Students attend a graduation ceremony at the Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany. Many of the youth received their high school diplomas, GEDs and vocational certificates. Two students received college degrees including an associate’s degree and a master’s degree from post secondary institutions in Oregon. (Courtesy of Beth Conyers / Oregon Youth Authority)

Oregon Youth Authority takes developmental learning approach to education
When Joy Koenig first began her role as the principal of Three Lakes High School and Riverside High School in 2016, the schools offered two vocational programs — a drug and alcohol prevention program and a work crew program.

Since then, the Albany-based schools — part of the Oregon Youth Authority’s correctional educational system — have added about 30 programs to help incarcerated students receive vocational certifications, GEDs and high school diplomas and college degrees.

The schools are two of seven high schools within the Oregon Youth Authority system, the state’s agency overseeing roughly 900 youth convicted of crimes under age 18. After completing treatment, youth leave with their records expunged, and some leave with multiple credentials designed to reduce their chances of returning to the correctional system.

So far in the 2024-25 school year, Oregon youth in custody have received at least 59 high school diplomas or GEDs, six college degrees and 206 professional licenses or certifications.

“Education is power,” Koenig said at the schools’ recent graduation reception at Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany. “Education is money. It is the confidence booster that allows them to say I have a degree, and when they leave they can make a living wage.”

Youth spend an average of nine months in custody, with many vocational programs condensed into three-month courses — enough time to become certified nail technicians, natural hair care specialists and forklift drivers.

It’s been a tumultuous few months for the agency. Gov. Tina Kotek fired the authority’s longtime director in March after records revealed the agency had failed to review investigations into thousands of abuse complaints, and a Marion County grand jury is investigating conditions at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility for boys in Woodburn, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported. At least 39 men who were formerly incarcerated have filed civil lawsuits alleging they were abused by the facility’s chief doctor between 2002 and 2016.

The Oak Creek facility and the Jackie Winters Transition Program next door serve girls. While MacLaren, the largest youth authority facility, has been the subject of the most legal action, a former Oak Creek employee faces a criminal trial in November for custodial sexual misconduct alleged to have occurred in 2021.

‘Oak Creek saved my life’: Youth discuss education, goals

The Oregon Youth Authority adopted a developmental approach to learning in 2014, which prioritizes creating positive environments to help youth develop educational skills and skills related to emotional regulation, decision-making and cooperation. Many youth in Oregon custody have histories of alcohol and drug use, theft and assault.

Seventeen-year-old Zoey had been in and out of correctional custody and rehab before coming to the Oak Creek facility. The Oregon Capital Chronicle is only identifying her, and other youth mentioned in this story, by their first names for privacy reasons and to comply with department policy. At the department’s request, the Capital Chronicle also isn’t providing details of the crimes these youths committed, as their records will be expunged upon completing treatment.

“I thought I’d just drop out and that I’d get some little job,” she said. “I just never thought that I’d actually have a plan for my life outside of here. But now I do.

She now has her GED, as well as CPR, first aid and construction apprenticeship certificates. Her goal is to become a tattoo artist.

“I didn’t think I would actually want to be sober for the first time since I was 13, which is crazy to me,” she said.

K.J., who is 18, also wants to be a tattoo artist. She recently earned her GED and is interested in pursuing photography and psychology.

“Something about me is I never really finish what I start,” she said. “Not because I can’t, but because I get bored and I don’t want to… I’ve learned that I can do it and I can motivate myself and ask for help.”

Jennifer Falzerano, the youth authority’s statewide education coordinator, said connecting youth to educational programs is the biggest indicator of reducing recidivism.

According to the RAND research organization, incarcerated individuals who participate in correctional education programs have 43% lower odds of returning to prison than those who do not.

“Our kids usually don’t have those moments of feeling proud of themselves,” Falzerano said. “They don’t have those moments of positive accomplishment. They often have struggled in a public school setting and have been kicked and they didn’t feel like they belonged.”

That was the case for October, a 17-year-old who was heavily involved in drugs before entering Oak Creek two years ago. But last week, October became the first in her family to graduate high school.

“I’m doing really well,” she told the Capital Chronicle. “Oak Creek kind of saved my life.”