Texas High School Students Eligible to Receive One Credit by
Completing Academy Aimed at Reducing Social Distance Between Youth and Law
Enforcement
HOUSTON, Texas – July 1, 2014 – Beginning August 1, TAPS
students in Texas will be eligible to receive one credit toward high school
graduation. The Teen and Police Service Academy (TAPS), which launched in 2011
at Beechnut Academy in Houston, Texas, is an innovative program designed to
bolster the relationships between police and at-risk youth.
“One of our primary goals for TAPS Academy involves
connecting teens to police, authority, and their school environment, which
helps decrease the School-to-Prison Pipeline scenario our country is facing,”
said Dr. Everette B. Penn, TAPS Co-founder and Professor of Criminology at
University of Houston – Clear Lake. “Since 2013, the Houston Independent School
District has granted one credit toward graduation for students who complete the
curriculum. Now, the TAPS program can help any high school student in Texas
graduate while strengthening the relationship between at-risk teens and law
enforcement.”
Over the past three years, TAPS Academy has been successful
in narrowing the social distance between youth and police by graduating over
230 students. TAPS is currently offered in: Miami and Tampa, Florida; Columbus,
Ohio; Houston, Galveston, and El Paso, Texas and Ponce, Puerto Rico. The
program welcomes its 12th, 13th, and 14th academies this summer and has grown
to serve and provide support to communities in seven cities across the country
and into the Caribbean.
“We are excited about this accreditation.” said Shannon
Weigel, the Academic Coordinator of Beechnut Academy. “This is just one more
step toward getting our students closer to graduating high school and helping
them get a better start into adulthood.”
TAPS Academy is expanding as high school and juvenile
facilities across the nation are recognizing the benefits of the program. More
information about TAPS Academy can be found at TAPSAcademy.org or
Facebook.com/TAPSAcademy.
About TAPS Academy
TAPS Academy is an 11-week curriculum based program funded
by the United States Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS) Office. TAPS Academy’s goal of reducing the social distance
between at-risk youth and law enforcement is being accomplished through
learning, interaction and discussion between at-risk youth and local law
enforcement personnel. Through this program, TAPS students and law enforcement
personnel gain valuable insight about each other and the issues they face on a
daily basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment