Young men benefit from training school

I was upset at the article in the Des Moines Register on May 25 about the State Training School for Boys in Eldora. The attack on the school has begun and may, just like with the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, end with closing this needed facility.

Not all the facts were presented about the young men's education. They arrive at the State Training School having skipped a lot and moved from school to school. They are generally reading at about a second- or third-grade level. While there, they attend either Midland Park School or GED classes and many also receive vocational training in skills where they could find jobs once released.

Many graduate with high school diplomas and many achieve their GED. They gain reading levels, to fifth- or sixth-grade levels, about the national average. There is a lot of research showing that improved reading and education levels decrease the possibility of future delinquency.

Gov. Terry Branstad is concerned that Midland Park School is under the auspices of the Department of Human Services, rather than the Department of Education. What would it take for the governor, since he is so concerned, to put Midland Park School under the Department of Education?

These young men arrive at the State Training School with many previous placements in foster homes, shelters, group homes and detentions, which failed. They have several felony convictions. They leave with a better chance of becoming productive members of society.

Celia Hansen

Eldora