Chapter III: Methodology Setting the Context
6. Rights and Services
This section features rights and services to ensure youth in foster care get what they need to succeed in school. Included are multiple choices where teachers can find and review the key provisions in law, such as a Power Point slide show that can be downloaded.
Website Look and Background Images
Because children and youth in foster care have the potential to overcome the adversity in their lives, the author chose to include photos that she had taken that reflect beauty after a
struggle. Examples include the sunrise after the night, flowers growing in the desert, and butterflies as they symbolize new life and transformation.
Summary
This chapter described the process of developing a website to raise awareness and provide resources that teachers can access to support their students in foster care in the
classroom. The content of this website is a response to the need to create educator understanding of the foster care experience.
Chapter IV: Results
The website product of this project, http://www.nstillhope.com, is intended for any human service provider, particularly teachers, serving student who are in foster care. The website an ongoing work in progress. Content will be added and supplemented as the author further develops the site.
Screen shots of the website pages completed at the time of the submission of this project are presented in the remainder of the chapter. Brief descriptions of each page appear below each page.
Above is part 1 of the home page. This shows the viewer what they will find on the website.
These headings are linked to other pages on the website.
Above is part 2 of the home page. It introduces the author and reasoning for developing the website. Viewers can link directly to the research and findings.
This is part 1 of The Impact. This page directs viewers to research and key findings from the drop down menu or from the themed boxes.
Above is part 2 of The Impact page. It also summarizes the key findings from literature in the blue box.
Above is Info for Teachers. This is found under the Impact heading or by clicking on Understanding the Impact of Foster Care on Students button. This section identifies the problem. It shows statistics and a video.
Above is a drop down page called Youth in Foster Care; Embracing Respectful Language.
Above is page 1 of the Foster Care page. It has information about being a child in the child welfare system and important documents and links to learn more about how the child welfare system works.
Above is part 2 of the Foster Care page.
Above is the Tool page that outlines each of the tool components. It provides direct links to open each document.
Above is part 2 of the Tools page.
Above is a Glossary of Key Terms page found under Tools. This includes all of the key terms from the author's research and other key terms related to foster care.
Above is part 2 of Glossary and Key Terms.
Above is the Resource page. It is a directory of all foster care and youth in care related services.
Above is the Rights and Services page. This page has links to legislative factsheets, documents, and other related artifacts.
Chapter V: Discussion
Considering the disadvantages and issues of youth in foster care, the purpose of this project was to develop a website to assist teachers to discover how these children can be
supported and well cared for in the classroom. Teachers, across the board, demonstrate a longing to be better equipped to reach the needs of these children (The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning and Mental Health Advocacy Services Inc., 2008). Although the issues and disadvantages of youth in foster care is vastly analyzed in the literature, the literature suggests there is a significant need for increasing awareness among teachers of the foster care experience and how it impacts the well being of youth in care. As a new teacher, it is the author's
experience that knowledge of the foster care experience is not yet integrated into the preparation and training of teachers. Considering the disadvantages and issues of youth in foster care, the guiding question for this project was “How can teachers support and care for youth in foster care in the classroom?"
The result of this project is a website that adds to the current body of literature by
addressing the need for training educators about the impact of the foster care experience. This is a student population that can go largely unrecognized in schools. The information in schools and in teacher training programs regarding this population is scant. This website developed through this project - nstillhope.com- builds upon the existing literature, with a specific aim of
addressing student's needs in the classroom by sharing existing information at a single website location. It is the author’s hope that this site will help as a preventative tool, bringing teachers awareness of this unique population of students in a number of ways. The website is intended to answer questions teachers have about youth in foster care, provide them with suggestions on how to include youth in foster care in a supportive learning atmosphere.
Limitations of Project
The author acknowledges that the website completed for this project is only a beginning to providing information to teachers on how to help support youth in foster care. The author acknowledges that the validity of the website is limited to the author's own research, experience, and opinion.
Next Steps and Future Implementation
The consistency and central role teachers can play in the life of youth in foster care has the potential for a significant affirmative platform for future development (Zetlin et al., 2004). Since information on supporting youth in foster care in the classroom is limited in literature, broadening the scope to include other disadvantaged and at-risk youth populations might yield valuable results. Because children that have been exposed to high levels of trauma are more likely to encounter "problem or anti-social behaviors" (Zetlin and Weinberg, 2004, p.
920), strategies know or reducing risk, in general, would also be important future information to add to the website
There are many youth formerly in foster care who have attributed their success to having a mentor who helped them through negative life events (Pecora, 2012). Thus, investigating resiliency strategies of formerly institutionalized youth would be a contributing factor for improving the well being of children and youth in foster care (Berliner and Lezin, 2012). The author suggests further investigation of this content to add to the website in its future further development.
Conclusion
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."
Proverbs 13:12
This project is intended to bring to light the potential we as educators have to instill hope in the lives of our students. Adversity and the impact of foster care do not have to define the future of youth in care. May this project be taken to heart and compel teachers to find ways to help those in foster care by taking the time to stop, listen, and respond in a manner to assist these youth to overcome the obstacles in their lives. "Shifting the balance or tripping the scales from vulnerability to resilience…[this can happen as a result of] one person or one opportunity"
(Bernard, 1991, p. 22).
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Appendix A Sample Email Message
Email Sent to the Stuart Foundation
Response From the Stuart Foundation
Hi Naomi,
Thank you for reaching out to the Stuart Foundation and we are happy to have you use any of the resources on the website in your work. I also wanted to direct you to the WestEd website whose we worked with to create resources specifically for teachers. Here are some links below:
http://www.wested.org/resources/centerview-ready-to- succeed/http://www.wested.org/resources/ready-to-succeed-changing-systems-to-give- californias-foster-children-the-opportunities-they-deserve-to-be-ready-for-and-succeed-in-
school-full-report/http://www.wested.org/resources/ready-to-succeed-in-the-classroom- report/http://www.wested.org/resources/grappling-with-the-gaps-toward-a-research-agenda-to- meet-the-educational-needs-of-children-and-youth-in-foster-care/http://www.wested.org/wp-content/files_mf/139933025132079.RTSDiscussioncards.pdf
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Best,
Jennifer
Program Associate, Child Welfare
. . .
S T U A R T F O U N D A T IO N
500 Washington Street, 8th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel : 415.568.9381
Fax: 415.568.9815
www.stuartfoundation.org