A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for an expansion to the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program center in Arcola on Dec. 1 at 10:30 a.m.

The JJAEP expansion will include a new vocational shop and general education development classroom, according to a Nov. 21 news release from the Fort Bend County Juvenile Board. The JJAEP is an alternative education program for youths that have otherwise been expelled from their primary campus. According to the release, the program is centered around providing a “positive, supportive, therapeutic and structured learning environment,” where youth are provided “pro-social character development, right living skills, self-esteem, academic advancement, vocational awareness and recreational activities.”

In the release, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Kyle Dobbs said the project has been a personal goal of his for a long time.

“As a proud product of [Fort Bend ISD] and the assigned Juvenile Probation Officer at this site from 2004-2007, I saw the tremendous value in vocational education/training that our [Lamar CISD] youth gained at our Rosenberg JJAEP site,” he said. “Without the guidance and support of the Fort Bend County Juvenile Board, we would not have been able to turn this goal into reality for the youth of Fort Bend County.”

The Juvenile Board of Fort Bend County is composed of all the sitting district and county court at law judges, and Fort Bend County Judge KP George. The JJAEP in Arcola is a cooperative effort between Fort Bend County and Fort Bend ISD.


Construction costs and estimated completion dates had not been announced as of publication. A request for more information has been made and this story will be updated if it is returned.