by Karen Cole
Curtis (not his real name) stood before the court for sentencing. The jury had convicted him of burglarizing an unoccupied home and stealing a vacuum cleaner and a television set.
Curtis was 19 years old. His only prior criminal offense was for misdemeanor possession of marijuana as a juvenile. His public defenders, who believed passionately in his innocence, were devastated by the verdict.
The client they knew had an open face, a clear gaze and a ready smile. He had been cooperative with, and appreciative of their efforts on his behalf. They knew that their client faced a possible felony conviction, with all its adverse implications, and jail or prison time. They knew that, even before Curtis was out of his teens, the options for his future were evaporating. But then something unexpected happened.
At the sentencing hearing, Curtis’ 16-year-old sister presented the judge with her literate and moving letter, describing how her brother had dropped out of school in 10th grade because, unlike her, he couldn’t read.
The judge withheld adjudication, placed Curtis on a lengthy probation, and required that he participate in a comprehensive psycho-educational assessment by a doctorate-level school psychologist; successfully complete any reading intervention recommended by the assessment; and, when that was done, obtain a GED.
Curtis’ family chose a qualified and experienced school psychologist who, after many hours of testing, determined that Curtis was severely dyslexic. The school psychologist recommended intensive, research-based reading intervention and provided names of those in the community qualified to provide such intervention.
A master’s-level reading therapist who normally charges doctors and lawyers $50-65 per hour for her services to their children committed to work individually with Curtis without charge. The therapist has now worked with Curtis for two months. Curtis attends sessions without fail and participates enthusiastically. His therapist is excited about his progress, and is confident that he will learn to read.
Curtis now is employed with a construction company. His employer is pleased with his motivation, promptness and diligence, and has promoted him to a supervisory position. What could have been the end of the road for Curtis is instead the beginning of a road to success.
There are many Curtises in the juvenile justice and adult criminal systems. In Jacksonville, as in cities across the country, the vast majority of incarcerated delinquent youth are illiterate or functionally illiterate. The United States Department of Education estimates that 85 percent of incarcerated youth have reading problems. The association between reading problems and crime is well-documented. Children who cannot read or who read poorly are at high risk for school failure. A child who fails in school is much more likely than other children to drop out of school, abuse drugs, suffer anger management problems, and violate the law. A juvenile delinquent who cannot read has great difficulty securing meaningful employment, and thus is more likely to commit repeat juvenile offenses.
The 4th Judicial Circuit has taken initial steps to establish a juvenile delinquency literacy program which will provide intensive, research-based reading instruction to delinquent youth while they are incarcerated in Jacksonville juvenile facilities. The program goals are: (1) to ensure that those youth achieve statistically-significant gains in reading ability; (2) to aid them, upon release from confinement, in using their enhanced reading skills to secure meaningful employment or further education; and (3) to thereby reduce the likelihood that they will commit repeat juvenile delinquency or adult criminal offenses. Achieving these goals will provide the affected young people with more promising futures while simultaneously reducing the societal and economic costs associated with recidivism.
Scientific and medical research from Yale, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and many other educational institutions has firmly established that developmental dyslexia, which is defined most simply as difficulty reading, is neurobiological in origin and can be effectively addressed by direct, structured, systematic, intensive instruction in phonemic awareness (awareness of how sounds work in isolation), phonics (attaching sounds to letters), comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. This is called “research- based reading instruction.” Interestingly, studies have shown that this form of instruction, at the same time that it helps the struggling reader learn to read, also helps the good reader become an even better reader.
The Jacksonville juvenile delinquency literacy program contemplates that every juvenile in Duval County who is committed to a local residential placement for delinquency offenses will be assessed by a trained evaluator for reading problems. The assessment will consist of a battery of widely-accepted tests designed to determine the juvenile’s literacy level.
Those juveniles who demonstrate significant reading problems will then be provided intensive (two to three hours daily, Monday through Friday), research-based reading instruction to improve their ability to read. Reading instruction will be provided in small groups of not more than 5-6 students. Students will be matched for reading proficiency. Instruction will last a minimum of twelve weeks, or for such longer period as the youth are incarcerated.
The scientific integrity of the Jacksonville juvenile delinquency literacy project will be monitored by two local school psychologists, Dr. Laura Bailet of Nemours Children’s Clinic and Dr. Michael Sisbarro of Sheldon J. Kaplan, Ph.D, and Associates.
Upon release from residential placement, each juvenile will be provided an education transition plan to assist him or her in maintaining and enhancing newly-learned literacy skills; securing needed academic degrees or certifications, e.g. high school diplomas or GEDs; and obtaining meaningful employment. The program will coordinate with a variety of non-profit, child-serving agencies to provide these transition services.
Jacksonville’s project is based on a similar, successful San Diego project pioneered by Judge James Milliken, presiding judge of San Diego’s juvenile courts. San Diego’s juvenile delinquency literacy project has produced statistically significant gains in reading ability among participating youth. The San Diego court-based program was inspired by the remarkable success of a public school district in Pueblo, Colorado.
Public School District 60 is a largely poor Colorado district with many Title I schools. For many of its students, English is a second language. For years, the reading scores of its students on Colorado statewide assessment tests were abysmal. Unwilling to tolerate that state of affairs, Pueblo implemented research-based reading instruction in all its classrooms, both regular and special education, and in all its grades, from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Over a period of years, the district included more and more of its schools in the new instructional program. Reading scores climbed steadily and are now far superior to those earned before implementation of the project. In January 2003, on the anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act, President George Bush recognized Beulah Heights Elementary School in the district as one of the nation’s most successful elementary schools in improving literacy.
Teaching remedial reading to illiterate juveniles will present unique challenges. Juvenile delinquents are generally older than most students receiving reading instruction. Many have experienced repeated reading and school failure, and most have dropped out of school. A number are personally invested in maintaining a peer image which they may fear will be compromised by a frank acknowledgment of reading difficulties. A number have undiagnosed and unmedicated ADHD, which makes it more difficult for them to focus and concentrate for extended periods of time. The specially-trained teachers who will provide the reading instruction through Jacksonville’s court-based program will be familiar with and prepared to address these special needs.
Those who wish to hear the inspiring story of San Diego’s juvenile delinquency program should plan to attend the Nov. 20 Jacksonville Bar Association luncheon at which Judge James Milliken, presiding judge of San Diego’s juvenile courts, will tell the story of his innovative program. Through its replication of Judge Milliken’s program, the 4th Judicial Circuit intends to ensure that the Curtises who pass through the doors of our courts find a pathway to reading success.
In 2000, the National Reading Panel reported to Congress its summary of the scientifically-credible research on how children learn to read. The report may be found at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/reading.htm. An excellent, parent-friendly website on dyslexia is that maintained by the non-profit organization SchwabLearning, and found at www.schwablearning.org. For additional websites or further information on how lawyers can assist the community in addressing illiteracy, contact Circuit Court Judge Karen K. Cole at 630-7154.