Strategic Plan Update
Juvenile Services Education System of MSDE
The Strategic Plan Verification Project Newsletter: July 2016, #3
Strategic Plan Overview
The Strategic Plan 2015-2017 (SP) was been developed to focus efforts on priorities as Juvenile Services Education transitions into becoming a unified school district within Maryland State Department of Education. The SP was developed to guide and inform operations that all build on the MSDE/JSE mission - “JSE schools challenge students to earn credits toward their high school diplomas, industry certifications to enhance their employability, and, when appropriate, high school diplomas by examination” and the MSDE/JSE vision “JSE will be recognized for accelerating student achievement and preparing students for a successful transition to their communities.”
The SP is organized around five overarching characteristics chosen from national best practices for correctional education. These are closely alligned to MSDE/JSE's guiding principles : 1.Environment/Climate, 2. Resources, 3. Recruitment/Staffing, 4. Rigorous/Relevant Curriculum and 5. Reentry. Each of the five characteristics comes with a set of strategies which are elaborated as action steps with completion dates in six-month intervals from 2015 to December 2017. See full document at
The MSDE/JSE leadership team (principals and central administrative staff) have worked to operationalize parts of the SP to use it as a “living document” that helps us look forward in planning for the best possible educational outcomes for youth. Future newsletters will report on specific progress and measured outcomes.
Data Driven
Performance data can help JSE measure student progress and determine the extent to which the system is meeting the targets specified in the Strategic Plan. Quality education can’t be distilled into test results and performance indicators alone, but student and school-level data can be an important part of an accountability system. We are currently examining student engagement, learning activities, credit accumulation, certificates of achievement, GED completion, and special education services as part of our review.
Principals in JSE with help from teachers, counselors and administrators turn in monthly reports counting enrollment, attendance, completions, academic certifications, test results and credits earned. Implementation of Power School - a management software - in the coming months may help to automate this data and grading with the goal of making student progress more transparent to the student, JSE, and local school systems.
Our review of annual accountability reports for AY 14 and AY 15 show a couple of notable trends: there was a decrease in total numbers of students served by JSE from 5482 in FY14 to 4736 in FY15. There was a corresponding decrease in the total number of CTE (career and technical education) certificates earned during this period. Overall in FY 15 JSE met accountability goals for Overall Attendance (93%) and Math gain (65% who took BASI post-test), but didn’t meet its goal for GED completion (52/118 passed) or in BASI reading gain (53 percent improvement). The data also show that when comparing AY15 to AY14, 30 more students took the GED, BASI math gains were up 5%, and average BASI reading scores were basically unchanged. Between AY 14 and AY15, there was an increase of students with special needs from 25% of total enrollment in FY14 to 27% FY15 with a larger percentage in treatment schools (35%) than in detention schools (26%).
Maryland Chosen to Participate in UNjammed!
Transforming schools in Juvenile Justice facilities through the power of Blended Learning.
Unjammed is a year-round program that begins with a multi-day intensive training on blended learning held in each summer. This year, Unjammed will be held in Baltimore, MD in mid-July. More than 90 teachers, administrators, and secure care staff from several states will participate in the intensive training activities. This year, teachers from four Maryland JSE schools will participate; principals, DJS staff, and JSE staff will join teachers for the last two days of the conference. A primary focus of Unjammed is to introduce teachers to new technology and applications. Unjammed will work with teachers and JSE and DJS leadership to improve student access to cutting edge technology that has the potential to improve the quality of education services. Participating states and teachers become part of a national network of juvenile correctional educators and systems that can provide resources and support. Following the conference, CEEAS staff works with participating agencies by offering intensive coaching and peer support to the teachers, and ongoing technical support to agency administrators. Read more about this initiative.
Backbone and Savage Receive Grants for Environmental Education
Evergreen Heritage Center (EHC) will hold a series of field trips in June 2016 funded by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. JSE youth from Backbone and Savage Mountain Youth Centers will go off grounds to participate in this exciting environmental education project. Following the field trips and training, students will implement restoration projects which will provide the opportunity for them to reflect on and implement some of what they have learned. Typical student-led restoration projects include designing and building composting bins, designing and planting a native meadow on a hillside, designing and planting a rain garden, and removing invasive species. See Attachment B for letter about school maintenance support. Students will also have the opportunity to document their restoration projects and present them to other students and teachers. These projects will provide these students with marketable “green” job skills.
Mindfulness in the Classroom.
For our students academic success is the key to their future. And to the extent possible, while in our care it is important for them to be connected to their emotions for a myriad of reasons. There is no doubt the importance and fundamental role that social and emotional well-being play in the achievement of academic and life outcomes.
So how can we help our students channel their attention and energy into productive tasks that help them become resilient when life becomes difficult, demanding and chaotic? How should we equip our students so that they have the tools to handle frustrations and difficulties?
Critical life skills depend on the ability to regulate emotions, manage interpersonal skills, and use problem-solving skills. Many of these techniques are not explicitly taught in our schools. Below are some resources for teachers that focus on this idea of Mindfulness and lesson plans that could help your students (and You!)
http://www.mindfulteachers.org/p/free-resources-and-lesson-plans.html
JSES Education: Partnerships and Practices
J. DeWeese Carter Center: Employee Welless Day
Kudos! to the Wellness Committee at Carter for sponsoring this event. We work in tough spaces, and we thought this was an excellent way to rejuvenate for the coming spring season. We hope that some other Centers will take on this practice.
Green Ridge and Meadow Mountain Connect with Friends Aware
Friends Aware is an organization that builds on a tradition of excellence and offers social, occupational,
and residential opportunities in a caring atmosphere
to individuals with developmental disabilities.
Students at Green Ridge as well as Meadow Mountain have a longstanding connection with this organization. They raise funds for this organization as well as provide outreach by sending them cards during the holidays and throughout the year.
Foster Grandparents in the Classroom
Did you know that there is a Foster Grandparent Program? The Corporation for National and Community Service sponsors Foster Grandparent volunteers who serve as role models, mentors, and friends to children with exceptional needs. The Department of Juvenile Services has been a sponsor of the Foster Grandparent program for 32+ years. FGP provide individualize tutoring and mentoring to youth.
We were fortunate enough to see one of these power seniors at one of the sites and we were quite impressed! If your site would like to have FGP, visit this link and check it out1
The Strategic Plan Verification Project
Email: miji.cosmo@verizon.net
Location: University of MD, College Park, MD, United States
Phone: 410 707 7912
Twitter: @MiJiKim3