This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Those 857 Desks? A Message for the Candidates
The New York Times, Washington, D.C. – June 20, 2012
Tourists trying to figure out how to reach the capital’s monuments and museums on Wednesday found something on the National Mall that was not on their maps: 857 student desks arrayed near the Washington Monument.

Norfolk graduation coach tries to keep kids on track
PilotOnline.com, Norfolk, VA – June 24, 2012
A 16-year-old in long brown bangs, jeans, slippers and a gray hoodie stood at the curb in Ocean View. State law said she should be in school, but the tardy bell at Granby High had rung two hours ago, and it wouldn't be the first time if she skipped classes altogether.

94% of Students at Dropout Prevention High Schools Accepted to College
Texas Insider, Dallas, TX – June 20, 2012
Texans Can Academies, a charter high school organization serving dropouts and potential dropouts, today announced that during the 2011-2012 school year 94% of their 1,255 graduating seniors were accepted to college.

Juvenile Justice

Council explores expanding alternative peer-youth court
The Inquirer, Pennsylvania – June 21, 2012
DURING HIS Chester High School days, Brian Foster was disrespectful, often got into fights and eventually found himself in trouble when his friends went to settle a score for him.  He wouldn't snitch on them.  But then he got involved, at first reluctantly, with the Chester Upland Youth Court, in Chester.

Treatment is the goal in juvenile justice system
Marion Star, Marion, OH – June 17, 2012
Some see the juvenile justice system as a way for youth to "get off light" for serious crimes. Those who work in the system see it as a way to preserve the futures of Marion's troubled youths.

Foster Care

Young Utahns moving away from homelessness
The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake County, UT – June 19, 2012
The shelves and cabinets around Samantha Czlapinski’s West Valley City apartment remain mostly empty, leaving the 19-year-old with a blank slate and a renewed shot at living as an honest-to-gosh adult.

Teen Pregnancy

U.S. teen pregnancy declines to historic low
The Wall Street Journal, Chicago, IL – June 20, 2012
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy announced Wednesday that the U.S. teen pregnancy rate fell 40% to a historic low between 1990 and 2008.