Focal Point: Social Institutions Corrective Area of Emphasis: Strategy: Cor. Ed-1 Comprehensive Programs of Learning Provision by the educational system of assistance to students and their families in establishing and achieving agreed-upon objectives of academic proficiency at each level of educational development. Commentary Education is the focus of many of the preventive strategies because of the profound effect the school as a social institution has on the behavior of juveniles. See generally Westinghouse National Issues Center, Delinquency Prevention: Theories and Strategies (draft, April 1979). An emphasis on the educational system in juvenile delinquency prevention can accomplish two goals. First, preventive strategies can address the structure of school programs which are believed to cause or lead to delinquent or criminal activity. Id. Second, affirmative action can be taken to teach the juvenile positive skills which will encourage law-abiding behavior. This strategy recommends the participation by juveniles and their families in establishing the objectives of the juveniles' academic performance. The coordinated effort of students, the students' families, and educational personnel to develop learning objectives for each level of educational development is essential to create valid learning programs. Accord, National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Report of the Task Force on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention., Standard 3.10 [hereinafter cited as Report of the Task Force]. The strategy places the major responsibility for this comprehensive system on educational personnel who must initiate efforts to obtain a consensus regarding the objectives of academic proficiency at each level of educational development. The Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.10 and Commentary, recommends that community groups and leaders should be included in developing objectives. Once these goals have been established, the best methods for attaining them must be determined. Traditional methods of instruction are not effective for all students. In order to develop alternate methods of teaching these children, an evaluation of that child's learning ability must occur. It can pinpoint learning problems, suggest proper remedial programs and supportive services, and alert parents to the existence of these learning barriers. See Focal Point Social Institutions, Strategy, Cor. Ed-3. The National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals summarized the role of the school system in guaranteeing a basic education in an individualized manner: 66 ... schools should establish systems of sequentially organized learning experiences that permit the monitoring of student programs and provide whatever help is necessary to meet learning objectives on an individual basis." Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.10 and Commentary. This strategy is a broad one which will include a recognition of alternative career education as options for nontraditional learning. It also recognizes the home as a resource for learning. The strategies outlined in Focal Point Social Institutions, Strategy, Cor. Ed. 2, 3, 4, and 5 will be helpful in implementing this comprehensive learning program. Of course, no effort as ambitious as this is possible without an active role by the state and federal governments in providing technical, financial, and programmatic resources. See Standards 1.121-1.126, and 1.131-1.134. See also P.L. 94-142, codified at 20 U.S.C. 1401 et. seq. (Education for all Handicapped Children Act). Related Standards 1.111-1.114 Organization of the Local Juvenile Service Focal Point Individual: Related Strategies Cor. Ed-1 1.121-1.126 Organization of the State Juvenile Service Cor. Ed-2 Cor. Ed-3 Learning Disabilities System System 1.131-1.134 Organization and Coordination of the Federal Focal Point Social Institutions: Focal Point: Social Institutions Area of Emphasis: Strategy: Cor. Ed-2 Provision by the educational system of alternative educational experiences which encourage experimentation and diversity in curriculum, instructional methods and administrative organization of the learning process. Commentary Because not all juveniles can benefit from a traditional school environment and educational process, this strategy recommends the development of alternative educational experiences. This will require diversity and flexibility in the school's curriculum, instructional methods and administrative organization. See generally Westinghouse National Issues Center, Delinquency Prevention: Theories and Strategies (draft, April 1979). The formal learning process often functionally excludes many juveniles who need alternative ways to learn. If a particular student is not succeeding within the traditional learning environment of a school, alternative educational programs should be used to address that student's needs. Some of the juveniles who may be well-suited for alternative educational programs include those who are school dropouts, juvenile delinquents, and chronic truants; those considered incorrigible or uneducable; and juveniles with emotional problems and physical handicaps. Alternative educational programs may also be valuable for young adults who have finished their high school educations but who need remedial academic or vocational training to function in society. In their role of preventing juvenile delinquency, alternative educational programs can assist children in the community who have not experienced delinquency problems as well as those who have been adjudicated as delinquent and are ready for reintegration into society. Other nontraditional alternatives to education such as career education and using the home as a learning environ ment, can be incorporated into experimental and alternative educational programs. Alternative programs may include multi-cultural awareness, bilingual education, and community service. One innovative teaching method is the "family unit" concept where teachers remain with students as they progress through grade levels. Other interesting techniques to implement alternative education are described in National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Community Crime Prevention (1973): 1) Large houses purchased by state governments could be outfitted as learning centers. They could have restricted student enrollments and be staffed with Master teachers. Parents and children could attend together in an extanded family setting. 2) State contracts could be granted to good private schools to take a percentage of disadvantaged pupils on a performance guaranteed basis, with performance criteria to emphasize social skills. 3) Special classes with skilled teachers could be conducted on a 4:1 or 5:1 student contact basis. 4) Young students could be apprenticed to artisans who would direct them in projects of interest such as photography, glass staining, wood carving, race car construction, painting, sculpture, etc. 5) Block schools, run by trained parents and teams of learning experts, could be set up in properly equipped homes in each block to conduct "mini-schools" with very restricted numbers of students. An alternative educational program in Atlanta, Georgia, called the Atlanta Street Academy, provides educational opportunities to juvenile offenders and others in the community. The emphasis is on having a certain percentage of the juveniles pass a high school equivalency test. Atlanta Street Academy, Final Evaluation Report (N.C.J.R.S. Accession Number 09900.00.036537). Independent High is a private school for unemployed youths in Newark, New Jersey. These juveniles are either school dropouts or pushouts. The school offers courses such as math, English, social studies, street law, job interview skills, archeology, and music. The school year is divided into equal periods of outside work and in-school instruction. This program is highly successful in part because of its small size, the informality of its classes, and the students' participation in decision making and the availability of its staff. "Independence High-A School for Delinquents,' Correction Magazine, Vol. 3, (Dec. 1977) (N.C.J.R.S. Accession Number 09900.050762). It is important that alternative education be available to all students. Participants should not be stigmatized and participation must be optional. Alternative education, like any nontraditional learning program which is new to a school system, will need community support and funding to get started. Federal and state agency support in the form of funding and resources will also be necessary. See Standards 1.121-126, 1.131-134, and Commentaries. Related Standards 1.111-1.114 Organization of the Local Juvenile Service System Focal Point: Social Institutions Corrective Area of Emphasis: Education Strategy: Cor. Ed-3 The Home as a Learning Environment Development by the educational system in cooperation with other community agencies of methods and techniques for enriching the potential of the home as a learning environment. Commentary Since juveniles do not spend all of their hours or years in school and since not all juveniles benefit from the traditional learning experience that schools most often provide, the home can become an important learning resource. This strategy recommends that the educational system and community agencies develop methods and techniques for using the home in the learning process. This strategy recognized that by the time the child begins school, he/she has already been vastly influenced by his/her homelife. Many patterns of behavior have been set. It is during the early years that children must be exposed to positive role models and be treated in a way which will provide them with a good self-image. Encouraging the kind of homelife which will give the child a healthy environment in which to develop intellectually, emotionally, and physically is the goal of this strategy. This is an essential preventive measure against delinquency. Implicit in this strategy is a recognition of the importance of a parent's participation in the learning process. Since learning patterns develop early, even before schooling begins, involving parents in the education of their children is essential. Using parents and the home as part of the learning process can effectuate early identification of any learning or behavioral problems. Continued learning in the home after the child commences school is important because some children will find the rigor and routine of a regular school program too demanding. The Commentary to Standard 3.13 of the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Report of the Task Force on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1976) [hereinafter cited as Report of the Task Force], also stressed the importance and advantages of a family role in education. The use of the home as a learning environment also may foster positive relationships between parents and children and between parents and school personnel. Parents will become more aware of their important and continuing role in the education of their children. Id. Positive role models are developed to help shape a child's self-image and enrich his/her experience. The stimulation and challenge that parents provide are part of an ongoing learning process. This strategy places reliance on the educational system and community agencies for inducing parental involvement. One way of interesting parents in the education of their children in the home is to involve them in the educational process in the schools. Report of the Task Force, supra at Standard 3.13 recommends: 1) Utilizing parents as paraprofessionals; 2) Involving parents in the academic planning process; 4) Coordinating efforts by parents and teachers to develop 5) Team teaching by parents and teachers and providing special courses to prepare parents. A unique program called the Homework House Project was developed in Berkeley, California, to involve parents and the home in the learning process. This program was sponsored by the Office of Human Relations. It utilized a wide range of community resources including parents, organizations, neighbors, teachers, school administrative staff, and Bay area resource personnel. Forty-eight homes were available as "homework houses" twice a week for one and a half hours each evening. The project was operated and staffed by |