March 15,
2006
Dr. Flores:
I have been working as
the part-time librarian at the Alameda County Juvenile Hall since
2000. Superintendent of Schools Sheila Jordan was instrumental in
bringing the library to the youth at the Hall along with Linda Wood,
our County Librarian.
During the six years I
have been here I have seen a significant improvement in the teaching
staff and the quality of education. There are teachers here who know
how to involve the youth interactively in subjects from Shakespeare
to the sciences, art and math. This is a challenging group of
special youth and it takes special skills to work with them; the
current teaching staff is the best we have ever had at the Hall.
It has been wonderful to
work in partnership with the English teachers and the Character
Based Literature program. Tomorrow we have an author visit with Art
Rodriquez, the author of a book the youth arc studying in school. He
has written three books after his first and I expect them all to be
checked out and have a huge waiting list after his visit. Earlier in
the week Zlata Filipovic, a survivor of the war in Bosnia, was here
to speak about her book. The youth asked questions about World War
II, the war in Iraq. publishing, and international issues. They
checked out books about Anne Frank, the lost boys of Sudan as well
as books about the war in Bosnia. As you know, the majority of these
youth are extremely limited in their experience in the world and in
education. The fact that this dialogue is happening here is
fantastic and amazing.
When I first arrived
there were few books for the youth to read after school or for
silent reading during the day. Youth were not avid, eager or even
interested readers. In the six years I have been here. all of that
has changed. The youth are excited about books, reading and writing.
We did a survey of the youth in 2001
and 2004. 75% of the youth say they read more when they are
incarcerated than when they are not. In 2001, 68% of the boys said
that there aren't any good books to read at the Hall. In 2004, 5%
said so. In 2001, 33% of the boys said that they didn't like to read
and in 2004, 3% said they didn't like to read. In 2001, 87.5% of
youth said that it isn't easy to get books to read at the Hall. In
2004, 6% said so.
Every week I get notes and letters from
students thanking me for the books they have read here and the
impact that this has had on them. Here is one of the most recent
notes I received:
"1 didn't take time out to read
before I was at the Hall. In here I started reading like 6 or 8
different books at one time. Then when I got out, I went to school
and made it a habit to keep reading. Reading at the Hall made it
easier to understand, comprehend what is going on in the book. I
used to be a slow reader. I used to have to read the sentences
over and over to figure it out, but now they just flow and 1 catch
on faster to what is going on. I know a lot of new words, too.
"First when I was in here 1 took
the English exit exam but 1 didn’t pass it: But then I kept
reading in here and it helped because when I got out 1 passed the
exit exam.
"I used to go to the library when
I was in middle school to use the computers, but I never checked
out a book before, or if I did 1 didn't read it. But now when I
got out my mom took me to the Library and 1 got a library card
because I wanted to finish the books I was reading in here. I
found the Lost Boy and I finished that off but they didn't
have Imani Says Goodbye so I couldn't finish that one. I
like to read African American fiction but 1 couldn't find
Imani All Mine either. I wanted to let my cousin know about
that book. ‑‑Dominique
Sometimes we don't always see the
results of our work here, as the students come and go. I loved this
note, because it showed that the time Dominique was here was well
spent and made a difference to her. The excellent teaching staff and
school programs make this so. Please let me know if there is any
other information I may provide.
Amy Cheney
Librarian
http://juviewrite2read.aclibrary.org
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Many
people don't realize it, but the Alameda County Office of Education
doesn't run the schools that most people think of. The local school
districts run those schools. The County Office only runs schools for
children who have been convicted of crimes or have been suspended or
expelled from their regular schools. For us, these children whom
nobody else wants are our top priority.