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SIERRA VISTA — “Education takes place everywhere.”
That was the final message from Ann Littrell, Cochise County Juvenile Court presiding judge who opened the annual Juvenile Concerns Conference on Friday at Buena High School.
The theme for this year’s conference was “Education: Crossroads for Services,” but instead of an expected focus on schools as a resource to change the lives of young people whose futures may be in jeopardy, the day’s message was far more broad-based.
Yes, schools are important and make a difference. But so is every adult, every agency, every new program or influence that troubled teens might encounter as they search to make decisions as to which road in life they will choose.
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The yearly conference is sponsored by the Community Advisory Board of the county’s Juvenile Court Services and brings together a spectrum of professionals whose jobs and focus revolve around addressing the needs of young people who have run afoul of the law, who are behaving badly, failing to attend school or whose families are incapable of providing a stable home life.
Teacher Jacqui Clay, director of independent study at the Center for Academic Success charter high school, spoke about the importance of integrating character lessons into the daily life of students.
She told how the “Character Counts” curriculum, promoting the six pillars of trustworthiness, fairness, respect, responsibility, caring and citizenship has proven to be an effective tool in reducing delinquency and improving morale in communities and schools around the country where it is implemented.
Clay further suggested that incorporating character education into students’ daily life at school can help “fill the gaps” that might be missing at home and allows communities to grow their own future leaders.
The Juvenile Court Services office for Cochise County is led by director Myrtle Young, and its 10-member Community Advisory Board is chaired by Randolph Hollingsworth, retired from both military service and as a juvenile probation officer.
The purpose of the annual conference, said Hollingsworth, is “to inform the local communities and organizations and anyone who influences our youth about the prevention and education programs available in the county. We’re separated by miles, but many of the same problems impact all of us.”
Some of the problems that were specifically addressed at the conference were truancy, learning disorders, and the need to bring parents into the loop in order to help their kids.
“We’ve educated parents on nutrition,” said Joe Valenzuela, who runs the “New Turf” gym in Bisbee sponsored by Southeast Arizona Behavioral Health Services — an institution that has turned around the lives of some at-risk and homeless children.
“We’re even training some Safford kids in bodybuilding over the Internet,” he added.
A life skills program in Douglas is impacting truant students, said Duane Barrow of the Douglas and Bisbee juvenile probation office. With the help of grant funds, a program has been established where, for three hours over a two-week period, an after school class teaches teens in an interactive way how to resist peer pressure, manage their emotions, and look to their futures.
Said Barrow, “We’ve had 51 kids who had problems with violence, shoplifting and tagging run through this program. They graduate with a certificate and a calculator, and their parents come to the ceremony. The evaluations show a 94 percent approval rate.”
Light also was shed on the link between learning disorders and disabilities of young people and the potential for subsequent legal problems by Nancy Dever, special education coordinator for the Bisbee school district.
Dever emphasized how teachers should focus on what young children can do, as opposed to what they can’t do, as a way of preventing future problems and promoting individual success.
“We can adjust the environmental factors, modify their course of study, and adapt our teaching methods,” said Dever, who explained the legalities and processes involved in developing Individualized Education Plans for special needs students.
But nevertheless, studies in the juvenile corrections system show that anywhere from 35 to 50 percent of the population it serves are youths with learning or emotional disabilities.
“We need to do a better job,” Dever said, “when we transition our youth from regular school into detention and back again. Teachers and the school resource officers need to be involved earlier.”
Easing the pathways and crossroads and milestones for kids in trouble was further addressed by Trudy Berry, county superintendent of schools, who talked about the need to reduce high school dropout rates by putting more focus on students at the middle school level.
Berry also noted the varying styles of education in the county, reporting there are 18,000 students in public schools, approximately 2,000 in charter schools, one thousand in private schools, and one thousand who are home schooled — with no oversight by the state.
“Many of them are among our most excelling students,” said Berry, “but many of them are at home because it’s convenient for their parents.”
The Juvenile Concerns Conference wrapped the afternoon with panel discussions by Court Appointed Special Advocates — volunteers who follow the interests of minor children who become involved in court cases — and representatives from Students Against Destructive Decisions and youth-oriented community programs in Benson, Bisbee and Douglas.
REPORTER Cindy Skalsky can be reached at 515-4611 or by e-mail at cindy.skalsky@svherald.com.
Hifi wrote on Jun 11, 2007 2:13 PM: