Most teenagers make it through puberty unscathed. Most students successfully complete 12 years of schooling; a significant number go on to even more. But there will always be that minority, of every race and background, who can't seem to reach adulthood without intentionally banging their heads against walls. It seems there will always be those people who have to learn the hard way; who have to stick their finger in the socket; or fill a gas tank with rocks; or insist on having the last word.
There also are those children, afraid, alone and angry at home — exposed to more than what any adult can bear — who storm through school just looking to explode, wanting to hurt, spreading their pain. Troubled people, in other words, who are disruptive in school, or avoiding it all together — not yet criminal, but at high risk.
The point of education in America is to prepare each generation for the world it is about to enter. In today's complicated, high tech, very intense times, students need to be able to concentrate and focus on an increasingly large and bewildering array of material.
So what does a society do to protect the many against the few who can't seem to adjust to the group; who consistently distract, interrupt or sabotage the teacher, or who can't control their tempers, or are addicted to drugs?
In Highlands County the school district turns to the Academy at Youth Care Lane.
The brain child of a committee that included Mike Brown, Darlene Dick, Rodney Hollinger, and Monica Sauls, the academy is an alternative school — the place of last resort for students whose only other choice is expulsion from public school.
Brown and Sauls represented the Sheriff's Office: Hollinger the school board; Dick, the Department of Juvenile Justice. Dick, not only a Florida native, but born and raised in Avon Park, had long since understood that she had found a niche and a calling, she was not only successful working with troubled teens and outright delinquents, she loved it. That made the position of director for the new school simply too tempting, and she left juvenile justice to fill it. In the six years since she has never once questioned her decision.
The academy is designed to provide the students structure, discipline and academic reinforcement, while teaching self-control, self-respect, anger management and otherwise helping young people make good choices. It is the director's example that sets the tone at a school, and the director who sparks the needed desire to succeed.
Dick's definition of success goes a long way to illustrate her approach — she knows the school has gotten through to a child when she sees former students in the street and they welcome her with open arms, a hug and a thank-you. It is another way of saying she works to create trust.
The academy day is a long one. Students may only ride the school provided bus. It arrives at 9 a.m. Until lunch, the students are with the drill instructors, getting exercise, learning how to work as a group, following directions, and taking orders, but mostly moving, moving, moving. After lunch the students break down into groups and go to the classes designed to build character. There are also sessions with a mental health worker, drug education and counseling.
At four the bus arrives to take the students to Sebring High School where, with a teacher present, they work academically via self-paced computerized courses. They do this from Monday through Thursday, focusing on one subject a day — math, English, social studies, and science. The day ends at 7 p.m., at which point they get their bus ride home.
The school can work with 28 students at a time. On Sept. 24 there were 15 enrolled. The school is co-ed and takes 6th to 12th graders. It has a three tiered system, each tier freer than the one below, each represented by a different color shirt — orange at the bottom, purple in the middle, and gray on top. A student has to earn his or her way up. Being dropped back a level is one of the possible consequences for bad behavior. Students are referred to the academy and come for either three or nine weeks. The academy has flexibility, a student will never do less than three weeks, but may stay a lot longer than nine.
Since opening in 2002, the six member staff, that includes Dick, has worked with at least 600 students and their families — the parents become a part of the process and have to agree to support the school's policies and decisions.
A huge part of why the academy works, Dick said, is because of the teamwork among the adults. Again, the open communication and the culture of reaching out comes from her example, although she didn't say that, preferring the words 'we' to 'I', and 'team' to 'me'.
Despite her modesty, Dick has been nominated for the Judge Clifton M. Kelly Champion for Children Award more than once and in May of this year was taken by surprise when she was honored with the 2008 Law Day Award, recognizing her work with at-risk teens. Judge Peter Estrada called her efforts "tireless." Her leadership at the academy and connection with her students create a foundation of law (and order) upon which young people can build a solid future, giving all of them not just healthy, but equal and exciting opportunities for fulfillment.
With 21 years of experience, and a parent herself, Dick gives simple, if difficult, advice : Mean what you say; be sure your children understand what you mean; and pay attention. It is important to know who your children's friends are, where they hang out and what their parents are like. Finally she said, don't be afraid to reach out for help, it is there if you need it.
Christopher Tuffley
28 September 2008
