Birmingham–It’s 45 degrees on a late November morning. A group of high school-aged boys is assembled in rows on a sandy patch beside the parking lot of the Jefferson County Alternative School. They’re dressed in black sweatpants and sweatshirts. On the back of their sweatshirts is the word STAR. That’s the boot camp-type program to which these boys have been assigned. STAR is the last rung on the hierarchy of school disciplinary action, reserved for those who commit serious and repeated offenses.
