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| Reading Reduces Recidivism |
| By Elaine Dohan |
| Published: 11/26/2001 |
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The youthful offenders of today, without significant intervention, will become the adult offenders of tomorrow. Christine Fiechter, Assistant Director of the Youth Advocacy Project, a public defender agency representing children in Roxbury, Massachusetts, has stated, 'School failure has been universally recognized as a precursor to antisocial and self-destructive behavior in adolescents and young adults. The link between educational failure and delinquency is undeniable." Unfortunately the nation's prisons and jails are already full of thousands of low level offenders who are unable to read. Stuck in low paying jobs or having no employment at all, many offenders return to crime, thereby continuing the cycle of recidivism. A number of prison systems across the county are attempting to educate illiterate adult offenders to reduce recidivism. Learning to read for the older student is even more difficult than when they were children. For many, their cases went undiagnosed, and they have memories of years of failure in this area. In addition, work schedules, inevitable reassignments, and lack of appropriate reading programs all contribute to their difficulties. A Justice Department study (September 1993) states that 'research provides ample evidence of the link between academic failure and delinquency, and it recommends a return to intensive, systematic phonics as one important step to reducing delinquency.' Two programs designed to address the issue of illiteracy within the criminal justice system have been developed in Oakland County, Michigan, and Middleton, Massachusetts. Reading to Reduce Recidivism, Oakland County The Reading to Reduce Recidivism Program or 3R's was established through a vision of Circuit Court Judge Fred Mester. Judge Mester had observed over the years that a majority of the offenders appearing before him were unable to read. Until they could read he reasoned, they could not be expected to get better jobs and change their lives. Judge Mester decided to take action; he secured seed money, volunteers and a coordinator to run the program. Each of the volunteers was trained at the Michigan Dyslexia Institute in the Orton Gillingham method. The training was intense, consisting of twice weekly, four-hour sessions which ran over seven weeks. In exchange for the training the volunteers agreed to tutor offenders for a minimum of 172 hours. In order to reinforce the lessons provided by the tutors, students are provided the opportunity to practice with the Reading S.O.S. (Strategies for Older Students) developed by Lexia Learning Systems of Lincoln, Massachusetts. The software is also based on the Orton Gillingham method and provides students practice in phonemic awareness which develops proficiency in sound-symbol correspondence and decoding. Students can be referred to the program in a variety of ways, the most common being as an order of their probation. The students referred to the program range in ability from minor decoding problems to severely dyslexic. Each student undergoes a battery of tests to determine the appropriate level of instruction and is then assigned to a tutor by the program administrator. There are currently eight tutors with the program; each volunteer on the average, donates 42 hours per month to the students. The Lexia program is an integral part of the 3 R's Program as it allows students to practice what they have learned at their own pace. The software also logs the amount of time a student spends on the computer, allowing the administrator to determine problem areas, or to be able to give credit to the student for others areas e.g. Community Service hours. The circumstances, which bring both students and tutors into the program, vary greatly. Here is the story of one tutor and one student. Nancy is a 'home schooling mom' who had successfully taught her first son to read and write. Her second son however was a different story. He could not learn to read no matter what strategy she employed. In an attempt to help him she decided to participate in a training course at the Michigan Dyslexia Institute. While there, she met the 3R's program administrator and decided to take advantage of the programs offer to provide the training in exchange for 172 hours of volunteer time as a tutor. Nancy has already completed 127 hours of her time and has had a great impact on her students like Tom. Tom was called for jury duty at the Circuit Court in Oakland County. To his displeasure he was picked for a weeklong trial. After the third day of the trial each juror was asked to complete a questionnaire, but because Tom was unable to read he could not fill out the form. In panic he did not appear for the fourth day of the trial, and returned to work as though nothing had happened. It was at work that Tom was found, handcuffed and placed under arrest. Fortunately, the case was assigned to Judge Mester, who placed him on probation and required that he enroll in the 3 R's program. Tom worked with Nancy for two nights per week for approximately one year. Once a week she used Reading S.O.S. (Strategies for Older Students) a reading software system developed by Lexia Learning Systems. Nancy indicated that 'Tom is very dyslexic. Although he has made progress, he knows he has a long way to go. He can read street signs and menus now, and he can read simple, high interest, low vocabulary books.' Tom's test results showed a 2.1 grade improvement from his pretest to his posttest. The program administrator feels Tom would have made faster progress if his use of the software had not been so sporadic. Tom asked about purchasing the software for home use which she encouraged because practice is essential to maintain and improve his skills. The 3R's Program looked at a variety of other software packages but felt that the program developed by Lexia Learning Systems, Inc, best served the needs of their students. Most of the students enrolled in the 3R's program use the Reading S.O.S. software to reinforce the skills taught by the tutors. Unfortunately, due to transportation problems and other conflicts, some of the students are not able to visit the computer lab and practice as often as they should. However overall the program participants have increased their reading ability by 2.3 grade levels. Incidentally, Tom has completed his probationary term and is no longer in the 3R's Program. Nancy tutored more than the required 127 hours, assisting several students in their quest to read. She purchased the Lexia software to use at home and her son has learned to read as well. Essex County House of Corrections, Massachusetts Rae Knowles works as a reading teacher at the Essex County House of Correction in Middleton, MA. She was born and educated in England, and while she was there became an adult educator, teaching in many different subject areas. After she immigrated to this country and before she obtained her green card, she volunteered to teach wherever she was needed. For the past six years that place has been prison. Currently, she is employed at Essex. Ms. Knowles' classes consist of approximately 10 men ranging in age from 22 to 45 years of age. Some of them cannot read at all. Others read at the first grade level, although some were able to complete the ninth grade in school. The students come to her class because they want to learn to read or because attendance affords them credit toward some privileges not otherwise available. None has to stay. According to Ms. Knowles, 'No one drops out because the program is unsuitable,' although attrition is high for other reasons, such as transfers, other work obligations, etc. The reading classes meet daily in a classroom, which has five computers. Each computer is loaded with Lexia Reading S.O.S. software. Because Ms. Knowles does not do diagnostic testing, all the students are introduced to the software, beginning with level one. She has found that although to some extent, each student has unique problems, all of them seem to benefit from the drills provided by the Lexia program. For some students she uses the Wilson Reading program one day per week, in conjunction with the software, which she uses daily. For others, the software alone produces improved readers. The one common thread seems to be that these men 'cannot break down words. They have good auditory skills and reasonable vocabularies, but they don't understand what they read. In some cases, they cannot even read the words. They have never been taught phonics.' 'One of our students most successful with the software is a Cambodian man who could read, but who didn't understand what he was reading. He had no trouble understanding spoken English, however. Using the software taught him what the words he saw before him sounded like. It helped him decipher. Now he is understanding what he is reading.' Ms. Knowles has tried various other programs, but without success. A typical response from her students is, 'I don't want to do baby stuff. Give me the hard program, Reading S.O.S.'. She observes that, 'they see the software as an adult approach which stretches them as it teaches them. They love it. Many spend long periods of time working with it.' From her point of view, Lexia reading software is excellent. Not only are reading levels improved, but also students can use this program on their own. For grown men this is important. Many of them have never used a computer before. They feel successful in several areas. Their reading is getting better, they can 'teach themselves' by following the directions without help, and they are having a successful first experience with computers. It is a winning combination. Although it cannot be denied that learning to read as an adult is a very long and arduous undertaking, there is clear evidence that it is a most important skill necessary to prevent crime and to reduce recidivism. In too many cases our school systems have not been able to meet the needs of all students. Programs designed for older learners to facilitate this task are in short supply. Lexia offers older students appropriate exercises tailored to individual needs. It helps to fill an important role in this endeavor. Christine Fiechter states unequivocally, 'It is our experience that the single most important crime prevention institution is the school system. Effective education prevents crime.' The flexibility of our "schools," in both location and curriculum materials will surely curtail further crime among our prison population. Resources If you would like more information about the Reading to Reduce Recidivism Program, call (248) 451-2320. Ms. Dohan is a freelance writer and retired middle school teacher from Massachusetts. She has a B.A. in English Literature, a Master's in reading and language and has been awarded numerous grants for development of Social Studies and English curricula. |
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