Graduating this week, Randy Dwayne May Jr.

He couldn’t imagine he would ever graduate from high school, or that he’d ever even have a chance. After being released from his second juvenile detention camp, Randy Dwayne May Jr. wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

Then came a knock on his door over the summer from Wendy Cholico, a Pupil Services and Attendance counselor from LA Unified’s Juvenile Hall/Camp Returnee Program which started at the district two years ago and is being expanded this August. The program follows up on students who have gone into the probation system and helps reintegrate them back into a school community—and get them a high school diploma.

Randy had already turned 18 and felt like it may be too late. He said, “I wasn’t sure if I was welcomed back at school.”

Cholico recalled, “His dad was so excited. He was at home, it was the middle of summer and they were not sure where he would enroll.” She checked with his former school. “His parents took him the next day to school,” she said. “They were always expecting him back.”

The counselor added, “It’s truly been an honor to assist Randy through the program. We got involved with him when he was released from the second camp and went to a third camp.”

This week, Randy is graduating from William J. Johnston Community Day School in San Pedro. “I am proud to be graduating,” he said.

It was in 9th and 10th grades at Carson High School that Randy first ran into trouble. He said, “I had some behavioral problems and was ditching [school].”

After a few months, he was assigned to Camp Kilpatrick on a burglary charge, and that lasted about eight months. Then he was assigned to Joseph Paige Juvenile Camp because of a probation violation. Another probation violation landed him in Camp Returnee where he connected with the LA Unified team of counselors.

“I remember a time when I saw five different judges and had five different probation officers, it was crazy,” Randy said when he spoke to the Successful School Climate Progressive Discipline & Safety Committee in April. He later said speaking about his school troubles in front of the committee was “one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.” But he had his counselors, Cholico and Michael Hinckley from LA Unified, at his side.

“I feel supported and safe,” Randy said. “It’s good to have people concerned about me and even go to my house to see how I’m doing.”

When Randy slipped up a third time, Hinckley set up meetings with Randy and his family to get them all involved. The counselors provide services to students who are in danger of educational failure.

Randy Dwayne May Jr. with his counselor Wendy Cholico.

“Looking back, it was the bad influences in my neighborhood that got me making bad choices,” Randy said. “People who were supposed to be my friends just weren’t looking out for me.”

Randy said, “Mr. Hinckley helped me get back into school, and my parents got a call from him again to check in on me. We talked about going to a job fair and staying on the right path.”

Hinckley said, “We talked about Randy being resilient and have to give him full credit for what he accomplished, going back to school after he turned 18 and continuing to strive to get a high school diploma. I give full credit to Randy.”

Jesus Corral, the senior director of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, said success stories like Randy’s are becoming more common because of the youth transitioning model that is being developed at LA Unified. “This is helping exiting youths from camp and reintegrating them with their schools,” Corral said. “We are stabilizing youths and having them transition back in whatever the best setting there is for their success.”

Corral said more than half of the youth in the juvenile camps are from LA Unified schools and they are providing transportation and job training to eliminate as many barriers as they can to help with their education. He said the program is being replicated throughout the country at other school districts.

For Randy, the program helped get him to graduation; something he thought was elusive only a few months ago. He has been out of a camp since last November.

“That’s the longest I’ve been out of camp for a while,” Randy said. At graduation, his family and his counselors all attended. The counselors are going to help him enroll in Los Angeles Harbor College. He is thinking about going into the military.

“And then I want to go to college to be a probation officer,” he said.

Randy Dwayne May Jr. talks about meeting graduation requirements after being in three juvenile camps.

LA Unified is expanding a Camps to College program that helps students coming out of juvenile detention camps get back into school and graduate.

Since the program launched two years ago in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Mental Health Department and the Los Angeles Probation Office, it has served 1,189 students. Most of them have come from the South District (299); the fewest have come from the Northwest District (73).

The Camps to College program is currently located at the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center. In August it will open at the Harris Newmark Continuation School just west of downtown LA, and the district hopes to replicate it in more locations.

“We are not opening a new school, but creating a model that is changing the face of youth transitioning from juvenile camp so they can reintegrate to school and get all the services they need to stabilize,” said Jesus Corral, senior director of the Los Angeles County Probation Department who is working closely with LA Unified on the transitional program. “This is a model we have been working on for quite some time. We are transitioning youth into another school or alternative school based on their needs in a very individualized basis.”

More than half of the students in juvenile youth detention camps are from LA Unified schools. “It is more important now than ever to work together and divert youth from the juvenile justice system and open doors for youth coming out of the juvenile justice system,” said Corral, who on Tuesday addressed board member Monica Garcia’s Successful School Climate Progressive Discipline & Safety Committee.

From LAUSD

“We can replicate this in all the other local districts to help these students be successful,” said Erika F. Torres, director of Pupil Services and Drop-Out Prevention and Recovery in LA Unified’s Student Health Services.

When the program expands to Harris Newmark in August, it will include probation department support, mental health experts and Public Service & Attendance counselors as well as other school support.

Jesus Corral, LA County Probation Department

“I see this like a triage,” Torres said. “We will assess their needs and put in place the supports they need for successful graduation. It’s a pathway for youth to welcome them back.”

One of the recent students helped by the Camps to College program who spoke Tuesday was Randy Dwayne May Jr., a senior at the William J. Johnston Community Day in San Pedro. He talked about being sent to multiple camps for multiple parole violations and a burglary charge.

“I remember a time when I saw five different judges and had five different probation officers, it was crazy,” Randy said. “It was the bad influences in my neighborhood that got me making bad choices. People who were supposed to be my friends just weren’t looking out for me.”

He credits his LA Unified counselor, Michael Hinckley, with keeping a check on him, and he just completed the last of four classes he needed to graduate.

“Now I can graduate at the end of the year, and they talked to me about staying on the right track,” Randy said. “Being in the program keeps my mind off things from my neighborhood, and I feel supported and safe.”

He said this stretch of time since his probation ended in November “is the longest I’ve been out of camp for a while.” He wants to join the military and then train to be a probation officer.

His counselor said, “I give Randy full credit for what he accomplished. He went to camps three times and still strived to get a high school diploma even after he turned 18 so he can do something great in life.”

Right now, the program has three full-time counselors, six placement counselors in probation camps and six ongoing counselors. When the program expands in August, it will do so with the existing staff.

“We want to eliminate all the barriers that may keep the students from succeeding, and so we work with the entire family,” Torres said. The program also involves training with the parents and provides youth transportation to the school if necessary.

Helene Cameron, principal of Central High School/Tri C and who has had students in the program, said it helps the students beyond graduation. “This provides new opportunities and ideas for the next part of their lives.”

Torres recounted one student who called her up and asked for help after being in five different camps. She helped him figure out what credits he needed, and he asked, “Can I walk across the stage with a cap and gown?” After completing the coursework, he recently came into the office to get his diploma, she said, because he will be in Central High’s graduation ceremony.

“We like seeing the county mental health services, probation and all these different agencies come together to see fewer kids in camp and more at graduation,” said board member Garcia, who helped push for the program. “We like leading and learning. Well done!”