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The Office of the Superintendent Alternative, Adult and Continuing Education Schools and Programs (AACESP) administers educational services for juveniles and young adults who have been involved with the family or criminal court systems.

The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) provides secure and non-secure detention for juveniles in New York City pending adjudication of their court cases or transfer to New York State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS) institutions after disposition or sentence.

Three schools under the Board of Education's AACESP Superintendent, provide educational services to juvenile offenders:

  • Passages Academy serves students in secure and non-secure detention. The school provides intake, assessment, initial instruction and counseling at the Bridges Center in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. Comprehensive educational programs are offered at the Crossroads Juvenile Center in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn and the Hoizons Juvenile Center on Brook Avenue in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. Passages also provides educational services for students in the Department of Probation's Alternative to Detention (ATD) sites in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan.
  • Career Education Center (CEC) offers educational programs at four OCFS residential facilities in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. CEC also has 3 re-entry programs with OCFS for students living at home.
  • Community Preparatory School acts as a transitional school for students being released from custody.

The Department of Correction (DOC) is responsible for custody of those 16 years and older pending outcome of their criminal cases or when sentenced to less than a year. Educational services are provided in DOC facilities located on Rikers Island.

There are two Board of Education schools on Rikers Island in ten separate jails and fifteen different locations.

  • Austin H. MacCormick/Island Academy is designed for sentenced adolescent and young adult males. The HI IMPACT Incarceration Program(HIIP) boot camp school is conducted by Island Academy as well as the educational program for all adolescent detainees.
  • Horizons Academy enlists young adult inmates (up to the age of 21) in six different jails including the North InfirmaryCommand (NIC).

On any given day, BOE alternative schools serve 2,000 juveniles and young adults in detention/correctional facilities. Annually, over 12,000 will enroll in these schools.

The objective is to provide quality small group and individual instruction in implementing a meaningful transitional curriculum to meet the diverse needs of juveniles and young adults in detention.

Juveniles and adolescents receive five and half-hours of daily instruction. The focus of all classes is on skill development and scholastic success provided in a nurturing atmosphere. Programs feature a wide range of academic course work including ESL and Special Education services. Different school schedules include computer-assisted instruction, Family Group, physical education, arts education, law related education and co-curricular activities. Students are assigned to class based on interest and individual ability level. Schools use combined models of self-contained classes and departmentalized programming.

Upon discharge, BOE service providers--in conjunction with host agencies and community based organizations--implement a comprehension plan to assure timely transfer of students into appropriate educational placements.

NYC Board of Education licensed staff with a combination of content area expertise and affective adeptness needed to work with a very challenging student population are interviewed and employed at the schools.

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For further information, call Timothy Lisante, Office of the Superintendent, Alternative Adult & Continuing Education, at 718 752-7383 or e-mail: [email protected]