Elementary School Supports and Services to Increase the Academic Achievement of Students in Foster Care
Elementary School Supports and Services to Increase the Academic Achievement of Students in Foster Care

Author: Omar Zavalza

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13:

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There is a significant achievement gap for students in foster care, evidenced by low academic performance, high rates of absenteeism and disciplinary referrals, and an overrepresentation in special education programs. Research indicates that the difficulties students in foster care face span domains of social, emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. Consequently, it is important for schools to recognize and respond to the unique needs of students in foster care to provide the necessary resources for academic success. The intention of this study was to examine and better understand what programs and support services elementary school principals believe are most effective in assisting elementary schools students in foster care achieve academically. The research was conducted within a southern California elementary school district and the research sample included eight interviewees. Participants responded to questions about perceptions of the current programs and support services provided to foster care students in their district and their insight on additional programs and supports needed to foster a positive learning environment and ensure their continued success. The participants revealed three major themes that they have experienced through their work with students in foster care. These themes included Social and Emotional Supports, Consistent Communication and Collaboration, and Continuous Professional Development. Future research in this area might provoke policymakers, district, and school leaders to assist in enhancing the educational experiences and outcomes of students in foster care by recognizing their differing needs and guiding teachers to ensure all students move forward in equitable ways.

A Silent and Significant Subgroup
A Silent and Significant Subgroup

Author: Michelle Lisa Lustig

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13:

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Children and youth in foster care comprise a significant subgroup of low performing students in public schools today. The current climate of accountability has created the need for education and child welfare professionals to address the unique needs of students in foster care to increase academic achievement. Additionally, recent legislation in California, such as AB490 and AB 1808 modified the Education Code and Welfare and Institutions Code. These mandates include a requirement that the unique educational circumstances of foster children are addressed by child welfare, public education and the judiciary. This study explores strategies and interventions that may increase the academic achievement of students in foster care. The study compares academic outcomes for foster youth receiving tutoring services from three different programs. These findings speak to the impact of supplemental academic support services and the practical application of these services for this vulnerable population. The findings serve to inform public education, child welfare and Foster Youth Services programs throughout the State of California and across the United States.

School Stability
School Stability

Author: Kourtney Bernard-Rance

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 7

ISBN-13:

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Children in New Jersey's foster care system are more likely to remain in their home school when they enter foster care, thanks to a law passed in 2010, giving these fragile children improved educational stability. The law allows children to remain in their "school of origin" when they are placed in foster care, even if the foster home is in a different town. Prior to 2010, New Jersey's school residency laws prohibited that from happening. The intent was to minimize the disruption foster children experience, giving them the continuity of remaining in a familiar school with friends, teachers and other school staff they know. Foster youth, in general, struggle more in school than other children. Having educational stability can help improve their academic success. Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) conducted a survey of child welfare stakeholders to learn how the implementation of the law was affecting children. The survey found that most respondents believed that the law has helped reduce school disruptions for children in placement and has benefitted children's academic performance, physical and mental health, and relations with friends. The foster home's distance from the child's original school was the most common reason cited why children changed schools. Most survey respondents reported that the process for deciding whether a child should remain in the home school was working fairly well. However, they did identify ongoing issues, including difficulty arranging transportation and communications issues. This brief report summarizes the findings from the study and provides key recommendations for the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) and family courts.

The School's Role in Supporting Students in Foster Care to Complete School
The School's Role in Supporting Students in Foster Care to Complete School

Author: Christina M. Casillas

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13:

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School administrators and district leaders are charged with improving educational achievement for all students. At the sdecondary level, this includes increasing the number of students who graduate with a high school diploma. Students in foster care are even less likely than the general high school population to graduate from high school. This study examines the high school educational experience of adults formerly placed in foster care in addition to the school's perceptions of their role in supporting high school students in care. The research questions guiding this study were: How do adults emanipated from foster care perceive their educational experience and to what do they attribute their performance? How do high school personnel perceive students in foster care? How are school support systems utilized to ensure that students in foster care graduate from high school? Interviews with three adults emanicapted from foster care as well as three high school staff were conducted to gather firsthand accounts of the school experience. Data analysis employed the constant comparison method of grounded theory. Students formerly in foster care attributed their school success to their self-motivation to get a diploma, the need to right past wrongs, the pressure of looming adulthood and supports provided by the school. The school staff indicated that treating students equally, communicating with group homes and providing counseling supports and vocational training contributed to the academic success of students living in foster care. A key finding in the interviews with school staff members is their lack of knowledge regarding the laws and policies created to address the educational rights of students in foster care. Identifying the factors that contribute to a student-in-care's educational achievement will assist stakeholders in creating the necessary assistance to support these youth to complete high school.

Service and Program Needs to Support Foster Students Attending Community College
Service and Program Needs to Support Foster Students Attending Community College

Author: Chau Phuong Nguyen Dao

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13:

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There is little doubt that educational outcome for students who experience foster care is far below those of the general student population and that they may be disproportionately impacted by college practices, programs or services. In California over 50,000 children and youths are in out of home placements. It is estimated that approximately 12,000 current and former foster youth are enrolled in California's community college system at any one time. Children enter the foster care system as a result of extreme abuse or neglect inflicted upon them by their biological family. In California, only about one third of the cases where there is a substantiated report of abuse or neglect result in removal from the home, meaning that these are the most severe and difficult cases of maltreatment and neglect. This experience is then often compounded by the circumstances these children face upon entry into the foster care system. Once in the system, many experience multiple placements that require frequent moves from home to home and may also result in multiple forced school changes and consequent social and academic challenges. By age 24, foster youth experience significantly poorer education outcomes than the general population (Courtney et al., 2011). Increased educational advocacy for foster students among professionals who work with foster students have taken shape. In collaboration with the legislature, additional bills have been passed to help ease the access to student records and increase support services for foster students to continue schooling into the college and job training levels after high school completion. This increased attention came as a recent study of high school foster students demonstrated large disparities between not only foster students and the general student population but also foster students and other economically disadvantaged students. The community college sector is where the majority of foster students enter into higher education due to their financial situation as well as their academic unpreparedness. This study sought out to find the service and program needs of foster students attending a community college, using Mt. San Antonio College as an actual study site by investigating the following research questions: Umbrella question: For students with foster care experience, what are their service and program needs while attending community college? 1. What are the elements or characteristics of a foster youth resource center that has been active for 5 or more years? 2. What are the factors or information that professionals working with foster youth at non-profit agencies say are necessary for them to attend community college? 3. What information and/or services do foster students say should be included in a resource center to support foster students attending community college? According to the results of this study, the following that elements are necessary to demonstrate that the community college acknowledges and supports the efforts of its foster student population to attain a college degree. 1. Access Point for Connection and Engagement 2. Safe Common Space for Assistance and Acceptance 3. Access Point for Collective Voice 4. Provide Opportunities to Give Back 5. Provide Targeted Programming and Services In the end, this study recommends that a community college institute the following to ensure that the findings are involved: community cultural wealth promotion, ensure basic life necessities are available, and continued advocacy and networking on behalf of foster students. This study provides community college administrators a logic model to show them that building a resource center to support its foster students is possible and needed. Community colleges can be part of the solution in helping foster students increase college completion and improve their life trajectory.

Placed at Risk by the System
Placed at Risk by the System

Author: Andrea Zetlin

Publisher: Nova Science Publishers

Published: 2014-05-14

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 9781626180222

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The book's premise is that not only do children and youth in foster care comprise a population very much at risk for school failure but also that this group of youngsters is perhaps the most educationally vulnerable population in our schools. Much needs to be done, in a comprehensive and coordinated way, if we are to give these individuals the opportunity for educational achievement. Case studies of very young children to young adults ready to emancipate from child protective services are interwoven throughout the volume to illustrate the significant barriers that put them at risk of educational failure. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including specific issues associated with the educational plight of the birth through high school population, legislative efforts and efforts by the legal community to increase focus and oversight of the schooling experience, and strategic efforts by the schools, child welfare agencies, and other community partners to improve their practice and provide appropriate supports and services to enhance prospects for educational success and adult development.

From Foster Care to College
From Foster Care to College

Author: Royel M. Johnson

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2024-10

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 0807782572

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How do youth placed in foster care aspire to and access college? This book chronicles the lives and experiences of 47 college students navigating the challenging terrain of the United States’ foster care system. Through insightful, in-depth interviews, Johnson offers insight into the harsh realities of how our nationÕs education, welfare, and other social systems often intertwine in ways that diminish the potential and opportunities for these young people. Yet amidst the adversities, these stories resonate with themes of hope, resistance, and possibility. Guided by resilience theory and other asset-based concepts, Johnson sheds light on the protective mechanisms that enable postsecondary access and success, even in the face of towering barriers. Beyond exposition, this book is a clarion call to educators, school and university leaders, and child welfare champions to stand tall and act decisively. The goal? To transform the precarious circumstances of young people in foster care, and dismantle the obstacles that thwart their educational pursuits and dreams. Book Features: Employs critical and asset-based theories and concepts that recognize the agencies, desires, and possibilities of youth in foster care.Brings attention to the intersectionality of identities and social structures that shape students’ educational pathways.Identifies system failures across education and child welfare sectors and how they interact with one another.Presents findings from empirical research about risks and protective factors that influence success at critical junctures along the college-going pipeline.Offers recommendations for various stakeholders who seek to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of youth in foster care.

School, Family, and Community Partnerships
School, Family, and Community Partnerships

Author: Joyce L. Epstein

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2018-07-19

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13: 1483320014

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Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education
Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-08-30

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 0309170818

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Special education and gifted and talented programs were designed for children whose educational needs are not well met in regular classrooms. From their inceptions, these programs have had disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minority students. What causes this disproportion? Is it a problem? Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education considers possible contributors to that disparity, including early biological and environmental influences and inequities in opportunities for preschool and K-12 education, as well as the possibilities of bias in the referral and assessment system that leads to placement in special programs. It examines the data on early childhood experience, on differences in educational opportunity, and on referral and placement. The book also considers whether disproportionate representation should be considered a problem. Do special education programs provide valuable educational services, or do they set students off on a path of lower educational expectations? Would students not now placed in gifted and talented programs benefit from raised expectations, more rigorous classes, and the gifted label, or would they suffer failure in classes for which they are unprepared? By examining this important problem in U.S. education and making recommendations for early intervention and general education, as well as for changes in referral and assessment processes, Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education will be an indispensable resource to educators throughout the nation, as well as to policy makers at all levels, from schools and school districts to the state and federal governments.

Sharing Data Between Child Welfare and Education to Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth in the Foster Care System. Policy Brief
Sharing Data Between Child Welfare and Education to Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth in the Foster Care System. Policy Brief

Author: Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 4

ISBN-13:

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When a child is placed in the state's foster care system because of a parent's abuse or neglect, the state--represented by teams of social workers, lawyers, judges, foster parents, and other caregivers or guardians--steps into many aspects of the parental role. Too often, though, the state's representatives are attempting to fulfill a parental role without the information a parent would have at his or her disposal to make informed decisions. The lack of timely, accurate, and useful information is particularly acute when it comes to making good educational decisions on behalf of students placed in the foster care system. As students move from one placement to another (and thus one school or district to another), their school records often lag behind--along with key information about their educational achievements, gaps, talents, and special education needs. Health and social service needs that are part of these records also can be delayed or lost. As a result, students may not receive credit for courses they have taken, be placed in an inappropriate classroom for their grade level, or repeat courses or grades unnecessarily. In addition, students may forego or interrupt additional services to assess and respond to special educational, health, or social service needs. Under the auspices of Ready to Succeed, an initiative funded by the Stuart Foundation, representatives from state and local education, child welfare, and court systems have identified several ways to improve the flow of information between systems to help children in the foster care system receive the services and support they need. This brief presents their recommendations. (Contains 1 footnote.).