The panel comprised of Rhyna Jefferson, Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Coordinator, Randy Nelson, Ph. D., President and Founder of 21st Century Research & Evaluations, Inc., Greg Johnson, Assistant Secretary of Prevention and Victim Services, Deputy Carlos Hill, School Resource Officer, Denise Butler, Franklin County School Board Member and Nina Marks, Dean of Franklin County High School.
Both Butler and Marks are candidates in the 2008 race for Franklin County Superintendent of Public Schools.
The panel imparted some vital information to the small gathering of less than a dozen (including members of the local press) concerning the role that education play in keeping our children from entering into the Juvenile Justice system.
One of the problems associated with zero tolerance as explained by panelist Greg Johnson is, “we have went from misbehavior to a misdemeanor on our children”, Johnson said. Once a child receives a charge, that charge follows him/her for the rest of their lives, preventing them from finding gainful employment and while in the system the child is not receiving an education. Johnson also pointed out, that in economic hard times the first programs to suffer the budgetary axe are training/education programs and programs designed for the elderly and children.
A kid without an education is more likely to commit crimes against the community as opposed to a child with an education.
According to Dr. Nelson, 70 percent of the kids coming into the Juvenile Justice system leave never to return. However, the remaining 30 percent trickles into the Department of Correction. “Franklin County needs this type of dialogue and discourse more than funding”, said Nelson.
Click on the video below to review more of what you missed.
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