Department of Youth Services' Newsletter
| September 2021 Edition
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Dear Colleagues,
As September comes to a close, I want to thank the CES teachers and youth who participated in the Summer School Program. Our Summer School session is an opportunity for young people to obtain credit and stay engaged in learning. I’m excited about the opportunities available for DYS involved young people as we enter the 2021-2022 School Year.
Education is a priority focus here at the Department of Youth Services. Academic success and attainment are building blocks for life- long success.
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As we strive to keep our staff and youth safe, we are faced with more challenges as a result of the COVID-19 Delta Variant. In response to the recent spread of the Delta variant, the Department of Public Health released updated guidance that recommends that a fully vaccinated person wear a mask or face covering when indoors (and not in your own home) if you have a weakened immune system, or if you are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age or an underlying medical condition, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated. All people in Massachusetts (regardless of vaccination status) are required to continue wearing face coverings in certain settings, including transportation, congregate care residential settings and health care facilities.
The recent and tragic loss of our colleague, a supervisor at a Central Region program, is a reminder of the threat posed by the COVID-19 virus. He was a dedicated employee, working with DYS youth for almost two years. He began working as a residential counselor 1.5 years ago at Spectrum Reach and was then promoted to a supervisor in June when the Spectrum Girl's Program transitioned to the Grafton campus.
The DYS Safety Committee has been focused on assaults in our programs. We’re reviewing the trend data and actively seeking feedback from staff and leadership from our union locals including AFSCME 1368 on strategies that prioritize safety for youth and staff.
We are continuing to keep the health and safety of our staff and youth as our number one priority.
Your Commissioner,
Peter Forbes
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During the 2020-2021 school year, a total of 74 DYS youth received attainments including High School diplomas, High School certificate of Attainments, and HiSets. |
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Youth who receive their High School Certificates of Attainment did not pass their MCAS but did fulfill all other obligations and do have the ability to pass their MCAS and received a full diploma. |
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As of September 22, 2021, 40.3% of the DYS caseload have an educational attainment whether it be a high school diploma, high school certificate, or HiSet. About 31% of the committed youth and about 53% of YES youth have achieved an educational attainment.
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DYS Graduations Throughout the Regions |
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Graduation is a ceremony that you will always remember. It is a time for celebrating the accomplishments you achieved as well as the obstacles that were overcome. This year, the Department of Youth Services celebrated the achievements of our youth, in person and virtually, in each of our five regions. See what the regions had to say about their own individual graduations and celebrations below. |
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The Western region had a total of 11 youth who received their high school diplomas or HiSet.
Ceremonies were held, outside and in person, to congratulate the youth for their accomplishments.
One of our graduates, "RH" from the Holyoke District Office graduated from Ware High School on June 5, 2021. "RH” led the Ware varsity football team in scoring as a running back. "RH" is currently working five days, 35 hours a week at FedEx company in Willington Connecticut, earning more than 22 dollars an hour. We are extremely proud of all his accomplishments!
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The Central region had a total of 11 youth who received their high school diplomas or HiSet. The region celebrated with smaller ceremonies that included the youth and their families. In the past, before the pandemic, the Central region held one regional ceremony where all graduates and their families gathered together to celebrate. We look forward to getting back to these larger celebrations.
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The Southeast region had a total of 18 youth who received their high school diplomas or HiSet. The Southeast Regional Office, Brockton District Office, and Fall River District Office held outdoor ceremonies to celebrate each of the youth, who took different paths to success, but all achieved the goals they had set for themselves.
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Metro region had a total of 19 youth who received their high school diplomas or HiSet. In lieu of the traditional region wide celebration, smaller graduation celebrations were held for the youth, families and caseworkers who helped the youth achieve their goals. |
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The Northeast region had a total of 15 youth who received their high school diplomas or HiSet. The Northeast Youth Service Center held a high school commencement ceremony, outdoors, with 4 graduates celebrating with a big turnout of family and friends.
A special "Thank You" goes out to all the DYS Central Office representatives who spoke at and attended the Northeast Graduation who worked collaboratively to make the ceremony happen.
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Highlighted Articles: Education through Career Development |
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A Day in the Life of: A Career Awareness Learning Series
By Lisa Sirois, DYS Assistant Director of Educational Services
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A Day in the Life of: A Career Awareness Leaning Series was a live, virtual webinars series offered to DYS youth throughout the state. Developed in partnership with the Employment Outreach team, the series gave the young people an opportunity to explore potential areas of interest and to help inform the Department’s future postsecondary course offerings. Presented by instructors from the Blue Hills Vocational Technical School, each webinar provided youth with a snapshot of a typical day in the life of a trade. The presentations provided basic information about educational obtainment, on-the-job training, pay scales, and career advancement opportunities. There were also opportunities for youth to ask question the end of each session.
Sixty-six (66) youth (61 boys and 5 girls) who took the webinars responded to a survey asking about their interest in the career fields following the webinars, the effectiveness of webinars as a learning format, and what other careers they would be interested in learning about.
Based on youths’ responses to the questions asked about their level of interest in each of the eight webinars offered, the greatest interest were in the webinars describing careers in auto repair, criminal justice, and HVAC-R (highlighted in green in the table below).
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When asked which other careers youth were interested in learning about, the most common were carpentry, construction/demolition, and electrical-related.
Youth were candid about how effective webinars are as a learning format. Specifically, they answered whether webinars were "a good way to help youth start learning more about different careers".
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A youth in favor of webinars said, "It was a good way to start." Numerous youth who said it was good, but could be better, said they would like hands-on, in-person learning opportunities. Among those who said webinars aren't effective, opinions seemed to be informed by technical difficulties; a feeling that it was more like a lecture, and, as previously noted, a preference for more interaction. |
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Highlighted Articles: Education Through the Arts |
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Announcing the 2021 Clash of the Heroes Winners |
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For the second year in a row, the Department of Youth Services participated in the Clash of the Heroes contest (Shout out to the 2020 winner, NKA from the Southeast Region!). This contest is made possible through a partnership between DYS, University of Florida Center for Reading Research, the National Center for Improving Literacy and the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning.
Through this contest, youth were asked to create an original superhero design, and then write a backstory and conflict/resolution for their original character. DYS youth across the state worked very hard to demonstrate their creative talents both in visual art and in core aspects of literacy, including reading and writing.
After 5 weeks of the summer school session, first, second and third place finishers were identified for each participating region by a review panel. The first place winners were then advanced to the final round; winning regional designs were posted on the national Clash of the Heroes website and voted on publicly.
DYS staff were asked to vote for the character design and story to determine the state’s winner. Altogether, 247 votes were cast in 4 days!
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Read KP's story, Jade & Rowan
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Read TJ's story, Mr. Godly Power
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MANY, MANY thanks go out to the art teachers, on-site teaching staff, and all program staff that helped support this project throughout the summer!
Congratulations to the 2021 Clash of the Heroes Winners!
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Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Connects the Arts and Creativity with DYS
By Michele Phillips, DYS Director of Special Projects
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Following a successful arts collaboration with Suffolk County District Attorney Rachel Rollins, the Department of Youth Services was connected to the Museum of Fine Arts’(MFA) Artful Healing and Restorative Arts Program.
The MFA Artful Healing program is known for their art-making activities and workshops for children, teens, young adults, and their families in Boston-area hospitals and healthcare centers.
The Department of Youth Services and the MFA have begun to explore opportunities for partnership. In July 2021, the MFA hosted an Artful healing class for staff from the Department of Youth Services. The workshop was well received and staff was able to experience the program. A DYS youth Arts leader, and aspiring artist, received a private guided tour of the Basquiat exhibit.
As part of this partnership, DYS youth and staff will have access to the upcoming MFA Artful Healing programming and may participate in classes where they will explore and discuss art. The goal is for DYS youth participants to study and create art pieces that evoke conversation and reflection on their own lives.
DYS looks forward to continued partnership building and future opportunities at the MFA for youth, families and staff.
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Eliminating the School to Prison Pipeline Summit |
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What is the School-to-Prison pipeline?
CFJJ explains that “school-to-prison pipeline” is, in reality, two pipelines that combine to drive students out of the classroom, away from a pathway to success, and towards or into the juvenile or criminal justice system. The first pipeline involves frequent suspensions and expulsions that remove students from their classrooms and disconnects them from their school community. The second pipeline involves arrest in school for behaviors better resolved through alternative approaches.
The school-to-prison pipeline is driven by zero-tolerance policies, school funding cuts that have reduced the number of counselors and social workers that can support students with behavioral concerns and the presence of law enforcement. Students of color, students with disabilities and students that are impacted by trauma are disproportionately disciplined and arrested rather than receiving the support and services that allow them to remain in the classroom and continue to make educational progress.
- Black students are almost four times and Latino students three times as likely to be suspended as their white peers.
- Students with disabilities are suspended at three times the rate of their non-disabled peers.
- Most of these exclusions do not involve criminal or even serious violations.
- Non-violent, non-criminal and non-drug incidents accounted for two thirds (66.5 percent) of all out-of-school suspensions and 72 percent of in-school and out-of-school suspensions and expulsions combined were for minor misbehavior.
As a result of these exclusionary practices, students are missing a significant amount of time in the classroom. The statewide average for the number of days of instruction missed due to school discipline in Massachusetts is 16 days for every 100 enrolled students. This number doubles to 32 days for students with disabilities. For Black students, the number is 34 days, more than triple the amount missed by White students (10 days).
The Massachusetts Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) along with national, statewide, and local Juvenile Justice agencies have recognized the negative impact the school-to-prison pipeline has on achieving equitable outcomes for youth and acknowledging the racial and ethnic disparities in our justice system. JDAI and our partner agencies will be convening for a virtual summit on October 6, 2021that will be bringing cross-sector leaders and stakeholders in Massachusetts together to learn about the intersecting challenges we must face to address these issues and create pathways for sharing critical information and best practices to disrupt and eliminate the school to prison pipeline.
At this summit, people with lived experience and practitioners in education and youth justice will speak on the harms of the school-to-prison pipeline, its impact on achieving equitable outcomes for youth, and a vision for a different path forward. Register here.
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Be a Healthier You: Back to School Edition |
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Healthy Schools, healthy students are better learners, and academic achievement bears a lifetime of benefits for health. However, youth risk behaviors, such as physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary behaviors, tobacco use, alcohol use, and other drug use have been found to be linked to poor grades and test scores and lower educational attainment.
Here are some healthy recipes from the United States Department of Agriculture's MyPlate to get your family on track for the new school year!
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A twist on the traditional tuna salad sandwich, this version features a combination of sweet and tangy flavors.
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Enjoy these delicious muffins for breakfast anytime of the year using canned pumpkin and frozen cranberries.
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Strawberries and yogurt are all you need for this healthy frozen snack! They're a great after school snack or late night dessert!
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On Friday, October 1, 2021, the Department of Youth Services will be hosting the annual 2021 Commissioner’s Awards and Performance Recognition. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are keeping this event small but inviting all to attend the event virtually via WebEx.
The link can be used even if you do not have a WebEx account. Simply click the link and it will open a webpage that will say you have to download an app to run the meeting, but on that webpage you should see “Join from your browser”. Click this to run the meeting in the browser and you do not have to download anything. Please feel free to share this WebEx link with other who wish to join the awards ceremony.
If you choose to call in, please remember that you will only hear the videos and that there is no way to watch the videos unless you connect via a computer/or on the WebEx app on your work cellphone or personal phones. To join from a mobile device please call in US toll free at +1-203-607-0564,,24355295665##.
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DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES [www.mass.gov/dys]
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Kathryn A Laverriere
Director of Communications
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