Educational Follow-Up Study of Juveniles Released from Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills (1982)

Abstract

This follow-up study examined the educational experiences of 759 youth released during 1979 from Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills Schools, Wisconsin’s two state correctional institutions for juveniles. Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills school records for each youth were reviewed as well as transcripts from schools attended before and after release. (105 public and 16 private schools provided student transcripts to the Department of Public Instruction.) In addition, forty-three parole officers were contacted for further information on youth whose school records were in question. The follow-up study identified only 24 youth (3.2% of the total population) who completed a traditional high school program. Half of these youth received their diplomas while incarcerated, the other half after release. None of the 156 youth expected to return to Milwaukee Public Schools graduated. Only 2 students graduated out of 186 youth expected to return to school districts with 5,000 - 25,000 students, 221 youth (29% of the total) received the General Educational Development (GED) certificate during incarceration at Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills Schools; and 80 youth completed their GED after release. For many youth Ethan Allen and Lincoln Hills schools provided their first successful high school educational experience: 48% of all 15, 16 and 17 year old youth arrived at the correctional institutions with no high school credits. (The median number of credits earned by youth prior to incarceration was 0.4.) Following completion of the study, Ethan Allen teachers converted much of their curriculum to competency-based education where students could achieve measurable goals, particularly in vocational and technical education fields, as certified by industry standards.