Breaking Barriers in Education: Bill Laforme’s ’24M Work with Juvenile Justice  

Bill Laforme ’24M received his Master’s in Education at Gordon’s Herschend School of Education. He is now an English and history teacher at the Department of Youth Services (DYS) Northeast Regional Youth Service Center, a juvenile justice center that seeks to help detained and committed youth receive the education they need to get their life back on track. We sat down with him to ask about his role and the world of juvenile justice. 

How did you end up working in the field of juvenile justice? 

I was a journalist for local newspapers for over 22 years, then I decided to make a career change. I didn’t intend to go into juvenile justice; I simply applied to a bunch of schools, and this one was the first that returned my calls. There are only 12 kids in the school, and there are two other programs in the building of a similar size. Our building is a very secure environment, with locked doors, central cameras and security staff because the youth have been charged and sentenced for a variety of criminal offenses.  

Working in a juvenile justice center is not for everyone, and if I hadn’t already worked for a long time or this was my first-ever job, it would have been really hard. But I immediately loved it. It has its challenges, but when things work out and you see the kids learning, it feels like you’re saving the world.  

What’s a project you did with your students that you’re proud of? 

I just finished a fellowship with BreakFree Education; they’re a nationwide cohort that helps teachers in juvenile justice come up with engaging ways to teach their students, BreakFree accepted me as one of 12 teacher fellows based on the understanding that each of us would create a unit for them that may or may not be used in their monthly national competitions. I ended up making a Martian colony newspaper project, and they liked it so much they used it for October’s national competition.  

Students from DYS facilities around the country submitted newspapers centered around a human colony on Mars. My class got an honorable mention in the competition. It was so cool how passionate they were about working together on the newspaper and to see their creativity come to light. 

What are some misconceptions people often have about juvenile justice? 

I think there’s a misconception that these kids aren’t smart. A lot of our kids are very intelligent. Maybe they just didn’t have the chance go to school, but they have a great brain waiting to be developed. We’ve watched kids learn how to read in our schools at age 16 and then jump ahead a few grades in a few months. Some of them have an intellect that would be indistinguishable from kids at private schools. We’re not a juvenile correctional center; we’re here to give them an education and opportunities for the future. 

Our students are also very resourceful. After all, they’re survivors of rough areas, rough homes and gangs. Not all of them are dangerous criminals. Sometimes you’re hungry, and you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, so you steal, and then trouble begins. Sometimes really good people get caught up in the wrong thing. You’d be sadly surprised how common that sort of thing is in the justice system.  

These youth have been let down by their previous education and the system, so my job is to be authentic and let them know that I care about them. I think of St. Francis who said, “Preach the Gospel; use words when necessary.” Once they know you’re for real and you care, it gets easier to teach them.    

Why did you choose to pursue your Master’s of Education at Gordon? Would you say your time at Gordon prepared you for your current role? 

Gordon’s always had a reputation as a college for good teachers and for being very reasonably priced and flexible. I was already working as a teacher when I got my master’s degree, so Gordon just helped me along. The program was very supportive, and my classmates were nice. When I broke my leg at one point and had to take a half year off, Gordon let me jump back in where I left off when I was better. Everything was right, from the price to the flexible night classes.  

As for the preparation I received at Gordon, it was tremendous. The reading my professors assigned in the graduate education courses, ranging from young adult literature to history, I use in my curriculum program all the time. The things I learned about the adolescent brain were helpful, too. But best of all I was able to directly apply what I was learning to my classes because I was teaching every day.