Gulf Coast Trades Center / Raven School (GCTC) is a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Walker County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, near New Waverly. The school, operated by the nonprofit agency Gulf Coast Trades Center Inc.,Staff.
School sues to regain grant eligibility
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Friday February 16, 1990. A30. Retrieved on December 8, 2011. is in proximity to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

. The school, located within the Sam Houston National Forest, is a center for adjudicated children, who can learn construction trades. GCTC is an alternative to being committed into the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) (previously the

Texas Youth Commission The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) was a Texas state agency which operated juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission was headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin. As of 2007, it was the second largest juvenile correct ...

, TYC).Kuhles, Beth.
Neighborhood planned for low-income seniors, disabled
" ''

''. Wednesday August 5, 2009. Retrieved on December 8, 2011. GCTC functions as a contract facility for the state juvenile prison system.

History

The school first opened in 1971. Thomas "Mike" Buzbee Sr. served as the President and CEO of the center from 1971 until his 2007 death.Smith, Stewart.
Trade center president known for self-sacrifice
" '' Huntsville Item''. March 19, 2007. Retrieved on December 8, 2011. The school was named after the Gulf Coast Building Trades Council and the Houston Mayor's Office, the founders of the school's private component. Originally the school was affiliated with the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD). In 1988 the school ended ties with HISD.School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names
."
Archive

. Retrieved on December 8, 2011. From 1984 to 1988 the U.S. Department of Education distributed $1.3 million in

Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled i ...

funds to GCTC. In 1988 the U.S. Department of Education audited the GCTC and asked for the 1.3 million back. In July 1988 the department revoked GCTC's authority to award grants, with the revocation date retroactively being March 1984. In 1990 the GCTC sued the U.S. Department of Education in federal court, asking for the authority to distribute Pell Grants. In 2001 the report of the study "Less Cost, More Safety: Guiding Lights for Reform in Juvenile Justice" of the American Youth Policy Forum praised the GCTC. As of 2007 about 800 children were enrolled at the school. Most of them are between 16 and 19 years of age. In 2009 the students built a neighborhood for disabled people and low-income seniors in an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, near Willis.

Admissions

In order to attend the GCTC, a prospective student must be an "at-risk" adjudicated youth referred from a county or state agency that serves youth. Agencies which refer students to the GCTC include over forty county juvenile probation departments, the

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for investigating charges of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children, elderly adults and adults with disabilities. Prior to its creation in 2004, the agency had been c ...

, and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). Prior to the formation of the TJJD, the

(TYC) was the youth prison agency. Students admitted must be between the ages of 14 and 18. The school houses children who were unsuccessful in their

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

programs.

Academics

Each student takes academic and shop training. Each student builds four houses per year. Vocational courses offered by the school include automotive, bricklaying/masonry, building maintenance, building trades, business information management, culinary arts. The Raven School, established in 1998, provides academic educational services. Substance Abuse Programs and other counseling services are made available to students but are not mandatory. Licensed individuals contracted from an outside vendor provide services on a daily basis. Credentialed individuals carry either LCDC (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor) or LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor).

Campus

The campus is located in the Sam Houston National Forest. It includes the GCTC Administration Building, the Family/Life/Visitor Center, a gymnasium, eight dormitories, an infirmary, and a cafeteria. The Family/Life/Visitor Center includes visitor facilities and banquet and meeting facilities. In addition, the north side of that building houses the school's information technology and social services departments, while the south side of the building houses the counselor and the residential department managers and supervisors. The cafeteria opened in 1982 and can seat up to 200 people. The vocational training class area is located in the south side of the facility. The gymnasium opened in March 2004.Residential:
Gulf Coast Trades Center. Retrieved on December 8, 2011.

References

External links

* {{authority control Schools in Walker County, Texas Charter schools in Texas Public high schools in Texas Educational institutions established in 1971