Education Week - December 9, 2015 - 13

services that are similar or equivalent to those that are described in
the IEP" from the students' previous schools. On other charges, the
state found no wrongdoing.
Reusing said the problems were
not limited to a few detention centers, but were "systemic." If a course
needed for graduation is not offered
at the juvenile facility, it is unlikely
that a student will return to his or
her home school for an entire year
simply to finish one course, she said.
"When these students get out,
they say there is no way I am going
to repeat 9th grade again, and what
happens is that they end up dropping out of school," she said. "That's
what we are finding: that [if] you
don't give them the services, eventually these kids are ending up either trying to get their GED and not
being able to because they are still
on a 3rd or 4th grade reading level,
or they just drop out entirely."
While the Maryland officials did
not respond directly to the NAACP's
allegations, they answered questions about the services they are
providing to students in their care.
The Education Department assumed full control of the educational services in juvenile facilities
in 2013. Those services had been
provided by the Department of Juvenile Services.
Annually, the agency oversees
about 5,000 students, the majority
of whom are between the ages of 15
and 17, said Beth Hart, the director
of the juvenile-services education
program at the Maryland education
department. The facilities provide
six hours of instruction daily, five
days a week, she said.
Hart said she believes the services
are comparable to what other students receive to help them gain a
Maryland high school diploma. Vocational offerings, she said, depend
on the facility. Because the population is highly mobile, the department is developing additional vocational courses for juveniles who are
incarcerated for a short period.
The state education department
has plans to expand instructional
technology to offer more courses and
individualize instruction, she said.
It is also working to expand creditrecovery programs and to build a
system that would track whether
students who transition back to
the community earn a high school
diploma or a General Educational
Development credential.

plans, tailored to whether they will
return to school or the workforce.
Younger students are put on a
"graduation grid," a tracking system that focuses on what courses
they need to take to graduate, said
Christine Kenney, the director of educational services at the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.
Before students are released, there
is a 90-day check-in, when the education and career counselor meets with
officials in a school district to discuss
students' credits, share preliminary
transcripts, and talk about what
courses they need to take once they
return. Similar reviews happen twice
more, at 60 days before students are
released and again at 30 days.

If the youth is not returning to
school, a similar process is developed
for workforce re-entry, Kenney said.
Once students return to school, the
counselors attend hearings on suspensions and expulsions, and work
with special education administrators
in cases where students have IEPs.
They also help arrange financial support for those who are going to college.
"It really is the guidance-counselor model, where they are really involved in the young people's
lives," she said.
The report also cites Oregon for
expansion of educational and vocational services in its detention centers, which are provided by the Oregon Department of Education and

nected to setting high expectations
for them-with a strong emphasis on
post-secondary education-and providing ample resources. The state allows incarcerated youth to access the
Internet, which enabled officials to
use personalized learning and blended
learning. They also offer dual-credit
courses and have partnerships with
local universities that allow professors
to teach courses at some facilities, with
incarcerated youths sitting side by side
with college students, Martin said.
"It's about saying that they deserve a second chance. "They can
become better people. It's all up
to them. ... But if we don't provide
them with the tools, they are not
going to be successful."

OUR FUNDERS Editorial Projects in Education wishes to thank the following foundations for their generous support.
EPE retains sole editorial control over the content of articles and other work underwritten by our donors.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports
coverage of efforts to implement college- and careerready standards for all students in Education Week and
on edweek.org. Guided by the belief that every life has
equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works
to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. Its
commitment to education centers on working to ensure
all students graduate high school prepared to succeed
in college and careers. www.gatesfoundation.org

The Carnegie Corporation of New York supports
coverage of trends in K-12 innovation and efforts to
put these new ideas and approaches into practice
in schools, districts, and classrooms in Education
Week and on edweek.org. Created in 1911 by Andrew
Carnegie, the Carnegie Corporation seeks to promote
"the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and
understanding." www.carnegie.org

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation supports coverage
in Education Week and on edweek.org of the
experiences of low-income, high-achieving students.
The foundation provides generous scholarships to
exceptionally high-achieving students throughout the
country who have financial need as well as provides
grants that support high-achieving, low-income
students with innovative programming. www.jkcf.org

The Joyce Foundation supports coverage in
Education Week and on edweek.org of policy efforts
to improve the teaching profession. Joyce works to
close the achievement gap by improving teacher
quality in schools that serve low-income and minority
children, expanding early-childhood education,
and promoting innovations such as charter schools.
www.joycefdn.org/Programs/Education

The Raikes Foundation supports coverage of learning
mindsets and skills in Education Week and on
edweek.org as part of its mission to empower young
people to transform their lives. The foundation believes
that when students have learning mindsets and skills,
they are motivated to learn and know how to learn.
www.raikesfoundation.org

The Wallace Foundation supports coverage in
Education Week and on edweek.org of public school
leadership, extended and expanded learning time,
and arts learning. The foundation seeks to create
widespread change by sharing lessons that public and
private institutions can use to promote benefits for the
people they serve. www.wallacefoundation.org

the eli and edythe broad
foundation

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation supports
coverage of personalized learning and system leadership
in Education Week and on edweek.org. The Broad
Foundations were established by entrepreneur and
philanthropist Eli Broad to advance entrepreneurship for
the public good in education, science,
and the arts. www.broadfoundation.org

'A Second Chance'
In its report, the Council of State
Governments makes recommendations that encourage states to provide rigorous curricula, highly qualified teachers, educational facilities
that are nationally accredited, transition assistance, and assessments
and programs that are tailored
for the population, given that the
lengths of stays in facilities vary.
The organization also highlights
notable state programs. Among the
states cited is Massachusetts, which
the report singles out for its education
and career counselors who help students re-enter the community. Juveniles in Massachusetts are assigned a
counselor and a caseworker once they
enter the facilities, and those employees work with students on re-entry

the Oregon Youth Authority.
Frank Martin, the education coordinator at the Oregon Youth Authority, said incarcerated students
get 220 instructional days during an
academic year and have 5 ½ hours
of instruction a day, 11 months a
year. They are taught by teachers
from school districts, and they have
access to vocational and certificate
programs, including welding, wastewater-treatment management, and
firefighting, Martin said.
The goal, he said, is to prepare
incarcerated youths to fully participate in their communities once
they're released.
Martin said Oregon's track record
with incarcerated youths is con-

The Ford Foundation supports coverage of more
and better learning time in Education Week and on
edweek.org. The foundation supports visionary leaders
and organizations on the frontlines of social change and
works to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty
and injustice, promote international cooperation,
and advance human achievement.
www.fordfoundation.org

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation supports
coverage of deeper learning in Education Week and on
edweek.org. The Hewlett Foundation makes grants to
address the most serious social and environmental
problems facing society. www.hewlett.org

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation provides
partial support for Diplomas Count, Education
Week's annual report on the state of high school
graduation and reform efforts. The foundation's
mission is to support efforts that promote a just,
equitable, and sustainable society. www.mott.org

The Walton Family Foundation Foundation supports
coverage in Education Week and on edweek.org
of issues related to creating opportunities for all
American students and their families to choose a quality
school. The foundation promotes initiatives to expand
parental choice and equal opportunity in education
to help spur the bold transformation of the national
K-12 system of public education. waltonk12.org

The NoVo Foundation supports coverage of social
and emotional learning in Education Week and on
edweek.org. NoVo is dedicated to catalyzing a
transformation in global society by supporting
the development of capacities in people-
individually and collectively-to help create a
caring and balanced world that operates on the
principles of mutual respect, collaboration, and
civic participation. www.novofoundation.org

The Noyce Foundation supports coverage of
informal and school-based science education,
human-capital management, and multiplepathways-linked learning in Education Week and
on edweek.org. Launched in 1990, the Noyce
Foundation is dedicated to improving math, science,
and reading instruction in public schools, promoting
school leadership and education research, and
expanding opportunities for informal, hands-on
science learning for students. www.noycefdn.org

EDUCATION WEEK | December 9, 2015 | www.edweek.org | 13

Education Week - December 9, 2015

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