BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- They hand over their pencils and line up.
They face forward, their arms crossed over their chests.
They are quiet, save for one teen-age boy's slip-up.
"Were you doing something wrong? Were you talking in line?" teacher Angie Higgins asks.
The youths then file out of class, just a few paces behind a line of girls crossing the hallway to their next class. No whoops of recognition, no snickers. Just order.
About 32 youths eat, sleep, and receive counseling at Mary Haven Rehabilitation Center in Lebanon after being found guilty of a criminal offense.
They also come here to learn.
Three Lebanon City Schools teachers are assigned to help students get back on track academically. The kids, ranging from 13 to 17 years old, stay at the secured facility in the Warren County Probate- Juvenile Court Complex for an average of five months. The Mary Haven center also is a division of the court and is separate from the detention center.
Many of the teens come into the court-ordered program without much faith in their ability to achieve in the classroom.
"A lot of them struggled in school. We have very bright kids in here who did not do well in school because they were suspended or skipped (school)," she said. "They're amazed that they can actually do the work they do here."
Teachers juggle a variety of skill levels in class because of the students' ages and abilities.
"It's as close to a one-room schoolhouse as you're going to get anymore," Mrs. Higgins said.
They also strive to boost students' confidence because many of them think they are "dumb," she said.
"That's from years and years of thinking they're a failure. I don't know why a lot of them are here. I don't ask," Mrs. Higgins said.
Lindsey Gebhart, 15, of Franklin, was barely passing before she came to the facility.
She was in and out of the detention center and violated probation after she was charged with delinquency-grand theft auto and breaking and entering, she said.
Since coming to the center in September, Lindsey said she has gotten As, Bs and Cs while getting the extra attention she needs. "I have a whole different perspective on it," she said during a recent interview. "At first, I felt stupid. When I first got here, I gave up. I basically just sat during school and moped. (Then) they were telling me basically what I wanted to hear, that I could do it."
Lindsey was released from the center Wednesday.
Many of the youths have fallen behind because they have substance-abuse problems or have had trouble with the law. Some also have histories of family dysfunction, abuse or victimization, said Chris Tuell, clinical director of the center.
"Where the average stay in juvenile detention is from five days to two weeks, they live here, go to school here," Mr. Tuell said. "Hopefully we can establish a pattern while they're here. Students are held accountable for their actions."
Last year, 99 youths went through the program, most of whom were from Warren County. Some students come from Brown, Highland, Clinton and Fayette Counties, he said.
The center receives about $250,000 in state and county funds annually, Mr. Tuell said.
When a youth is ordered into the facility, parents must undergo an examination to determine the amount of support they're able to pay, said Aaron Wright, probate and juvenile court director. Students are assigned to separate pods, where they sleep, gather and meet with therapists assigned to their area, he said. The facility is secured and monitored 24 hours a day.
Therapists also meet regularly with youths and their families. There are few fights, but there are disciplinary problems which staff members try to address, officials said. Anytime there is a serious scuffle, youths are taken to the detention center.
After youngsters leave the rehabilitation center, they are still monitored as part of the facility's after-care programs for three months, he said.
"If we have any hope of turning them around to being productive students, providing some aspects of nurturing and self-development is the way to do it," Mr. Tuell said.
