The DYS Education Initiative continues its strong Partnership with BreakFree Education, a national organization that partners directly with juvenile justice agencies across the country, providing the resources, training, and networks they need to make school relevant and meaningful. DYS youth find these learning activities engaging and teachers leverage these interdisciplinary resources to teach across content areas so that students can apply, reflect on and demonstrate their learning. 

The BreakFree Initiative for February was Unbound, a month-long readathon for students in secure settings. BreakFree sponsors a national readathon competition for schools to participate in, hosts weekly challenges, and offers many prizes and rewards for schools and students that participate.

The BreakFree initiative for March is Unleashed. This Science and STEM initiative will engage youth in the concepts of force and motion. They will learn about the life of Granville T Woods, the inventor of the figure 8 roller coaster. Students will have the opportunity to apply their STEM skills through the design and building of their own roller coasters.

The  Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) has been a partner to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) since 2003, creating access to high-quality secondary and post-secondary education, career exploration, and workforce development opportunities for youth in the care and custody of DYS. CES is helping to equip an especially vulnerable population of young people with the tools they need to see their world, and themselves, in a new light.