Life inside a secure juvenile justice facility is vastly different from the fluid routines in the outside world.

Young men and women sentenced to time in Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) secure facilities follow a strict daily schedule of mandated treatments, group therapy and recreation as well as voluntary community service events – all aimed at moving them toward improved mental health and pro-social behavior.

But a big slice of the day mirrors the world at large. Like their peers outside, TJJD’s youthful offenders spend weekdays in school.

For some of these young people, it’s been a while since they regularly attended classes. By the time they arrive at TJJD, the majority are behind by at least one grade-level and have difficulty reading.

Various factors disrupted schooling -- learning disabilities, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, gang involvement -- and of course, the criminal activity than landed them in the juvenile justice system.

Many TJJD youth lacked the family stability that would have helped them stick with school. About 64 percent of TJJD youth have a household member who has been incarcerated, according to 2018 statistics on trauma factors impacting those in custody at TJJD.

The Lone Star High Schools housed at the agency’s five secure facilities give these young people a chance to catch up; time to press re-set and refocus on academics.

Not all of the students will take the opportunity. Not all will succeed.

Some will soar.

One recent graduate of the high school at the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility at Mart was inducted into the honor society Phi Theta Kappa at Navarro College in Corsicana this past fall.

Another youth, recently built on the high school diploma he earned at the Gainesville State School in 2017 by becoming a phlebotomist and finding a well-paying job in this needed medical field.

Yet another parlayed the welding certification he earned at TJJD – followed by an oil career certification earned while on parole -- into a job as a warehouse foreman in Houston, where he also studies finance at Houston Community College.

“I thought I was going to be behind when I left (TJJD). But I’m not, I’m ahead,” said the Navarro honor student, explaining that his time at McLennan had been a respite from his troubled Houston neighborhood where he lost a family member in a fatal shooting and then went astray of the law himself.

At McLennan, he’d resumed his studies earnestly, resolving to start achieving. He left the facility with 22 college credit hours.

“School has always been a major part of my life. Teachers, principals, they looked out for me,” he said, referring to those at his home school and at McLennan.

CELEBRATING

Success looks a little different for each individual. Some leave TJJD with college credits, thanks to online programs. Others find victory in securing that high school diploma or high school equivalency degree they thought was out of reach.

Twice each year, In the spring and the fall, the six Lone Star schools at the secure TJJD facilities celebrate these achievements. Other smaller schools set up at TJJD halfway houses also recognize graduates in varied ways.

At the large secure facilities, school staff arrange full graduation ceremonies, replete with caps and gowns, commencement speakers, recognized valedictorians and an teary audience of proud parents and staff.

“A lot of our students, they haven’t had many successes in their life,” said Luther Taliaferro, superintendent of education for TJJD. “This is our way of saying ‘Great job!’ And their parents come and watch.”

The celebration means a lot to the youth, because often they are the first, or among the few, in their families to receive a diploma, said Dennis Smith, longtime principal of the Lone Star High School Southeast at the Giddings State School.

“The ceremonies are just very special,” he said, recalling how he was moved to witness his first TJJD graduation 20 years ago. Knowing it’s important to families, Smith has made sure the graduates are well feted and photographed, (a task that typically enlists other Giddings students enrolled in the commercial photography program).

THE TALLY

In the first half of 2018 (through June 21), 69 TJJD youth in the secure facilities earned their high school diploma or Certificate of High School Equivalency (CHSE).**

In addition, the schools handed out 253 industry certifications for the same time period.
Some youth were awarded multiple certifications, many with direct application in the job market. These include courses recognized by the American Welding Society, Texas Nursery & Landscape Association and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).

Other certifications note work completed in Microsoft Office programs, food safety, telecommunications, automobile air conditioning repair, forklift operation and the Adobe suite of programs, including Photoshop.

All of these accomplishments help build a resume, and for those who fell too far behind to attain a diploma, a certification can be a critical stepping stone toward a job.

It builds confidence, too, said the Navarro student, who also took welding classes while at McLennan.

But the graduations – and now he’s enjoyed two, having received his associate’s degree – are forever memories.

“When I was in, that’s all I could think about, is that I would never get to walk across the stage (at his school at home). I thought I would never get that moment.”

He’s grateful, he says, that he did.

**A High School Equivalency Degree, also known as a General Education Diploma (GED), shows that the holder has a level of knowledge equivalent to that of a high school graduate. In Texas, the GED diploma awarded is called a Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency (CHSE).