This is the story of a student I worked with, "Jim." Jim's experience, unfortunately, is not unique. Children in foster care across the country struggle to succeed at school because of so many obstacles:
trauma physically affecting brain growth, not just socially and emotionally
constantly changing homes and schools causing them to continually fall behind their peers academically
being labeled as a foster kid causes others to treat them differently, often seen as troublemakers or difficult
not believing they have a future, let alone a purpose in life
I am trying to change these outcomes by bringing awareness to the needs of children in foster care. Attached you will find a report I wrote and sent to every state's Departments of Child Welfare and Education with the intention of opening dialogues of how each state can transform the educational outcomes of children in foster care in their state.
Meanwhile, I offer free, educational advocacy classes once a month for foster parents on my mailing list and in my community sites so they can become better advocates for the needs of the children in their homes.
Education Report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E1GSpfruBA4FkMe1CduFmhO1twjuClQ8/view?usp=drive_link