Teachers' Ideas about How "Schools" Can Help Improve Educational Outcomes for Children and Youth in the Foster Care System. Ready to Succeed in the Classroom

Abstract

The issue of improving educational outcomes for children and youth in foster care is receiving some long-overdue attention, but the voices of classroom teachers have not been prominent in the discussions so far. To help fill this gap, a team from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning and funded by the Stuart Foundation convened six discussion groups in late 2009 to explore how teachers and foster children and youth interact in the classroom. The discussion group sessions were held in three California counties (Fresno, Orange, and Sacramento). This document is one of three highlighting "wish lists" from teachers who participated in these discussions. The wish lists capture teachers' ideas about what would help them serve children and youth in foster care better, at three different levels: within their schools, at the district or administrative level, and outside the school system (within the broader community). Their ideas for "individual schools" are summarized in this paper, followed by discussion questions for school staff, teachers and principals that are based on the teachers' wish lists.