Ready to Succeed in the Classroom: Findings from Teacher Discussion Groups on Their Experiences and Aspirations Teaching Students in the Foster Care System

Abstract

In the fall of 2009, a team from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning and funded by the Stuart Foundation convened six discussion groups to explore how teachers and foster children and youth interact in the classroom to improve educational outcomes. The discussion group sessions were held in three California counties--Fresno, Orange, and Sacramento--and covered the following topics: (1) Unique barriers that children in foster care experience in the classroom; (2) Strategies for welcoming a new student known to be in the foster care system; (3) Quick assessments to gauge a student's level and progress; (4) Wish lists--what teachers would like to see from their schools, districts, and communities to help them be more effective with this population; (5) Strategies for engaging families and caregivers of foster children and youth; and (6) General advice for other teachers who have foster children in their classrooms. This document captures teachers' ideas, aspirations, and experiences in each of these areas, followed by an appendix listing some resources that individual teachers have found helpful. It is designed to be a conduit for the voices of teachers who have struggled to help foster children succeed in school--so that they can share what they have learned with other teachers, whether they are novice or veteran. The discussions focused on the experiences of classroom teachers and covered elementary, middle, high school, and alternative school settings. In addition, several administrators attended the sessions and spoke from their perspectives as former teachers as well as administrators. Finally, one teacher was a foster child herself, and several had become foster parents and were able to contribute from those perspectives as well. Appended are: (1) Resources; and (2) Examples of Formal and Informal Assessments. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This report was prepared for the Stuart Foundation and the Ready to Succeed Leadership Team.]