ORLANDO, Fla. — “Turning Pages,” is a juvenile literacy pilot program where University of Central Florida graduate clinicians help students develop foundational skills to read and write.

What You Need To Know

  • “Turning Pages” is for juveniles in Orange and Osceola counties who have criminal justice cases with State Attorney Andrew Bain’s office

  • 17-year-old Eugene Johnson was one of the first five graduates in April

  • Bain says Turning Pages is for at-risk youth to focus on learning 

The 12-week intensive program is in the Ninth Judicial Circuit in partnership with UCF’s Communication Disorders Clinic and AMIKids.

Carrie Loughran, a clinical instructor who created a program called iREAD, teaches UCF graduate clinicians and students SPELL — an intervention for reading, spelling and writing deficits.

“Over 80% of those in prison of the JDD do not read proficiently and contribute greatly to their involvement in crime,” she said.

“Turning Pages” is for juveniles in Orange and Osceola counties who have criminal justice cases with State Attorney Andrew Bain’s office.

Eugene Johnson, 17, was one of the first five graduates in April.

In order to figure out how to spell, he has to recognize individual sounds before connecting them to letters and words.

“For these kids taking standardized tests, they need to be able to effectively and efficiently go through these reading passages and answer the comprehension questions,” said Marisol Freytes, UCF graduate clinician.  

Johnson said he arrived to AMIKids, a nonprofit that works with juvenile offenders after an incident at school.  

During his time there, Johnson volunteered to participate in “Turning Pages.”

“I had no idea it could be so much fun trying to teach and promote literacy skills,” Freytes said.

Johnson says this program has become a solid support system for him and Freytes has taught him how to focus and pay attention. 

“Because most of the time I don’t know what I’m doing sometimes, (at school), I just sit there and just look at a board and be like, ‘I don’t even know what they’re doing,’” said Johnson.

The Literacy Project Foundation found three out of five people in U.S. prisons cannot read and 85% of all juveniles in the juvenile system are functionally illiterate.

Bain says Turning Pages is for at-risk youth to focus on learning, so they don’t feel school is against them, leading to fewer interactions with the criminal justice system and breaking the cycle of crime and incarceration.

“If you look at some of the most recent homicides when it comes to juveniles, a lot of them are middle school dropouts. They have very low GPAs and because of that they have found themselves in the streets,” he said. “And so school should be a safe place for these kids to go and when they’re struggling academically, it doesn’t become a safe place for them to go.”

Johnson says his teacher has become his mentor, but mostly his best friend. 

“You have changed a lot in my life,” said Johnson.

To date, he continues to work on his phonological and phonemic awareness skills.

“Keep your head up,” said Johnson.

Freytes says Johnson has taught her some things too — to pace herself and take into account students’ own interests so they can connect to the material.

Overall, Bain said he’s offering the pilot program to more youth during the fall.

He said he partnered with Orange County Sheriff John Mina and they used some of their forfeiture money to help him get started on the pilot program. The Orange County Sheriff's office clarified that Mina approved a request for $14,220 in forfeiture funds, and that was the extent of the office's involvement in the program.