Data from California’s Division of Juvenile Justice shows that during the five-year span from 2018–2023, 85 percent of the students in the juvenile system who were awarded a high school diploma could not pass a 12th-grade reading assessment. The number of students reading at a kindergarten–third grade level is estimated to be 20–25 percent.
Stacy Storm, a Collaborative Classroom Manager of Educational Partnerships in California, learned of these appalling statistics from a June 2023 EdSource article. The article detailed systemic educational failures within California’s juvenile justice system.
Having witnessed first-hand the positive impact of Collaborative Classroom’s SIPPS program on striving readers, Stacy sent an email to Judge Katherine Lucero, Director of the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR), suggesting a partnership to help students master foundational reading skills using the SIPPS program.
Exemplifying the urgency of the issue, Judge Lucero responded within 20 minutes to connect Stacy with Dr. Michael Massa, OYCR Consultant and Juvenile Justice Educational Expert.
This interview is Part One of a two-part story of their ongoing partnership.
Dr. Michael Massa’s Background
Stacy Storm
Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Massa. To begin, would you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
Dr. Michael Massa
I grew up in the Bronx and identify as a proud New Yorker. After earning my undergrad degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Education wasn’t really my plan. I was accepted into a program called Teach for America. My thinking was that I would fulfill the two-year commitment and it would launch me into a good grad program. I said I’d be willing to teach Special Ed, not knowing what I was getting into or even what a high school setting would be like.
But as soon as I got to meet my students and better understand their circumstances, I was hooked. I know it sounds cliché, but I learned so much more than I possibly could ever teach.
Stacy Storm
Can you tell our readers more about when you went into administration and about the work that you did?
Dr. Michael Massa
I was a special ed teacher in a year-round Los Angeles high school. With more than 4,000 kids, it is one of the largest schools in the country and it was chaotic. I was completely unfamiliar with so many students being involved in the juvenile justice system.
I started to better understand the realities of my students, what they were going through, and how their personal struggles and challenges were really the manifestation of systemic failures.
Gradually, I started to better understand the realities of my students and what they were going through. I began to comprehend how their personal struggles and challenges were really the manifestation of systemic failures. I became impassioned to really stick up and advocate for them wherever I could.
Accelerating my capacity to advocate for my students was the impetus for obtaining my teaching credentials and becoming an administrator.
Stacy Storm
And then you eventually became a principal at one of the juvenile court schools.
Dr. Michael Massa
I learned about the juvenile court schools because about 30 percent of my roster in the high school where I was working was just going in and out, back and forth, from the school to the local juvenile hall.
That experience helped me identify my focus on students with IEPs in the juvenile justice system. This became the focal area for my admin credential, my master’s program, and the topic of my doctoral dissertation.
[A]bout 30 percent of my roster in the high school where I was working was just going in and out, back and forth, from the school to the local juvenile hall.
While I continued to grow in the profession, I moved into a position with the County Office of Education, supporting the special ed programs in the juvenile detention settings.
It blew my mind when I was presented with the opportunity to be the principal at Central Juvenile Hall, where so many of my previous students were rotating in and out.
That was a “pinch myself” kind of moment, because I had learned about this place through the adversity of my kids, and now I was getting what I asked for: the opportunity to be in a leadership role and to really make the change that I felt my students deserved.
The Beginnings of the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) in California
Stacy Storm
The Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) was established in July 2021. Would you tell us more about the formation and what led you to get involved?
Dr. Michael Massa
California lawmakers recognized that removing young people from their local communities and detaining them in a state detention system—the Department of Juvenile Justice—created more harm than good. Senate Bill 823 set out the timetable for the closure of the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and established the OYCR in July, 2021.
The office supports counties to take in and care for their young people for much longer term commitments than they previously had the responsibility to do.
It’s a complete paradigm shift. California is the first state in the country to dismantle the state juvenile detention system. Our work is now centered in helping the counties support young people with culturally relevant, age appropriate methods that are intentional about reducing recidivism—not just to achieve statistical goals, but to really provide opportunities for young people to work through adversity.
The adversity and trauma that young people go through in that developmental period in life is never overcome, but we can provide the conditions and support for true rehabilitation to take place.
Our director, retired Judge Katherine Lucero, had the foresight to understand that education is one of the foundational pillars in these efforts.
She brought me on to lead the charge on educational health, so we can be comprehensive in supporting young people through the only avenue of social mobility that they’ll ever have, which is education.
So many of the young people don’t come from money, and they don’t have access to social capital. These are young people that have been completely marginalized and restricted from opportunities.
She brought me on to lead the charge on educational health, so we can be comprehensive in supporting young people through the only avenue of social mobility that they’ll ever have, which is education.
The one variable that exists in every zip code is our schools.
We need to use education as an opportunity for successful re-entry back into the community. More importantly, we need to address the systemic failures by providing the skills to prevent recidivism.
We need to use education as an opportunity for successful re-entry back into the community.
The Role of OYCR in the Juvenile Justice Process
Stacy Storm
Could you provide a little insight into the juvenile justice process? What is the approach to education and schooling once a youth is arrested?
Dr. Michael Massa
In California, it is the county offices of education that must provide educational services for the young people in detention settings—not the local school districts, but the county office. Because unfortunately, many of the circumstances around young people being in detention come from incidents that happen in school settings.
So the county offices need to have credentialed teachers and make sure young people are participating in all the state expectations. We have the same obligations as schools in the community to support students with IEPs and to provide all the supports and services under the federal mandates of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
Additionally, there is also a disproportionately high, over representation of English Learners that also deserve the same supports and services that would receive in any other school across the State. The Juvenile Court Schools are measured on the California dashboard the same way as every other school; it’s the same responsibility.
However, the juvenile justice system is a unique environment because of transiency, probation partners, mental health partners, all of us working in silos to meet our own levels of compliance. We don’t always do a good job communicating.
[T]he juvenile justice system is a unique environment because of transiency, probation partners, mental health partners, all of us working in silos to meet our own levels of compliance.
And that’s part of the work that we’re doing now. How do we break out of silos and support the system partners to work together, putting the young people before their own individual compliance?
Stacy Storm
Providing evidence-based literacy instruction from early childhood through grade 12 is a huge area of focus for us at Collaborative Classroom as a mission-driven organization. What education initiatives have been an area of focus for you at OYCR?
Dr. Michael Massa
One of the charges for OYCR is to address the chronic absenteeism that exists in the juvenile court schools, which can be at rates three times higher than the state average.
Our job is to investigate the reasons behind those rates. We work with the counties to establish practices so that kids are in school every single day for—at a minimum—the required amount of time, if not for extended-learning opportunities. It’s a non-negotiable.
Another issue we are addressing is the lack of foundational academic skills.
Another issue we are addressing is the lack of foundational academic skills. At a certain developmental level, it’s easier for young people to exhibit misbehavior and accept that they are “bad” than to admit vulnerability around lacking the academic skills that their peers possess.
That’s one of those avenues that accelerates young people from school into the prison pipeline, because they lack the foundational skills they need to be competitive with their peers.
So, we are working with the juvenile court schools to address literacy through intervention and tailoring it to a juvenile court school setting. Through our partnership with Collaborative Classroom, we’re making adjustments so that the SIPPS intervention materials fit the environment appropriately, especially for our students who are functioning at a kindergarten through third-grade level.
We are working with the juvenile court schools to address literacy through intervention and tailoring it to a juvenile court school setting.
There’s a presumption by all other intervention material that by the time a student reaches high school age, and they may need additional literacy support, material at the fourth grade level is a good starting point.
But data shows that isn’t the case. And looking more deeply into the data, we see an overrepresentation of students with IEPs and students who are English learners that fall into that K–3 category. There really isn’t anything for this group of students.
These are the kids who would otherwise slip through the cracks. We’re catching them and making sure they don’t fall through.
The Power, Impact, and Potential of Using SIPPS
Stacy Storm
I appreciate that you mentioned Director Lucero earlier. She was instrumental to the formation of this partnership between Collaborative Classroom and the OCYR. I read an Edsource article in which she was quoted saying, “If we have these kids for any length of time, it’s upon us to give them all the education that they want.”
Knowing the power and impact of the SIPPS program, those words really resonated with me. I immediately sent her an email that read, “I have something that will help.”
As you know, she got back to me within 20 minutes and copied you on the email!
I’m curious; what was it about our programs and organization that spoke to you?
Dr. Michael Massa
I’m very protective of my students. Over the years, there have been myriad opportunities and people promising the world. I’ve learned to do my homework and make sure that the partnerships are of value.
What I really appreciated first and foremost is that Collaborative Classroom is a nonprofit.
I didn’t want to create some type of monetary incentive to form this relationship. I would never allow a company to make money off my kids. The material had to meet the students where they are and be developmentally appropriate so they would trust us enough to be vulnerable.
Having done my homework and looking at the material, the fact that there was such an intentionality around age appropriateness is what really won me over.
Having done my homework and looking at the material, the fact that there was such an intentionality around age appropriateness is what really won me over.
It’s why I wanted to move in this direction versus some of the other options out there that didn’t really put the kids at the center of the effort.
Stacy Storm
I appreciate that you address the age-appropriateness of the SIPPS connected decodable text. The stories are compiled in a book the size of a novel. The high-interest topics honor the age of these older striving readers.
Because the stories are tied to SIPPS instruction, students are able to successfully read and build their fluency. It is not uncommon for a SIPPS instructor to share that a student was super excited to have read a complete story and asks to read more.
It was important to you to have Collaborative Classroom’s lead consultant, Dr. Jennifer McMahon and I present to the OYCR California Advisory Committee. Through our discussions you helped us to understand the fluidity of students in the juvenile court schools, with some having shorter stays and others a longer timeframe.
You also stressed the importance of being able to identify these striving readers within days of their arrival so instruction could begin right away. Data shows that there is a disproportionate number of students lacking K–3 foundational skills in the juvenile court schools. Dr. McMahon and I were able to illustrate how well SIPPS fulfills those needs. And, how its accelerative instructional design honors these older striving readers.
Can you share why it was important to you that we present SIPPS to this group?
Dr. Michael Massa
I always operate by community and consensus. I wanted to make sure that the other state leaders who make time to prioritize educational health in these juvenile detention settings had a chance to hear and judge for themselves what I was looking at. When we now approach the other counties, it’s not coming out of left field.
Phase One of the Partnership
Stacy Storm
What you’re saying about community and consensus has a lot in common with how we work at Collaborative Classroom. When we work with schools, districts, and community-based organizations our goal is to truly work alongside them. We want to understand their vision for their students, and form long-term partnerships to ensure student and instructor success.
This is a great way to segue into talking about our first project and how our partnership formed after our initial presentation to the Advisory Committee.
Could you share a little bit about our first project? What was the most important accomplishment in that phase of our partnership?
Dr. Michael Massa
When a juvenile court judge reaches out with concern around young people in their courtroom unable to participate meaningfully in their own defense, it’s a call to action. These are circumstances that will impact young people for the rest of their lives. If they are sitting in a courtroom and the adults around them might as well be speaking a different language, that’s an absolute injustice and clear indicator of systemic failure.
When system leaders prioritize young people, and center on care, we break from traditional constraints and find ways to collaborate. The judge’s perspective helped me better focus and consider how to address the problem. This outreach centered our work in a large urban county in California.
Every year there’s a new acronym or a new cure-all. We’re all experiencing fatigue from two decades of new initiative after new initiative that promises to solve the world’s problems.
I wanted to keep it real. Our kids can’t read. How do we help them read? That is the miracle that we needed to work towards.
I wanted to keep it real. Our kids can’t read. How do we help them read? That is the miracle that we needed to work towards.
Being realistic, I knew we needed experts to design and build around the unique settings of our juvenile court schools and with something that could convince reluctant adults.
Because people are very used to their routines, we needed to consider how to shift their mindset and get buy-in to this new approach. I think what was key was that we didn’t ask people to replace anything or change what they were doing. We just highlighted an existing gap and illustrated how we wanted to fill that gap.
And I think that’s what really opened the door for us.
Stacy Storm
I agree. Our county partners included educators, county leaders, and organizations that support the juvenile court schools.
When the partnership started, you, Dr. McMahon and I spent a lot of time getting to know these individuals. We toured the campus, attended a graduation and listened deeply to understand their setting.
Dr. Michael Massa
I wanted to show respect for the consideration we were receiving from the folks in the county. I wanted to demonstrate by our presence that we were serious. It wasn’t going to be received well if we did everything by Zoom.
So, you and I took the time to make the trip and say, “Hey, look, we’re going to be partners. We’re going to roll up our sleeves, we’re going to work together, and we’re going to do this as a team.” That really reduces a lot of possible resistance met when trying to direct interventions.
I think that partnership was critical. The fact that we were working directly with the kids meant a lot to the teachers and to the support staff that were being asked to take on this new responsibility. I think that helped us overcome a lot of the barriers.
The Significance of 30 Days
Stacy Storm
You stressed the importance of focusing this project on the first 30 days after a juvenile is arrested. What is the importance of those 30 days and what were you hoping to accomplish in those first 30 days?
Dr. Michael Massa
The average length of stay for any young person in the juvenile justice system in California is 40 days. That translates to 30 school days when we take out the weekends.
So how do we interest our young people in 30 days? How do we show them —first and foremost—that they can do it, while getting them motivated and excited to do it?
That was what we needed to accomplish in 30 days. We weren’t going to make them the best readers in the world in 30 days but we could plant a seed to show them their capacity and get them excited about it.
We did that, and we’re able to demonstrate our effectiveness through the data.
Bringing in SIPPS
Stacy Storm
The power of the SIPPS Placement Assessment accelerated that 30-day effort. The assessment quickly identified students that have yet to master foundational reading skills. Then we were able to place them into SIPPS instruction at their point of need.
Now, we knew who needed the instruction. Could you elaborate on the obstacles that these instructors faced by bringing in a new program to their site? What work did they need to do to impact student success during those 30 days?
Dr. Michael Massa
It was a challenge because from their perspective, we were coming out of nowhere, saying, “Hey, what you’re doing is okay, but this is going to be even better.”
That message is never well-received. People can be territorial and protective, and I understand and honor that.
I think our presence helped reduce some of that resistance. Ultimately, the time we spent and the way we went about structuring our approach to these professionals, working from the leadership level to the site level, overcame that obstacle and helped us understand the environment in which we would be working.
During our time with our SIPPS instructors, we really explored the material. Not just professional development, where you have someone in the front of a room going through a PowerPoint, but literally turning the pages, exploring the language, looking at the support material, and even making adjustments to some of the cards and the images being used to make them relevant for our environment. [Ed Note: see photo below.] There was the flexibility to really tailor the material so that it matched well with the environment
It wasn’t just them doing what we asked them to do, but all of us becoming partners to deliver material that we thought was going to serve our kids better and help achieve juvenile justice. And once we got to that point, we were truly a team.
Stacy Storm
I agree. Our instructional partners knew our desire was to understand their site’s nuances. That way we could adapt and expand our Professional Learning to maximize student success.
We always began and ended sessions by soliciting questions and concerns. Dr. McMahon’s side-by-side coaching during instruction helped to tighten routines and clarify questions in real time. We continually shared next steps. We repeatedly asked if there were any need for adjustments or if there were additional areas of interest. The partnership maintained a laser-focus on student success.
As instructors began teaching SIPPS, an obstacle they encountered was Probation’s inconsistent delivery of students from their housing unit to the school room at the designated time. Could you help our readers understand what a court school environment is like and why this would be an issue?
Creating Solutions in the Juvenile Court School Environment
Dr. Michael Massa
Every day is different and has its challenges in a juvenile court school. Young people come and go on a daily basis and it changes the dynamic of the environment significantly. That’s the reality in which we need to live because that’s our kids’ reality.
To answer your question about logistics, we looked at the matrix, thought we had it worked out and knew the best time to pull kids to receive instruction. We realized quickly that wasn’t the case. And when things don’t work out the way we anticipate, we know we cannot feel defeated. We need to assess the situation and figure out a way to work around it.
So we went from looking at a schedule—which did not work out—to, “Okay, let’s create a list of student names and ask Probation to bring the kids out according to the list.” That might have worked for a day and a half, and then that fell through.
So we said, “Okay, we don’t care what time the kids come, here’s a list of the kids we need.”
Probation could bring us the kids whenever they could, the order being irrelevant as long as the kids received instruction. But there are not enough probation officers, so kids ended up doing school in their housing units.
We looked again at the matrix for a work-around. The staff is contractually obligated to work 300 minutes a day and the school schedule is only 250 minutes a day. People were still on the clock for those 50 minutes, so we said, “Let’s pull them out at those 50 minutes at the end of the school day.”
Beautiful, but we still didn’t have enough time to get all our kids. So we said, “Let’s not limit ourselves to Monday through Friday. The kids are there 24/7, let’s let that work for us.” So we asked, “Is there any opportunity for some type of Saturday programming?” Oh wow, we find out—the school has grant money that could easily fund this resource for Saturdays. Perfect.
It was a constant back-and-forth of, “What is the challenge and what is the solution?”. We were backward planning from the non-negotiable that this had to happen.
It was a constant back-and-forth of, “What is the challenge and what is the solution?” We were backward planning from the non-negotiable that this had to happen.
Stacy Storm
It was encouraging to witness the students’ responses to this instruction and their growing sense of empowerment.
A favorite moment of mine was when one student made a mistake during one of Dr. McMahon’s lessons. The built-in SIPPS correction routines scaffolded him so that he was able to self-correct. He did all the heavy lifting on his own, and when he realized he got it right, he exclaimed, “That really worked!”. He was so proud of himself and so motivated to continue learning.
What would you say is the reason the students were so engaged and eager for instruction?
Dr. Michael Massa
Adolescents are at a very impressionable age and don’t want to be identified by their deficits. We knew calling them out for a “reading lesson” wasn’t going to work. So we examined the vernacular we were using.
The terminology used in detention settings for visits from attorneys, social workers, and family visits is “appointment.” So we extended that term to this intervention. “You’re being pulled for an appointment” is discreet. There’s no stigma around it. No one knows they are pulling the young person for a reading lesson.
Secondarily, the most important goal for any young person in detention is to get out of detention. And the easiest way to do that is to have positive court appearances. We wanted to incentivize this by socially constructing a symbol that would allow the young person to demonstrate to the court how well they are doing.
We created a certificate from a Word document, added some shiny gold stickers, and printed it on heavy card stock so that it looked really important. The students started to participate more to earn their certificates because they knew it would help them in court.
The juvenile court judge knew about the certificates and made it a point to call them out. “Oh, wow,” the judge would say. “I see you’re doing so well in school. I’m so proud of you.”
The word started to get back to the rest of the kids and then we had kids without reading and literacy issues, asking, “Hey, how do I get into that program so I can bring a certificate to court?”
This is another example of the adults in charge of the situation creating structures and support to benefit our young people in the juvenile justice system. We know them, we know what motivates them, and we were able to acknowledge that in our design.
Student Responses and Stories
Stacy Storm
I love some of the students’ stories shared with us during the 30 days. One that really spoke to me was the student who begged and bargained with another student to get him five books at one time from the library. There were a series of 10 and he wanted to read them all. What is a story you would like to share?
Dr. Michael Massa
There are what we call Multidisciplinary Team Meetings (MDT), and usually in those meetings Probation reads the progress report. Oftentimes, it’s an exercise where parents, if they’re in attendance, receive a laundry list of why their kid is bad.
But, in this circumstance, one young person was able to tell their mom with pride about all the progress they were making in school, something this parent would never have heard in their life before.
It was such an emotional event because parents don’t expect to come to these jails for children and hear good things about their kids. We were able to change the situation because this young person was able to show their mom something positive. And, as sad as that may sound, that’s the reality for so many of our kids. They usually aren’t able to share positive things, especially in these circumstances.
This little effort results in such big rewards, why aren’t we doing this more?
We were able to change the situation because this young person was able to show their mom something positive.
Stacy Storm
Exactly. There are so many stories we could share. One that just popped in my mind is the student who said, “I have never read a story the whole way through in my whole life,” and then asked, “Can we read more? Don’t make me go back yet!” That exemplifies why this work is so important.
During this 30-day time period, these young people meet with a judge to find out whether or not they will be sentenced or released.
Can you elaborate on the importance of quickly identifying these at-risk readers? Why is making their instructional data available to others so important to you?
Dr. Michael Massa
There is a fatigue for young people because of the recidivism. It’s really the same group of kids that are cycling in and out. And every time they return, they go through the same assessments and the same procedures. There’s a “Here we go again” type of ambivalence created out of that routine.
We wanted to spare them a long assessment because this is their first experience off the street. They’re still recovering from whatever traumatic experience landed them in this situation.
Importantly, we didn’t want them to feel that the assessment might categorize them in a way that might denigrate their reputation in a really hostile environment. One that would leave them identified with a negative label and susceptible to ridicule.
Sentences are determined in their pre-adjudicated status. Some might go home, some to a short-term commitment—like a three-, six-, or nine-month camp setting—or they might get sentenced to a long-term commitment. California calls this a secure youth treatment facility. Detention can be for up to seven years.
We wanted to make sure that the educational data was following the student.
We wanted to make sure that the educational data was following the student. We have all the data in the world to show when they were arrested, what the offense was, and with what they’re being charged. All of that data can be found in two seconds.
But finding someone’s reading level is another story: on one assessment they scored this, another they scored that, and it’s all over the place.
So we took a look at the student information system and how they were capturing all the information data. We found a little tab they weren’t using and asked, “How about we start using this to record the data?” So now the information is following the student and each new environment doesn’t have to reassess them.
That time can be used to situate them in their new environment, and then continue from where they left off. In the past, we’ve always reassessed and started the wheel over, missing so much valuable time and losing momentum.
We know that’s not going to cure everything. But if that’s the launchpad to build up the motivation to continue in their more long-term, stable settings, then we’ve accomplished what we needed to within the 30 days.
Stacy Storm
So in this case, the county supported this effort by creating an intervention tab. By doing so, the Placement Assessment result for every SIPPS student would be on record. The hope is that every time a student passes a mastery test it will be recorded for immediate transparency.
If a student is released, returns, or goes to a school that also uses that student data system, their new instructors would see that history. It would alert the teacher that the student was tested and has SIPPS data. Instruction could resume as quickly as possible.
Could you talk a little bit about our overall findings at the end of the 30 days and about the data we collected?
Findings and Opportunities At the End of 30 Days
Dr. Michael Massa
We were able to assess about 130 students in the 30 days. About a quarter fell within the intervention category of kindergarten through third grade. That means 25 percent of students in any juvenile court school are operating at a kindergarten through third grade literacy level. Of that 25 percent, about 60 percent had an IEP and about 40 percent were English learners.
The data shows that the numbers are higher in the juvenile court schools when it comes to students identified for special education supports and services and students identified as English learners. And the overrepresentation of special ed and English learners is very clear. This is important because not all the students stay within the county community schools and juvenile court school system.
If the student is released from detention and goes back to their community school, how does their information travel with them?
Since most of the students participating in the literacy intervention have IEPs, this became the strategy for how to make sure the supports were continued without interruption. We looked at capturing the intervention data in the present levels of performance so that when receiving schools held their 30-day IEPs, they were able to maintain a continuity of the literacy support at the exact point where the student left off.
We looked at capturing the intervention data in the present levels of performance so that when receiving schools held their 30-day IEPs, they were able to maintain a continuity of the literacy support at the exact point where the student left off.
So again, it’s just problem-solving. It’s working with the structure that exists because we know to change the entire system for the group of kids that are already marginalized isn’t going to happen. And we don’t have time because every day that we’re not addressing this need, we’re missing out on kids that could benefit. We just needed to be creative.
And again, we wouldn’t have learned about any of this if we weren’t there in person, really dissecting their systems to really look at those opportunities for where we could problem-solve.
Stacy Storm
Is that county continuing with SIPPS?
Dr. Michael Massa
Yes, they’re continuing with SIPPS. We still make it a point to check in with them on a regular basis. We find excuses like, “Hey, I happened to be in the neighborhood; how’s it going?”. I will always honor the fact that they are great partners.
Looking Ahead: Phase Two of the Partnership
Stacy Storm
What would you say are our next steps?
Dr. Michael Massa
We want to be able to calculate for the variants and make sure that we’re as universal as possible because we cover the entire spectrum in a large state like California.
To make sure we’re diversifying, we will be looking at three additional counties; medium, rural, and small. We often overlook those areas in favor of larger metropolitan areas, like the Bay Area or the Greater Los Angeles area.
As we continue towards the goal of covering every single juvenile court school across the state, we will have models that closely match the new county that we’ll be working in. We can make sure we’re not losing any time on our own learning, but just accelerating towards our goals, because we’ve already gone through the trials and have learned how to work around them.
Stacy Storm
Part Two of this blog will expand on our experiences in three counties. Until then, is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
Dr. Michael Massa
I think the students in the juvenile justice system represent our collective failures. The adults and leaders have not found solutions for all of our students. We don’t get to choose who our students are; we need to embrace them all.
When we look at the personal circumstances and the individual variables for what led our young people into these detention settings, we find failure after failure. There is a preponderance of young people that transfer from the child welfare system into the juvenile justice system, from foster settings into juvenile justice detention settings and then into prison—the classic pipeline.
These are systemic failures—we can’t blame the kids for the adults’ failures. So instead of seeing our young people as having done something wrong, we really need to accept the challenge: How do we correct the failure that led this young person into this circumstance? We could blame the parents, and we could blame communities. We could do zip code analysis and study the stats.
Here’s the bottom line: These are amazing young people. They just need the same care and attention that we give all kids.
Once we are able to create that space for them, we can start looking at their needs. We can start providing them the tools to be successful. That’s when we begin making progress and start bringing justice into the juvenile justice system. Because right now there’s so much room for improvement.
I’ll go back to the universal variable that exists for all of our kids, which is a school. They all have access to a school, and we need to connect them back to that.
I’ll go back to the universal variable that exists for all of our kids, which is a school. They all have access to a school, and we need to connect them back to that.
If a 15-year-old thinks they can’t read, we don’t want them to learn how to compensate for that. Instead, we’re going to take them in and make sure that they’re safe. We’re going to give them the tools to make sure they have foundational skills—those skills that everyone needs to be successful in life, not just to do well in school.
We need our students in the Juvenile Justice System to be contributing members of society that we all want as our neighbors.
We need our students in the Juvenile Justice System to be contributing members of society that we all want as our neighbors.
Stacy Storm
So well said. Thank you so much, Dr. Massa, for your time today. Everyone at Collaborative Classroom strongly believes that all students have the ability and the right to learn to read. We’re grateful to you and to the counties working alongside us for creating an amazing partnership.
Dr. Michael Massa
Team effort. Thank you.
About the Authors
Dr. Michael M. Massa is the Education Subject Matter Expert assisting the California Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) in promoting educational health for youth impacted by systemic failures within the juvenile justice system.
Stacy Storm is a California-based Manager of Educational Partnerships at Collaborative Classroom.
Citations:
Justice Policy Institute. (2013). Juvenile justice reform in Connecticut: How collaboration and
commitment have improved public safety and outcomes for youth.
Related Reading:
How Age-Appropriate Texts Help Older Striving Readers Succeed
Why Are So Many States Recommending SIPPS?
Helping Striving Readers in High School: Five Elements for Success