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Where do we go from here?
Institutional Education
mental health needs, decreased teacher autonomy, poor reputation, high numbers of special education students, lack of security, and scarce resources. What impacts this long list of hurdles? Funding.
Of course, funding affects every aspect of the educational experience, including technology resources, curriculum, staffing, and compliance. Funding is a complicated topic in institutional education. School districts receive categorical By Emily Cummings funding, and institutions are provided with lump-sum Surviving a year with a global pandemic has placed strain funding. Categorical funding provides school districts with on all areas of our lives from changing the way we work various funds for specific areas within the districts. For and parent to adjusting to a life online. With the fear and example, a district is given a certain allotment of funds to change that 2020 brought to our lives also came an hire a certain number of kindergarten teachers. With opportunity to take an in-depth look at how we are lump-sum funding, an institution is given a lump sum of educating our youth and what changes need to be made money, and the principal is responsible for making those as we move forward. With over a million K –12 students funds last for the year. Funding is based on the prior (Public Education in Washington) in year's average enrollment taken from three Washington, the conversation about how days’ worth of data and also from the next we are educating incarcerated youth is year’s projections. The concerns here nearly nonexistent. Still, some are the frequently changing student wonder how we are serving our numbers in institutions and “How can we commit to most vulnerable population and staffing inconsistencies caused by how this age-old process can be frequent sick leave, medical offer appropriate, reimagined in 2021. leave, and resignations.
quality education to our In Washington, we have three In addition, funding dramatically rehabilitation facilities: Echo impacts the special education most vulnerable Glen Children's Center, Green Hill population. According to the population of students Academic School, and Naselle Washington State Department of Youth Camp. Across these facilities, Children, Youth, and Families, in 2021?” approximately 408 students are "Studies of incarcerated youth currently being served. The population indicate that up to 70% suffer from a in these facilities is incredibly transient; disability." These disabilities may be the average time served is 90 days. We serve diagnosed or undiscoverable, which is critical since 1,600 youth in a given year, and this includes duplicate school districts receive additional compensation for and single entries. students qualifying for special education, recognizing the increase in resources necessary to support these students. The education varies by facility. While some facilities However, institutional funding remains similar regardless employ worksheets and outdated curricula, others use of the number of students qualifying for special education online programs or in-person teaching with overwhelming services. caseload numbers and class sizes. Unfortunately, education in a rehabilitation facility includes a long list of adversities: gang affiliations, safety risks, class sizes, transition times, incarceration levels, incarceration lengths, recidivism rates, school district relationships,
Curriculum in Context ▪ Spring/Summer 2021
Funding for incarcerated youth is determined by the governor’s budget. Unfortunately, the biennial governor's budget hasn’t made any changes from 1995. The 1995 budget does not meet the needs of a 2021 school year.
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