| Charter School Helps
Delray Train Its At-Risk Youth
Sharon L'Herrou,
Project Manager, Delray
Beach Weed and Seed
Delray Beach, FL, was a neighborhood out of control, held
hostage by a Haitian youth gang called the Sons of Sterling.
Although the gang was relatively small, it accounted for hundreds
of stolen cars and violent crimes. A study of the area revealed
that 70 percent of its youth were not expected to finish high
school.
To address these problems, two Delray Beach police officers,
Johnny Pun and Fred Glass, proposed a unique solution. With
the support of the community and the Delray Beach Police Department,
Officers Pun and Glass founded the Delray Youth Vocational
Charter School (DYVCS), modeling it after a successful charter
school in Hollywood, FL, about an hour south of Delray. The
school was designed to offer at-risk individuals between ages
14 and 23 an alternative to a life of crime: a chance to learn
a job skill, earn a GED, and gain life skills. Consistent with
this mission, the school now provides training in various disciplines
in the automotive industry, a field that has many well-paying
jobs for people who have not graduated from college. While
DYVCS was in development, officers helped to enroll and transport
area youth to the Hollywood school.
Delray charter school students learn automotive skills. |
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During the past academic year, 33 students were enrolled in
the school, a last chance effort for students who have dropped
out of traditional high school environments and have demonstrated
significant behavioral problems. The student body is male and
predominately minority (approximately 33 percent are African-American
and 50 percent are Haitian). Most of the enrollees live in
the Delray Beach Weed and Seed area and are eligible for free
or reduced-price lunches. Two-thirds of the students are older
than age 18, and 16 percent are single parents. Most have been
arrested and have been involved in the court system (as of
December 2003, 22 percent had a record of assault and battery,
27 percent had been charged with robbery, and 9 percent had
been charged with possession of a weapon before they enrolled
in the school). Eighteen percent started school with an active
warrant.
School staff mix lectures with hands-on lessons to engage
students and offer incentive points for good behavior, attendance,
and performance. Graphs in the classroom represent how each
student is performing. Students use their points at periodic
auctions to purchase donated items; some big-ticket items are
bicycles and, on occasion, cars. Despite the best efforts of
staff, many youth do not complete the program. However, those
who persevere have made significant accomplishments.
- Graduating class of 2004:
- 100 percent improved their reading skills by a minimum
of two grade levels.
- 100 percent demonstrated the minimum skills necessary
to work in the automotive industry.
- 100 percent were successfully
placed in some type of employment.
- 90 percent remained arrest free.
- Graduating class of 2003:
- 64 percent are currently employed.
- 27 percent obtained their
GED.
- 82 percent remained out of institutions.
To fully appreciate the significance of these results, one
must remember that 75 percent of the nation's state prison
inmates are high school dropouts and that the unemployment
rate among dropouts was 29.8 percent between 2001 and 2002,
13 percent higher than the rate for recent high school graduates.
Perhaps one of the most effective and visible measurements
of the school's success is that the Sons of Sterling
gang no longer exists. Four of the former gang members are
employed at the Delray Toyota dealership earning an average
annual salary of $22,000. One former member said of his life
then and now, "I was going nowhere, had nothing; now
I have something to look forward to."
The Delray Beach Police Department has shown its commitment
to the community by offering the charter school unprecedented
support, which began with the department reassigning the two
founding officers to the school during its first year. The
police department continues to provide financial and staffing
support.
Today, not only are residents comfortable leaving their homes,
they have taken an active role and invested in improving their
neighborhood. With new leases on life, charter school graduates
can become productive citizens, breaking the cycle of crime,
violence, and poverty.
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