Glen Mills School Director Sam Ferrainola runs a boarding school type intuition for youth that would have been placed in a juvenile detention center. Through a multi-targeted approach that meets the children where they are at he is able to at the very least reform the students and in some instances create a measurable outcome in the lives of these otherwise troubled youth.
Of course the first thing that struck me was the school’s aesthetics. The campus is beautiful. It’s definitely not the type of place you assume convicted juvenile offenders would be. Also, I was surprised to hear the students say to each other that they felt the staff was there to help them. By not having the locks and bars Glen Mills has been able to accomplish something that juvenile detention centers will never be able to, and that’s build trust.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention states that the most effective programs include several types of interventions and strategies that complement one another (Centers for Disease, 2009). Glen Mills incorporates this approach by utilizing humane treatment, high technology educational opportunities, and rehabilitation through positive peer pressure all working together to create an environment for change (Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars, 2000).
Glen Mills really took a unique approach towards it students. Understanding that a population of its offenders coming in came from gang life they were able to utilize that concept to address their needs. Students adhere to strict rules of behavior using a system of peer monitoring. Students earn points for appropriate behavior and reporting infractions, eventually becoming accepted in the Bulls Club, which functions like a positive gang (Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars, 2000). I think that’s a fantastic idea and really makes a lot of sense.
At the highly profitable Glen Mills School, Director Sam Ferrainola relies on a capitalist system to provide for the school's expenses, including comprehensive staff benefits and student programs. Director Sam Ferrainola hopes to see more institutions using his approach with juvenile offenders without the use of locks and bars but to date the Glen Mills School remains the only educational institution of its kind (Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars, 2000). I don’t understand why no one else has bothered to use this school as a model. I know that the critics state the school is hard on their students mentally but their success rate is astounding and I can’t see how this model is psychologically worse than placing a child behind lock and key in a juvenile detention center.
"Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars." Films on Demand. Web. 24 Jun 2011. .
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, (2009). Youth violence: best practices of youth violence prevention — a sourcebook for community action Atlanta, GA: Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/YV_bestpractices.html
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