An essential component of the Charter School program is to prepare a child for a successful transition from the County s residential facility to the next educational setting a public school. Comprehensive academic counseling is provided to students several weeks before their scheduled release. Staff also coordinate and monitor the student s re-entry to the public school. To ensure maximum success when a Charter School student leaves the institution, staff continues to monitor, counsel and advocate for each student for at least six months. Open-enrollment charter schools, which provide a meaningful educational alternative to traditional public schools, were created by the Texas Legislature in 1995.
Charter schools enjoy fewer state regulations than public schools.
Focusing on academic performance and outcomes, charter schools allow local communities to create educational environments designed to meet specific student and parent needs. The objective is to enable high school dropouts who have been adjudicated of a criminal offense to gain competency in vocational trades and to acquire critical job and leadership skills. The goal of Harris County YouthBuild is to help these young people become productive, law-abiding citizens. Harris County received one of approximately 50 federally-funding grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the YouthBuild Program. In addition, all participants receive basic vocational training in general construction trades.