Cypress Creek SAEC Meeting

At the detention facility right now 7 college students!

Thursday I attended one of my newest School Advisory Enhancement Council (SAEC) school assignments which is held at the Cypress Creek Academy. Cypress Creek Academy (CCA) is a maximum-risk, residential male juvenile detention facility in Lecanto. The anticipated length of stay is 18 to 36 months.  Yes, that is correct, we have a SAEC at the “teen jail”.  Not many SAEC meetings begin with entering through a razor wire- topped security fence gate and passing through a metal detector, only to then be escorted in by staff through two more sets of security gates before you reach the chapel where the meetings are held.

Cypress Creek detention facility is managed by G4S Youth Services and is overseen by both the Florida Department of Corrections for the detention and Citrus County School Board for the educational aspects.

During the SAEC meeting some very positive success stories of the students were shared.  Currently the CCA has 7 students that are taking college courses.  This past month 5 out of 8 students that took the General Education Diploma (G.E.D.) passed the test. What is important to understand is that a person who earns his high school diploma or G.E.D. is 70% less likely to re-offend;  of those that do not, 70% will re-enter prison for reoffenses.  All of those serving at CCA are required by law, regardless of their age, to be enrolled in school.  Since the students at CCA have been sentenced to 18 to 36 months, it is conceivable that the majority of students will be at the facility during their entire high school career.  If the students do not work diligently on their schooling they are demonstrating that they are not being successful in their sentence and, if that occurs, the maximum time may be required. This consequence helps to keep students motivated.

One of the programs that was explained during the meeting was CCA’s own “Boys to Men” (later renamed “Team of One”) Peer Mentoring Program. This program selects positive peer leaders from the student body to be trained in peer mentoring to help and support other students at CCA. As the coordinator of the program shared,  if he was to tell the students to, “tuck in your shirt, watch your language, or be respectful”, they would listen but it doesn’t have as strong an effect as it does if one of the other peer- mentoring students tells their peers the same thing. During the first mentor graduation they had 8 students graduate from the training program to become mentors.  Through donations those graduates received a new pair of dress pants, a white collared shirt and neck tie to wear to the graduation, and a dinner from Applebee’s.  For many of these young men this might be the nicest outfit they have ever owned and it represents a new beginning for many of them.

In attendance at the SAEC meeting were three students from the peer mentoring program.  These young men were impressive. Two of the students were inaugural graduates of the “Boys to Men” Mentoring Program and one of the students had just been chosen to begin mentoring training to become a mentor.  If someone introduced you to these three boys outside of this location and asked you which educational program you thought they attended, you would likely think they were from our gifted program or from one of our other high academically- achieving programs. These young men were smart, determined, articulate and well-groomed.  I told these boys before I left that I was most impressed by them and I encouraged them to keep up the positive work they were doing.

The next “Boys to Men” graduation is quickly approaching. They are in need of donations to outfit this next graduating class for their upcoming graduation. If you are interested in donating, please contact the Program Accounting Manager at (352) 527-3091 x104 or by email at Sharon.facto@us.securicor.com

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