Cypress Creek Academy Advisory Council Meeting

One of our schools that I greatly enjoy visiting and sharing about is the Cypress Creek Academy, which is also a 96 bed High & Maximum-Risk Male State Juvenile Detention Center located in Lecanto.  While nearly none of the resident students are from Citrus County.  Citrus County Schools is responsible for these students and works in partnership with TrueCore (the company that manages CCA) and Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

I have been the School Board member on Cypress Creek’s school/community advisory council and visit the school a number of times throughout each school year. What often shocks people when they visit Cypress Creek is that is has some impressive learning taking place.  Many are astonished that even though it as a detention center it also resembles a school setting.

Many of the students at Cypress Creek have made some extremely poor choices prior to being brought to CCA.  The students at Cypress Creek range in age from 15-21 years old and will be at the Academy between 18-36 months.  Cypress Creek Academy is recognized in the DJJ system as one of the most successful programs in the state. While Citrus Schools works to support Cypress Creek students and staff, it is the leadership and staff at Cypress Creek that are the reason for the success. At the center of this leadership team is TrueCore Principal of Cypress Creek Academy Robert Cummins or as he is referred to by most at Cypress Creek, “Coach”.

At this quarter’s advisory meeting Principal Cummins shared of the many recent successes of their students.  He shared that traditional Florida high school graduation courses are offered as are G.E.D. courses. Principal Cummins talked about the career pathway programs that students at Cypress Creek that provide career skills and future opportunity to students.  The academy has a successful Home Builders Institute program. This program provides the student the opportunity to get career certified in a number of construction areas including OSHA training. Principal Cummins explained that the students that have completed the HBI programs, near 100% of them have had job placement after leaving Cypress Creek.  The academy also offered Truck Driving and Equipment vehicles training using computer simulators and now will have a forklift on site.  Students can complete all levels of driving training and certification up to the actual State Driving Test.

Many of Cypress Creek students in addition to high school credit focus on vocational course options, but for some that have completed high school either at Cypress Creek or before, they apply and attend colleges virtually.

Obviously not all of these students are prepared academically to attend college or vocational programs. These students may have learning disabilities or other learning challenges and so Principal Cummins’s staff provide a number of remediative strategies to help increase the students’ academic knowledge. The proof in Cypress Creek’s success is that while statistically nearly 50% of youth sadly reoffend and return to a Juvenile Detention Center, Cypress Creek students have had far fewer, with a reoffending rate of approximately 35%.  Again testament of staff and leadership.

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