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[quote=Anonymous](I am not OP of this, but saw it and thought it needed its own thread)

I work in the juvenile justice system. I currently (unfortunately) work for the state of MD in one of the all-male juvenile treatment centers for incarcerated youth. Previously, I worked at another school that was privately owned by a corporation, but the state placed young men at our facility from Maryland, 98% Baltimore and DC, and the random Frederick or Hagerstown kid occasionally. This school takes a very similar mentality to that which you mentioned. They emphasize family and community involvement. They are very much different from regular public education, intentionally.

They have 5 values that they teach the kids and staff, and every moment on campus is centered around them. They are: 
-Community Connections (they are engaged with the community, through volunteering, participating in events like 5ks, attending events, catering for events, doing construction, getting jobs) to develop positive relationships and a sense of belonging and purpose. 
- Environment - Their program environment is therapeutic, gender-specific and trauma-informed which promotes learning and growth through a normative atmosphere. They have many schools throughout the US, all gender-divided, and all staff are trained and re-trained on trauma informed care. * 
- Positive Youth Development- This behavior management system has studied the adolescent brain, and embraces it through scientifically proven methods of bringing about change and reformation. These kids are given incentives, recognition and respect. There is a respect for the voice of the youth. 
Partnerships with Families- The program aims to connect youths with their families, to help rebuild their communities. 
Programming: There is structured , purposeful, pro-social and strength-based programming that is delivered by diverse, motivated staff.

The programming is really what sets these schools apart and gives them the ability to successfully impact and impart change and healing upon these kids. They have 9 hours every day of what they call programming, which is education, vocational training (every kid leaves with a certification – auto mechanic, barber, culinary, welding, etc), health and wellness [((the state calls kids in their schools Youth, like Youth Smith or Youth Johnson. These schools use the phrase ‘Student Athlete Smith’ or ‘Student Athlete Johnson.’) The kids are required to be on a sports team, even if they are entirely unathletic and uninterested. They are taught how to be on a team, how to support and motivate and learn. Along with this, the teachers/coaches/nurses/principal/everyone on campus eats meals together. Staff is offered 3 free meals a day, and a VAST majority eat at least 2 there. The dining hall is set up for family style meals, in that each table has 4 chairs. 2 kids sit with 2 adults. They are, likely for the first time, sitting down for a meal, having conversation, there are no electronics. They serve one another, and they clean up after one another. They are learning how to be a family, which due to their circumstances they have never experienced.] The last two programs are community service and clinical services. The youth become deeply involved in the local community through volunteering. Then clinical services – there is a full medical staff available for any mental or physical needs.

One thing that they emphasize is “family and community aftercare.” If you research statistics or stories about the incarcerated population, they are royally screwed over when they leave prison or jail. These schools aim to ease this transition. They work carefully with the kids’ family at home, or foster home, or guardian. They offer transitional housing. The kids, after learning and growing and being promoted through the levels of the school, can get a job and earn money. They start by working on campus, serving peers, and then transition to real jobs in the real community. The school teachers them about their paychecks, about bank accounts, about real financial information that normal school misses, and that kids who are coming from the streets absolutely know nothing about.

Sorry. This has become a novel. But I am INCREDIBLY passionate about this. This one tiny school is changing kids’ lives. SOMEHOW this must be possible to do in the public schools, and in the state-run detention/treatment centers. Where I work now, the recidivism rate is like 98%. That’s disgusting. These kids deserve better.

*Think about if you were to walk out of your house right now and see somebody get shot three times by someone driving past, and die, their blood all over the sidewalk in front of your house. Where your kids are usually standing to catch the bus. If that happened to you or me, in McLean or Frederick or Bethesda, you would be traumatized. You would cry on social media. You would seek counseling for your PTSD, your anxiety, etc. 
- Now. Imagine a life where seeing someone killed is absolutely nothing remarkable. Nobody gives a damn that you are 4 and have seen 9 neighbors get shot / beat up. From the very moment you opened your eyes, your entire community is entrenched in violence. Trauma means absolutely nothing out of the ordinary to anybody, so nobody cares. Your mother or grandmother certainly did not think it was necessary to send you to intensive therapy the first time you witnessed a shooting, or your step-dad beat up your mom and siblings. Or beat you to a pulp. This changes the brain. The brain after trauma needs to be treated differently. These kids cannot be taught like a standard public school. NO WONDER THEY ARE FAILING ALL OF THE SCHOOLS. When you have multiple siblings at home that need to eat, you haven't seen mom or her boyfriend in weeks, and somebody stole your EBT card.... You do not have time or energy to give a flying fudge about geometry theorems or the Han dynasty. You also do NOT respond / if you do it is NOT WELL to being yelled at, or bells ringing, or someone demanding you do something, without respect or rapport. Trauama informed care has 5 principles : safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment. Teachers and those who work in trauma informed care ensurethat the physical and emotional safety of an individual is addressed before anything else. Next, the individual needs to know that the provider, whether teacher, therapist, social worker, case manager, PO, etc., is trustworthy. Trustworthiness can be evident in the establishment and consistency of boundaries and the clarity of what is expected in regards to tasks. (Example - teacher asks her class to be quiet in the hallway. You whisper something to your friend. She yells at you and you get a detention. You respond, and the situation becomes dramatic, escalated and far larger than you whispering something to a friend. Go back to the expectation that was set. She said quiet. She did not say how quiet, or how the level of quiet would be measured. So to the student, he did nothing wrong. Technically, he didn't. Clarity of what is expected is crucial. Specific directions will change everything. ). Additionally, the more choice an individual has and the more control they have over their service experience through a collaborative effort with service providers, the more likely the individual will participate in services and the more effective the services may be. Finally, focusing on an individual's strengths and empowering them to build on those strengths while developing stronger coping skills provides a healthy foundation for individuals to fall back on if and when they stop receiving services. nine hours of daily programming focused on education, vocational training, health and wellness, community service and clinical services. 
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