NCJ Number
188982
Journal
American Jails Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: March-April 2001 Pages: 17-21
Date Published
March 2001
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the efforts of a Kentucky school district that tried to provide the required 4.5 hours of daily education services to 40 youths who were both removed from their local community school settings due to problem behavior and placed outside a correctional school setting and into a juvenile housing unit in an adult jail.
Abstract
The local school district and juvenile detention center received permission to include the juvenile unit in the adult jail to serve youths who displayed behavior problems in classroom and correctional settings. The pod contained a small recreation area, a shower stall, a single television set, and 12 individual cells. The first student entered in February 1998, and the last student left in March 1999, the housing unit was closed shortly thereafter. Contingency plans remained in place for the reopening of the site if necessary. All youths had an automatic sentence of 30 days. Analysis of instructional records, conversations with school officials, and observations revealed that the residents were male and ranged from 13- to 17- years-old. The students were isolated in their cells 23 hours per day. Teachers provided instructional services on a one-on-one basis through each resident’s cell door food flap to ensure the safety of teachers and the other residents. Students rarely completed assignments. They routinely destroyed instructional materials, but were more receptive to alternative materials such as crossword puzzles. The amount of instructional time depended on the teacher’s available time and ranged from 14 to 95 minutes on a given day. The experience raised issues related to service delivery, teachers’ attitudes, exchange of student information, liaison, and course materials. The analysis concluded that such situations pose challenges and that debate will continue regarding how to provide education in such settings. 7 references