Nassau House by Terri Rimmer - originally published by the Nassau County Record, 1990

They enter as potential dropouts, sent by the court to shape up.

And 75 percent of them leave as high school graduates.

The Nassau Halfway House, opened in 1975, is a combination halfway house/school in Fernandina Beach, FL that provides boys ages 14 to 18 a 90-day stay to learn skills, get educated, and make friends.

Approximately 20 students attend the school, wear uniforms, and are taught by two teachers.

The House is part of the Nassau County School system which provides funds to educate the boys who come from all over Florida. They learn to build things like rockers and pirate's chests and they learn computer skills while also getting educated about current events.

Nassau House teachers are employed by the Nassau County School System and work with the teenagers as grades seven through 12 are represented in one classroom.

Shirley Parker, former superintendent and principal of the school in 1990, said the teens emerge as new people by the time they leave. When she was working there she still got letters from past clients.

Dave Brown and Charles ("Duke") Emmi taught at the school for over a decade. Brown taught shop for several years and Emmi started with the Nassau House when it opened.

Sarah Williams was a teacher's aide at the school in the 80s and part of the 90s and had a unique way of teaching the boys in what was the one-room schoolhouse.

The boys have access to computers, DVD player, television, library, audio/visual equipment, and Learn-To-Read tutors if needed.

The kids come to Nassau House as delinquent children who are ordered by the court to go to the house. There were no serious offenders in 1990 but now the program allows first-degree misdemeanors and third-degree felony offenses.

Many students cannot read and some have not been in school in two years. They have gone to public school and are disruptive, so their schools are not equipped to handle them or their needs.

At Nassau House, the boys are tested in the beginning and at the end of their stays on their abilities and skills through the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) and the Pierce Harris Assessment Test, which has been improved. The CTBS test is required by Florida of all students before graduation.

The test results before the boys leave are always higher and the shop teacher also tests the boys' vocational skills.

The real 'shining star' in the program is the GED diploma, which 75-80 percent of the boys earn before they leave the house. A client must be 16 years old to take the test.

A typical day starts at 6 a.m. when the boys get up for school. Half of them go to school during the first half of the day and the other half go to shop. In the afternoon, the two groups switch. After a break, the boys have a meeting to assess their performance.

They also meet with clinical social workers and group treatment leaders.

After group meetings the boys can play basketball, volleyball, baseball, or lift weights at the gym if they have behaved well that day. Each group leader works with six boys.

After that is dinner time, a quiet hour to write letters home and make phone calls and then one hour of free time.

The day ends with a house meeting.

On Saturdays, the boys rise at 8 a.m. and do heavy-duty house cleaning until 2:30 or 3 p.m.

In 1990 Nassau House had a 15-year success rate with every child.

Rarely is a child dismissed from school for the day.

The facility is located at 1781 Lisa Avenue and the telephone number is 904-491-9883.

(This article was originally published under my maiden name Persico).

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