Juvenile Center

Berrien RESA provides basic core classes, as well as special education support and services.

Each student is academically assessed upon entry into the Juvenile Center, and instruction is tailored to meet the needs of each student.

In addition to academic instruction, the Rational Behavior Training program, offered through the Berrien County Juvenile Center, is employed within the school program. This methodology emphasizes basic social skills, social-emotional learning, and cognitive behavior training in order to prepare students to successfully transition back into their communities.

Teachers and Juvenile Center staff members work in concert to ensure that behavior issues are properly addressed, minimized, and create a learning opportunity as it relates to acceptable and productive classroom behavior.

This program addresses the academic needs of students placed within the Community Intensive Treatment Family Services Program through the Berrien County Court Family Division.

Students receive academic instruction from two special education teachers, provided by Berrien RESA. These teachers teach from their classrooms at the Berrien County Juvenile Center. Students receive their education in their individual homes via the internet. The program utilizes many Google education tools, including Google Meet, Google Classroom, and other resources. Berrien RESA provides each student with a Chromebook laptop and a “hotspot” for internet access.

Upon entering the program, each student’s academic records are requested from previous schools or placements. A class schedule is then designed to address the individual needs of each student. These class schedules are shared with the student’s home school to ensure each student is taking the appropriate classes to meet their graduation requirements. Students are able to earn academic credit while in this educational program.

2023-24 Annual Education Report
(2022-23 School Year): 
Berrien County Juvenile Center

January 31, 2024

Dear Parents and Community Members:

We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2022-23 educational progress for the Berrien County Juvenile Center. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and state laws. The school’s report contains information about student assessment, accountability, and teacher quality. If you have any questions about the AER, please contact your child's principal for assistance.

The AER is available for you to review electronically or you may review a copy in the main office at your child’s school.

For the 2023-24 school year, schools were identified based on previous years' performance using definitions and labels as required in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school is one that has at least one underperforming student subgroup in 2022-23. An Additional Targeted Support (ATS) school is one that has a student subgroup performing at the same level as the lowest 5% of all schools in the state in 2021-22. A Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) school is one whose performance is in the lowest 5% of all schools in the state or has a graduation rate at or below 67% in 2021-22. Some schools are not identified with any of these labels. In these cases, no label is given. Our center-based program has not been given a label.

It is important to understand that the achievements and milestones our center-based students make each year are much different than those goals of a typical K-12 school system. Specific goals are set for students during their Individualized Education Planning meeting, which is held annually. Goals can include making eye contact, tying shoes, using utensils, learning how to wait in a line, understanding consequences or even managing their own behavior, in addition to academic goals. While simple for some, these types of goals represent an entire year’s worth of practice, patience and determination for others. These students (and their teachers) deserve our highest praise. 

State Law Requires That We Also Report Additional Information:

1. Process for assigning pupils to the school

2. The status of the 3-5 year School Improvement Plan

3. Brief description of each specialized school

4. Identify how to access a copy of the Core Curriculum, a description of its implementation and explanation of the variances from the state’s model

5. The aggregate student achievement results for any local competency tests or nationally normed achievement tests

6. Identify the number and percent of students represented by parents at parent-teacher conferences 

7.  For high schools only also report on the following:

• The number and percent of postsecondary enrollments (dual enrollment)

• The number of college equivalent courses offered (AP/IB)

• The number and percentage of students enrolled in college equivalent courses (AP/IB)

• The number and percentage of students receiving a score leading to college credit

We are very proud of our students and look forward to achieving even more goals next year!
 
Sincerely,
Eric Hoppstock
Superintendent

Additional Required Information:

Description

In cooperation with the Berrien County Family Court, Berrien RESA operates an education program at the Juvenile Detention Center. The program provides educational services to students who may remain in the Center from a few days to 14 months. Students at the Center range in age from 9 to 17 years old. Additionally, Berrien RESA provides educational services to those students 17 years of age or older who are incarcerated at the Berrien County Jail.

Placement Process

Students are placed in the Center through the sentencing of the Berrien County Juvenile Court.

Status Of The School Improvement Plan

Per the district's Extended COVID-19 Learning Plan, as adopted by the Berrien RESA Board of Education on September 14, 2020, and uploaded to the Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP) system, the program is in year two of its Educational Goals (formerly the School Improvement Plan).

Berrien RESA administers a variety of assessments to help determine student needs and progress. Students are assessed in grades 1-8 with unit assessments from the curriculum and M-STEP/MI-Access assessments. Students in 9th and 11th grade take the M-STEP and Michigan Merit Exam (which includes Work Keys and the ACT).

Core Curriculum

The curricula implemented at the Center is based on the Michigan Merit Curriculum and the Essential Elements.

For English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, the unit pre and post testing for the content area assist with implementation of the curricular material.  The program provides for the individual students special and unique needs.

Curriculum expectations and goals are included in each student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Copies of the IEP are provided to parents.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Lighthouse Education Center conducts scheduled parent/teacher conferences for Juvenile Center parents once a year. Parent participation is encouraged with notifications sent out throughout the school year, through parent newsletters and school calendar.

Parent Teacher Conference Attendance

Year	Fall-Number Attending	Spring-Number Attending	Fall-Percentage Attending	Spring-Percentage Attending
2021-2022	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2022-2023	7	4	50%	57%

 

Parent Involvement Plan

The Berrien Regional Education Service Agency Board of Education strongly encourages and welcomes the involvement of parent(s)/guardian(s) in all of the District’s educational programs that directly serve students. The term parent refers to any caregiver/guardian who is responsible for the academic, social and emotional needs of a child. It is recognized and appreciated that parents/guardians are the “first teachers” of their children, and that their interest and involvement in the education of their children should not diminish once their child enters the schools of the District.

Consistent with standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act and Sec.380.294 of the Michigan Revised School Code, the Board encourages parental involvement through: 

• Regular and meaningful communication between home and school;
• Promoting and supporting responsible parenting;
• Ensuring that parents have an integral role in assisting student learning;
• Encouraging parent participation as volunteers in schools;
• Including parents as full partners in the decisions that affect their children and families; and
• Fostering parent, school and community collaboration in order to enhance student learning, strengthen families and improve schools.

In accordance with state law, the Superintendent shall provide a copy of the District’s Parent Involvement Plan to all parents via the student handbook, at parent-teacher conferences, Individual Education Plan meetings and through parent groups.

Adopted: February 9, 2005

Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate/College Equivalent Courses:

For the past two years, no students participated in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Dual Enrollment or College Equivalent Courses.