School Demographics
I teach at Virgie Binford Educational Center in Richmond, VA. My school teaches grades 6-12 in Richmond Juvenile Detention Center (RJDC). RJDC is a medium level weapons free security facility that houses children ages 12-19 years old. The children in RJDC are there for a number of reasons. They stay is typically 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on their sentence by the courts. The longest serving students are those being charged as adults for their crimes. Those children can be there for up to 2 years because the circuit court in Richmond moves at a slower pace than the juvenile courts. 90% of the students in RJDC require mental health services. 90% of my students come from a low socioeconomic background and live on public assistance. 75% of the students there are labeled as exceptional education or require services to address learning disabilities. 20% of the students are property of foster care system. These students are in the facility waiting for placement in a group or residential home.
All of the students have been exposed to problems such as crime, lack of parental involvement, poverty, drug and sexual abuse. The majority come from home environments that are not supportive of learning. Therefore, it is important that I make class as exciting and fun as possible to maximize student learning during the 45 minutes the students are in my class.
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