The DJJ School District          

In addition to our rehabilitative and community programs, DJJ also operates its own special school district with fully accredited academic programs, serving approximately 1,200 students in grades 4-12 each day. All juveniles in the care of the DJJ attend school while detained or incarcerated.

DJJ's school district and schools function just like other school districts and schools in South Carolina - with a district superintendent, principals, teachers, directors, and program coordinators. However, DJJ's schools differ from other South Carolina schools in several ways:

• Schools are in session year-round (enabling students to make up absences and close learning gaps).
• DJJ's school district has no local tax base, relying exclusively on state and federal funding.
• Classes are geared to meet the individual needs of each student.

The DJJ school district is responsible for all educational programs operated by the agency, including those in private vendor programs and alternative school sites in community residential placement facilities.

The Division of Educational Services includes the following functions:
School Supervision and Operations Career and Technology Education Professional Development and Federal Programs	Student Accountability Systems School Supervision and Operations Special Education Services

Juveniles committed to DJJ can earn either a high school diploma or a GED. DJJ's school district also offers students 10 vocational courses, extensive special education services, the nation's first Army JROTC and Communities in Schools (CIS) programs in a juvenile correctional facility setting, media centers, career development centers, and guidance counselors (including a pre-release guidance counselor). 


The following schools and school sites are supervised by DJJ's school district. All are fully accredited:

Birchwood High School: Located at the Broad River Road Institution in Columbia, this is a comprehensive high school offering male students in grades 9 through 12 a variety of vocational and academic courses. This school has the nation's first Army JROTC located inside a correctional setting. Birchwood offers dual credit through Piedmont Technical College and a variety of vocational classes, including:

Automotive Technology Graphic Communications Horticulture Building Construction Business and Computer Applications

Culinary Arts Pre-engineering Brick Masonry Welding


Birchwood Middle School: Located at the Broad River Road Institution in Columbia, this school serves male juveniles in grades 6 through 8. Curriculum offerings include art, career appreciation, language arts, math, physical education, science, and social studies.

WIllow Lane High School: Located at the Broad River Road Institution in Columbia, this is a

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comprehensive high school offering female students in grades 9 through 12 a variety of vocational and academic courses.

Willow Lane Middle School: Located at the Broad River Road Institution in Columbia, this school serves female juveniles in grades 6 through 8.

Regional Evaluation Centers/Detention Center: Juveniles, by law, are required to continue their education when they are sent to one of DJJ's three regional evaluation centers or our pre-trial Detention Center in Columbia. The curriculum at these centers is aligned with the South Carolina Curriculum Standards and is designed to maintain the juveniles' eligibility for required attendance and credits towards promotion and graduation.


Currently, DJJ's three regional evaluation centers include the Coastal Evaluation Center in Ridgeville; the Midlands Evaluation Center in Columbia; and the Upstate Evaluation Center in Union. The educational component in the regional evaluation centers serves both the family court (in its efforts to evaluate juveniles) and the students themselves.

DJJ's Communities in Schools (CIS) Program: Communities in Schools is a national program that educates struggling, at-risk youth by providing a one-on-one relationship with a caring adult, a safe place to learn and grow, and a marketable skill upon graduation. Juveniles in DJJ's CIS program attend class separately from regular students. Male students in the program even live in their own dormitory on DJJ's John G. Richards campus in Columbia. Female students may also participate in the program.

South Carolina was the first state to use the national CIS program in a juvenile correctional setting, launching the program at DJJ in 1991. The program and its instructors have won several awards in the years since, creating one of DJJ's finest educational programs.

A unique part of DJJ's CIS is "The Insiders," a select group of students who travel throughout South Carolina, encouraging troubled children and promoting community awareness of the prevalence and consequences of juvenile crime. These young leaders have committed themselves to serving others by telling personal stories of the choices that led to their incarceration. The Insiders have become sought-after speakers around the state, and their speaking engagements are booked many months in advance.

Career and Technology Education

The focus of career education is to develop a system that is structured for all students. This system integrates schools and workplaces, academic and vocational learning, and secondary and post-secondary education and links educators, students, parents, and business leaders. It provides students with both academic and industry workplace skills, which are recognized and portable. Career education includes:

• A rigorous, relevant academic curriculum.
• Collaboration among employers, schools, colleges, universities, and agencies.
• Career interest assessment, exploration, and preparation.
  

Technology education addresses the needs of students who are inadequately prepared for entry-level employment skills and are without academic skills to pursue post-secondary education without remediation. Five tech prep courses are offered through educational services at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice:

Math for the Technologies I Math for the Technologies II Communication for the Workplace

Physics for the Technologies Applied Biology


DJJ partners with Midlands Technical College and Piedmont Technical College to update, improve, and expand the district's vocational programs. DJJ's school district offers students 10 vocational education courses with supporting career development activities:

Automotive Technology Graphic Communications Horticulture Building Construction Business and Computer Applications

Culinary Arts Pre-engineering Brick Masonry Welding


Other educational/work programs offered by the agency's school district are:

School-to-Work -- A challenging academic and vocational curricula; career exploration and counseling initiatives; teachers trained to link classroom learning to the world of work, apprenticeships, and mentorships.

Youth Industries Program -- A cooperative effort between business and government. In February 1998, DJJ was registered with the United States Department of Labor as an Apprenticeship Program site. This program allows juveniles committed to DJJ to learn a trade. Participating juveniles also earn wages to make victim restitution payments, child support payments, and to put aside money for reentry into their communities.

Facility Work Program -- This program provides an opportunity for juveniles to help facilitate their transitions from incarceration to their communities. Each long-term facility at DJJ provides the opportunity for a meaningful work experience for all juveniles in an organized, supervised work program that affords juveniles opportunities for at least two hours participation per day in constructive and physical work activity.


Special Education Services

Special Education Services are provided for juveniles who have identified disabilities. An individualized education program is developed for each student, which specifies specialized instruction, classroom accommodations, and consultations with regular education teachers and parent(s) or guardian. Students with disabilities may also receive services and accommodations through an ADA/504 Plan.

The DJJ school district complies with all state and federal regulations related to IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act)

Professional Development and Federal Programs

Teachers, counselors, and media specialists at DJJ are employed for a total of 235 days during the school year, 5 of which must be devoted to professional development. Each teacher, counselor, and media specialist must develop a minimum of 3 goals for the enhancement of their professional development. These goals must be completed within a 3-year evaluation cycle.

The Title I Neglected and Delinquent federal program provides grants to state agencies directly responsible for educating children in state institutions for neglected or delinquent children. The Title I Program at DJJ consists of 3 institutional-wide projects at Birchwood High School, Birchwood Middle School, Willow Lane High School, and Willow Lane Middle School. The California Achievement Tests, Fifth Edition (CAT/5) are utilized for measuring progress in the Title I Programs at all four schools.

Student Accountability Systems

The primary purpose of DJJ's Student Accountability System is to classify each student into one of the pupil classifications described in the Education Finance Act (EFA). The South Carolina Pupil Accounting System is designed to provide the South Carolina Department of Education with average daily membership reports to support the EFA.

The coordinator of Student Accountability Systems serves as the "Pathway" coordinator for all pupil accounting software needs, correspondence, newsletters, periodicals, and for the statewide electronic bulletin board sent to selected audience(s) throughout the school district of DJJ. The coordinator of Student Accountability Systems also supervises attendance reporting for all schools in the district.

South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age.

THE FOLLOWING OFFICES HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED TO HANDLE INQUIRIES REGARDING THE NONDISCRIMINATON POLICIES:

Title IX –Inspector General’s Office – 803-896-9595

Title II & 504 – Special Education Office – 803-896-8484

South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
4900 Broad River Road
Columbia SC, 29212-3552
Telephone: 803-896-9749