 percent and the wages are significantly higher (U.S. Bureau of Labor). A person with a high school degree will make, on average, 15,000 more a year than someone without a degree. This will give ex convicts access to many new professions and also educate and inform many prisoners who otherwise would have never had access to high levels of education. Education in prisons will not only benefit individuals but also America as a whole.