Latoya Fletcher: "My mom was left out of the loop."

Latoya How could Latoya avoided where she ended up? You What advise can you give yourself about being successful in school? Use the Learner Profile trait Reflective “To look back at your actions to understand how you are progressing and then make improvements” to write a short reflection.

Age 10 : 34,956 Age 11: 34,756 Age 12: 33,482 Age 13: 33,258 Age 14: 32,597 Age 15: 32,255 Age 16: 32,154 Total: 233,458

 79% of JJAEP students are minority youth.  The majority of students entering JJAEPs are male (81%).  Hispanic males are the largest single group of JJAEP students, accounting for 45% of students.  African ‐ American youth accounted for 31% of students.  Hispanic youth accounted for 62% of students.  White youth accounted for 23% of students.

Beyond Scared Straight: A Teenager Changes His Ways

Jose What choice did Jose make to end up where he is now? You What choice can you make to end up where you want to be in the future? Write a short reflection. Turn to a neighbor and share your reflection.

It hurts more than any kind of punch, slap, anything that was ever done to me. Having my freedom taken away is the worst thing that ever happened to me. It’s not the fact I’m in jail that I’m scared. For a while I didn’t know when I was gonna get out. It felt like the whole world was going on without me, and I was stuck. I have a little sister born after I started running away and I don’t even know her. My family came out twice this year. You have special visits, half an hour. For the past year, I’ve seen someone I know from the outside for one hour, that’s it. It’s pretty hard being out here all by yourself. I can see what they’re doing to us. How kids are sent to jail when they just need a slap on the head or something. I used to really really hate the cops. Hate ‘em, hate ‘em. I still don’t approve of what they’re doing but I understand. I used to hate other people’s lifestyle. Now I know it’s different people and I don’t hate them anymore. I can associate with different people. I’m a lot more open-minded, don’t hate so quickly, don’t judge so quickly.

Evins, a high-security facility located in south Texas receives young offenders from around the state, including Dallas. A 14-foot chain-link fence surrounds the compound, which houses 240 teens.offenders Evins has 96-bed dormitories. Each dorm is split into pods with 24 metal beds and two metal tables bolted to the floor. Correctional officers monitor the dorms from a control center in the middle of the complex. Michael, who's serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery, says there are often fights at night and there's never any privacy. "You're right next to everybody," Michael says. "When you take showers everybody's right there. When you use the restroom somebody's right next to you. No matter what you do, you ain't got no privacy." Michael is 16 and is hoping to be paroled when he turns 20, but he also could be sent to an adult prison to finish his sentence. He worries that if he gets into fights here, it will hurt his chances for parole. But he says it's hard to stay out of trouble "because there are a lot of younger kids and they don't know how to act. The hardest thing is keeping from beating them up. It's hard trying to maintain control to get out of here."