Wednesday, September 15, 1999
Hillcrest offers one last chance
Chronic truants get 8 months of stability
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — Robert DeLaet races through the vocabulary exercise like an auctioneer.
“My gastronomical satiety admonishes me that it has reached that state of degradation which is inconsistent to my every dietetic integrity. Thus, I have told you I am hungry.”
When he's done, he beams proudly. His parents may have even more reason to smile.
The 15-year-old Price Hill boy was sent to Hillcrest Training School, a juvenile detention facility in Springfield Township, six months ago after robbing an elderly woman at a supermarket. Before Hillcrest, he skipped English class daily at Western Hills High School, consistently earning Fs.
“Hillcrest is clamping down on him, so now he has to be on the right foot,” said his father, Robert DeLaet Sr. “He's not as wild as he was. I just hope he'll stay responsible when he gets out.”
For many students who get into criminal trouble, incarceration can turn into a blessing because it helps trounce the truancy that led them astray, law enforcement officers and educators say.
Hillcrest's small class size, rigid discipline and a penalty-reward system aim to turn students around from their plunge into a life of crime. Hillcrest is their last chance; those who can't adhere to its programs face transfers to state detention in Columbus.
Most Hillcrest students are chronic truants who come from families whose frequent moves guarantee academic struggles, Hillcrest Superintendent Bill Hamilton said. Nearly a fifth are illiterate and almost all are over-age for their grade. About 40 percent are chronic drug users.
Most have seven or eight felony convictions and have failed probation, community service and other punishments.
“These are kids who have been identified as community's biggest headaches, and we're trying to change their behavior,” Mr. Hamilton said.
The school's success is mixed.
Proficiency test scores aren't impressive. Those who took the Ohio Ninth-Grade Proficiency Test in March did best on reading and writing, with 47 percent and 43 percent passing, respectively, and worst on math and science, with 10 percent and 21 percent passing, respectively.
But about 40 percent of students stay in school after leaving Hillcrest. And 20 percent of students who complete an after-care program stay out of criminal trouble. The average stay at Hillcrest is eight months, and students can earn GEDs there.
Stability is Hillcrest's ingredient for success, Mr. Hamilton said.
“You can't underestimate the importance of three meals a day and a good night's sleep,” he said.
Small class size also is key. The average student-to-teacher ratio is 15-to-1. The basic-skills program offers intense remediation and tutoring.
And administrators don't tolerate truancy and misbehavior. A reward-and-penalty system keeps behavior in check. Students must do such chores as landscaping, dishwashing and cleaning, earning stipends to pay court costs and restitution to victims.
Bad behavior brings bigger workloads, while well-behaved residents can earn home visits.
“Nobody has convinced these kids that education is important,” Mr. Hamilton said. “We have kids who get an A in class and they're embarrassed.”
To improve students' performance, Mr. Hamilton applied this summer to the Ohio Department of Education to convert the school — now part of Hamilton County Juvenile Court — to a chartered, private school.
The change will allow the school to experiment more with its curriculum.
Mr. Hamilton wants to add two hours to students' six-hour school day and implement an “experiential learning” philosophy in which students participate in more hands-on learning than traditional classroom lectures.
He also hopes to make the school performance-based, allowing students to leave Hillcrest only after they've met improvement goals.
That would suit Rickey Bryer fine. The 15-year-old College Hill boy had been suspended and expelled so many times that he and his mother have lost count. He typically got Ds and Fs in classes. At Hillcrest, he was an honor student with all As and Bs and a fondness for algebra until he was released last month. He participates in Hillcrest's after-care program.
“I had a lot of distractions at Aiken (High School),” said Rickey, referring to friends. “But I'm going to try to block them out. I think I'm over being a follower.”
Said his mother Inetta Meatchem, 38, of College Hill: “It's amazing. I don't know what Hillcrest did, but they sure did a turnaround on him. Before, Rickey was very lazy, rebellious, and he got an attitude if things didn't go his way. Now he's very helpful, he respects me, his attitude has totally changed. I'm proud of him, and I hope it sticks.”
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