Growing up in Bungalow Park, Atlantic City, was not easy for Matthew Skyes. He could have chosen a criminal lifestyle that landed many childhood friends in jail. Instead, Skyes graduated from Rutgers School of Law-Camden and has given back to the community by spearheading a program that helps teens in the juvenile justice system return to school.
The South Jersey Educational Reentry Program (SJERP), led by the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, is an innovative, new initiative offering free legal representation and educational re-entry services to assist court-involved youth in Camden and Atlantic counties who want to re-enroll in school.
Sykes, 25, developed the idea when he saw a lack of effective educational re-entry programs for juvenile offenders. He says Camden and Atlantic counties rank among the top five in the state for juvenile arrest rates and the number of youths not enrolled in school. Exacerbating this problem, New Jersey provides no court-appointed attorneys after these cases are adjudicated.
According to Sykes, his research proves that court-involved youth often experience school exclusion, improper suspensions and expulsions and difficulties collecting complete enrollment documents. Correspondingly, studies have confirmed that more than 60 percent of youth in custody drop out of school after their release.
“I want to remedy the school-to-prison pipeline at the point of school reintegration,” stated Sykes. “Many of the students who are introduced to the juvenile justice system have a very difficult time getting back into school once they come through the system.”
The “school-to-prison pipeline” refers to the over-representation of teenagers of color in the juvenile justice system. Skyes says that many times after teens reach a level of maturity, they want to return to school and may encounter barriers.
“More often, you have students in inner cities and impoverished areas who are minorities, and it just so happens that they are less likely to have an advocate in terms of education,” noted Skyes. “Even in school, there are times when a minor violation can lead to a suspension, and if there is no push-back from the student’s end, they could be at the mercy of the system.”
The program serves general education students ages 13 through 19 and special education students up to the age of 21. For more information about SJERP, go to www.breakingthepipeline.org.
