Teaching in a juvenile hall requires innovation, heart, and flexibility. Students arrive with a range of strengths, interests, and lived experiences, and often cycle in and out unpredictably. Traditional, rigid teaching models fall short here. Our learners deserve more—they deserve instruction that is personalized, responsive, and built around who they are and what they can become. That’s exactly what Verizon Innovative Learning Schools training has helped unlock.
Teachers and staff at Camille Creek and Crossroads Academy actively engage in professional learning experiences led by Digital Promise’s Verizon Innovative Learning Schools team and partner with a campus-based instructional coach to help them apply their learnings in the classroom, with an eye toward flexible, personalized strategies that leverage technology. The goal of these experiences is to help educators design and deliver instruction that integrates technology while increasing student agency and engagement. Teachers not only design for student choice in time, place, pace, and path, they also learn about and create choice boards, playlists, and micro-tracking to support personalization to meet the needs of their learners, whether that is on the main campus or at the juvenile hall center.
One of the most inspiring examples of this transformation is the work led by our career and technical education (CTE) teacher, Leauretta Boulding, at the juvenile hall center. Her journey as a teacher started with targeted professional learning focused on creating conditions and scaffolds to meet learner needs that then morphed into “self-driven, excited students, who feel they are not being left behind,” she explained. “They goal-set, have opportunities for redos, and have exclaimed, ‘Wow, this is what I have been missing!’”
With the introduction of playlist pedagogy, students are empowered to engage with digital and hands-on learning experiences that match their pace, interests, and goals. This means that no matter when a student enters the classroom, they can immediately dive into meaningful, career-connected content that honors their voice and choice. Created by the educators, the playlists are digital documents that contain various online and offline learning activities around an intended learning outcome that students can progress through at their own pace—having some control over the place, path, and time. In addition, playlists allow these educators to address learner variability by giving students options to demonstrate understanding and acquire knowledge.
Instead of following a one-size-fits-all curriculum, students at Camille Creek and Crossroads Academy engage in self-directed playlists that blend technology with real-world application. Since students are working through the playlists independently, teachers have more time to work with small groups and individual students. From digital arts to product design and entrepreneurship, this model helps students discover passions, develop technical skills, and build confidence in their ability to learn and lead.
The flex model enhances this personalized approach by providing a fluid structure that moves between teacher-guided instruction, digital exploration, and project-based learning. This flexibility is critical in a setting where student attendance can vary.
Rather than being seen as a challenge, the rotating student population is an opportunity to design instruction that is modular, relevant, and grounded in real-world application. Every student, regardless of how long they are enrolled, walks away having built skills in digital design, critical thinking, collaboration, and career readiness—tools that are immediately applicable to their futures.
Thanks to the support and resources provided by Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, education at the juvenile hall has evolved from compliance-based routines into a vibrant, student-centered journey of self-discovery and growth. The combination of playlist pedagogy and the flex model has not only reimagined teaching—it has reignited student engagement.
Students who once felt disconnected now walk into the classroom with purpose. They design digital art, build product prototypes, and develop job-ready skills that extend far beyond the walls of the juvenile hall. They leave the program with more than just academic knowledge—they leave with a renewed sense of self, possibility, and power.
At Camille Creek and Crossroads Academy, we believe that every student has value, brilliance, and the right to thrive. Through the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program, our educators are building on those strengths every day—proving that with the right tools, compassionate teaching, and a bold commitment to equity, we can transform education—and lives.
Learn more about Verizon Innovative Learning Schools and find out if your school or district is eligible to join.
