Brenda Bebout has spent most of her career teaching language arts and reading at Illinois Youth Center in Harrisburg, a medium-security Department of Corrections facility for juvenile offenders ages 13-20. In this severely overcrowded institution, where young inmates from all parts of the state spend an average of 11 months, Ms. Bebout focuses on equipping her students with the basic literacy skills so many of them lack. She has received several commendations at both the state and district levels for her dedicated work and excellence in serving this special population. Ms. Bebout recently served on a district committee that is redesigning the G.E.D. curriculum to better meet student needs.
1988 Southern Illinois University, B.A.
