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Karen Perry

Karen Perry

Norfolk Detention Center
Principal Meets Special Needs

Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

    Although at-risk students are sometimes overlooked or ignored, there are many success stories at the Norfolk Detention Center which bear repeating.
      So this May, the New Journal and Guide will begin running a monthly essay or feature story, which will be anonymously written by an at-risk student at the center.
    “When I look at this population of at-risk students, who are a part of our community, I believe we have to make sure they’re educated and have the same options as any other child in our community,” said Karen Perry, who has been the principal of the Norfolk Detention Center since November 2000.
Perry, an educator and former business owner with almost 25 years of experience, is talking about students many people would like to ignore or avoid. Students who have been ordered by a judge to the center.
      Whether it’s for petty theft, shoplifting, truancy, running away, or stealing a car, the underlying problem is often a situation at home that is not ideal. The result is a disconnect, which can resonate through all layers of the child’s life.
     “There has to be some violation of the law for them to be here,” Perry said. “The court brings the student here. Children need a lot of guidance and love. Without these things, they will sometimes gravitate to unhealthy and illegal activities that will often land them here.”
      The typical stay is 30 days. However, many at-risk students never return, Perry said. “The majority are released on probation with special programs to support them. They return to their home and to school. A small portion are assigned to a juvenile correctional facility in the Richmond area or the city jail. It will be totally determined by the judge.”
      Reading, writing and character development are taught at the center. All types of intellectual support is available. “We work to close those gaps by improving their reading skills, helping them to make better choices, and modifying some of the inappropriate behavior. We do a lot here but out main goal is to continue providing the same education they were receiving in their home school.”

Posted April 16, 2008

     Last week, Perry was at a fast food restaurant when one of her former students pushed a warm paper bag toward her along with some exciting news. The student, who two years ago had been ordered to the NDC for six months, now has a job. She is enrolled at Tidewater Community College. More importantly, she had shown up an hour early for work. She didn’t have anything else to do, she said.
      Most of the center’s success stories are similar, Perry said. “I saw another former student working in a retail store recently. She has her own apartment and is doing well. She is going to work each day.” Others have passed the GED test and moved on to college, jobs, and stability.
      Truant behavior is learned, Perry noted. So this means bad behavior is not always permanent. “There are countless students who leave detention and never return.   Countless students continue on with their education and never return.
“It takes time and reinforcement to change behavior,” Perry said. “Here, we try to provide them with the proper skills so they will not return to illegal behavior. We’ve had some who were in detention during their senior year. And they completed their graduation requirements while they were here. They received their high school diploma.”
      Students take reading classes each day from two reading teachers on staff. A well-rounded curriculum is offered to each student. Meanwhile, homework help is provided three nights a week by law students enrolled at Regent University. The foundation to a better life is a good education, she explained.
     “Probably 10-20 percent of the students go on to the city jail or a correctional facility. This behavior is learned and frequently the problem is that the student has disconnected from what is civil and law-abiding.
     “Our focus this year has been on parent involvement. We’re trying to help parents become more knowledgeable about how to transition their child back into the school.
      “We look at every child as a promise to be something better,” Perry said. “We just have to help them get there--help them find success.”

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