Jessica Rinaldi

Penikese Island School

Located on an otherwise unihabited island off the coast of Massachusetts , Penikese Island School is a school for boys between the ages of 15-18 who have gotten into trouble with the law. For many of the island's students it is their last chance before going to jail. Enrollment is limited to nine boys who live, work, and attend school on the island. There is no electricity so students must chop wood and read by the light of kerosene lanterns. The chores and the remoteness of the location offer the boys structure and discipline away from the temptations of their lives at home.

Ricky Eaton, 16, (L) Jerry Sarro, 17, (C), and staff member David Dersham (R) meditate during morning yoga in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 29, 2005.
   
Boys chop wood in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 28, 2005. Since there is no electricity on the island the boys must chop wood to heat the one room school house and the house in which they live and study.
   
Jerry Sarro, 17, brushes his teeth by the light of a kerosene lantern in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 28 2005.
     
  
Jeremy Scholten, 17, stacks the wood he has chopped into a basement so that it can be used to fire the stove in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 28, 2005.
   
Derek Frohock, 17, (L) adds a piece of cheese to his sandwich while staff member David Dersham serves lunch to Ricky Eaton, 16, (R) in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 28 2005.
   
Jeremy Scholten, 17, reads by the light of a kerosene lantern during study hour in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 28, 2005.
     
  
Staff member Abigale Chapman reaches for a student's medication in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 29, 2005. All medication is kept in a locked room and distributed to the students who need it shortly before or after each meal.
  
Jeremy Scholten, 17, looks up at the ceiling during class in the one room school house in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 28, 2005.
   
Andrew Clark, 15, looks over his shoulder while mowing a field in Penikese Island, Massachusetts June 29, 2005.