“They had to work very hard, a lot of these kids don’t come in with a lot of self-confidence or belief in themselves,” said Lisa Bruce, education supervisor for the southeast region with the Division of Youth Services. “Our programs and our teachers help provide a foundation, so we’re basically helping them build that foundation, then they take off from there.”
This year’s graduation ceremony for students from the Missouri Division of Youth Services Southeast Region was different than previous years explained Bruce.
“Due to the pandemic, we were not able to do the previous two years, so when this time came around and we saw the opportunity, we invited the previous ones too,” she said.
Bruce explained the MDYS assists troubled youth who are in residential or day treatment programs at places such as the Girardeau Center, Hope Center, Sears Youth Center and the Sierra Osage Treatment Center, to not only navigate daily life struggles and overcome addictions, but also to help them obtain their diploma or HiSTET so they can achieve future goals.
HiSTET is a high school equivalency test that replaced the GED in 2014.
The 2022 graduating class, according to Bruce, with 90 graduates was the largest class they have seen since they started the program in 2009.
“The majority of these graduates were not successful in public school for one reason or another,” said Bruce.
Education and treatment go hand in hand with these programs, Bruce explained.
“These young people are committed by the juvenile courts. Our program is about the treatment aspect but it’s also about the education because you can have all the treatment in the world, but if you don’t have an education, there is no place for you to go — so education and treatment are a 50/50 kind of thing,” she said.
Some students and parents gave personal speeches of appreciation during the ceremony. With a shaking voice, one father said, “this is a day I thought I might never see.”
There is one teacher for every 12 students, according to Bruce, “so they are able to fill in some of those gaps I think.”
For the combined three years of 2020-2022, the MDYS celebrated the success of 170 graduating students.
“This is what happens when you put a kid in a classroom and they are supported but also expected to give you their best,” she said.