Without education the world is much smaller. Without education a person’s chances of living a successful life is lower. The ability to read is the first door needing to be opened. All other education possibilities are opened or closed by a person’s ability to read.

St. Peter’s Home for Boys in the past years primarily used the Detroit Public Schools for education.  Boys over sixteen, who were two or more grades behind in school, were place in our Self Employment in Arts Program and worked toward a GED. The Self Employment in Arts (SEAP) program was formally changed to the Literacy Education and Arts Program (LEAP)  in the fall of 2004 All boys coming to St. Peter's Home for Boys are now placed initially in LEAP. They are only enrolled if education staff feel the student can benefit from Pubic School enrollment.

Most of the boys coming to St. Peter’s Home for Boys were two or more grade levels behind. Most of the boys, who were enrolled in the public school, were not able to make any significant progress toward high school graduation.  They continued their prior school behavior patterns of school truancy, refusal to participate in class, suspensions and expulsions.

Over the years our success rate with the high school dropouts in obtaining their GED has been between 35-40%.  We have been concerned with the 60% who are not successful in obtaining their GED.  Most of the students unsuccessful in obtaining their GED have also been unable to complete the art skills’ program. 

The consequence of not being able to read has a dramatic effect.  Imagine being enrolled in 9th grade but you read at the 4th grade.  You may not be a statistical high school dropout, but you are only a high school student on paper.  You become one of the many no shows.  You become a truant, you get suspended, you spend half a school year waiting for administrative transfers, or you wait for placement in special-education classrooms.  You simply fall further behind until you final find no purpose to keep attending school.

The inability to read is not just about academics.  The damage goes much deeper.  It is more than an intellectual and knowledge void.  It becomes an emotional and social void.  A sense of defeat and hopelessness is part of their daily feelings.  The choices for the future are few.  Drugs and alcohol numb the pain.  There is no self-confidence.  There is no self-esteem.  There is no point in trying to be more.  The shame of illiteracy is a constant companion. An illiterate teenager will become a high school dropout.

A boy entering St. Peter’s Home for Boys is evaluated educationally.  His school history is and school records are used to formulate an educational plan.  The typical student coming to  the agency has severe reading and math difficulties.  To place such a student into an academic program means placing him in a failure situation.  St. Peter’s Home for Boys will not place any student into an academic program unless the student has the capability of success.