supporting successful school experiences for students in foster care through collaboration november...
TRANSCRIPT
Supporting Successful School Experiences for Students in Foster Care Through Collaboration
November 3, 2011
Michelle Lustig, Ed.D, MSWCoordinator, Foster Youth and Homeless Education ServicesSan Diego County Office of Education
San Diego County Office of Education
Increased awareness of ◦ Policy in California relating to the education of
children in foster care including: Historical context Statewide efforts Legislative efforts
◦ Local efforts in San Diego County that put policy into practice including: Interagency collaboration Interagency information/data sharing Direct service provision
Required Understandings: The need to be bi-lingual!
◦ The language of Education◦ The language of Child Welfare
Areas of mutual concern:◦ Academic Achievement◦ School Attendance◦ Response to Discipline Concerns◦ Continuity of Special Education Services◦ Communication◦ Emotional/Behavioral Needs◦ Confidentiality
Pilots began in 1973-3 school districts Education Code Sections 42920-42925 (2000) Provide support services to foster children who
suffer the traumatic effects of displacement from family and schools and multiple placements in foster care.
Services are designed to improve the children's educational performance and personal achievement, directly benefiting them as well as providing long-range cost savings to the state.
California Department of Education
San Diego County Office of Education
EC 42921 Requires that FYS Programs: Work with the child welfare agency to minimize changes in school
placement Facilitating the prompt transfer of educational records Provide education-related information to the child welfare agency to assist
the child welfare agency to deliver services to foster children, including, but not limited to, educational status and progress information required for inclusion in court reports by Section 16010 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
Respond to requests from the juvenile court for information and working with the court to ensure the delivery or coordination of necessary educational services
Facilitate communication between the foster care provider, the teacher, and any other school staff or education service providers for the child.
Share information with the foster care provider regarding available training programs that address education issues for children in foster care.
Refer caregivers of foster youth who have special education needs to special education programs and services.
San Diego County Office of Education
Direct Service Provision Tutoring Mentoring Educational Case Management Transition Services Emancipation Services
Facilitation of timely individualized education programs, in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), and of all special education services.
Establishing collaborative relationships and local advisory groups.
Establishing a mechanism for the efficient and expeditious transfer of health and education records and the health and education passport.
San Diego County Office of Education
The California Foster Youth Education Task Force is dedicated to improving educational outcomes for foster youth in California by bringing together subject matter experts representing more than 35 organizations and agencies to engage in cross-systems collaboration. Membership is open to anyone interested in promoting improved educational opportunities and successes for California's foster youth.
http://www.cfyetf.org/
http://fosteredconnect.org/
This interactive meta-website is for all stakeholders involved in improving the educational outcomes for children and youth in foster care. It is monitored by subject matter experts on the California Foster Youth Education Task Force.
Provisions contained in California Education Code, Welfare & Institutions Code and The Rules of Court:
Equal Access to curricular and extracurricular Best Interest Considerations School stability/school of origin Immediate enrollment (includes definition of
enrollment) School Selection-Least restrictive/best interest
considerations Educational Rights Holder/Education Surrogate Timely transfer of records
School District AB 490 Foster Youth Liaison Disputes Excused absences Credit Protection/Partial credits Course work protection Higher Education Provisions including year
round housing and priority class registration. Rules of Court
Aligned with AB 490 Monitoring who holds Educational Rights and
academic progress at every hearing
San Diego:◦History of: Leadership from Juvenile Court Collaboration Cross system information sharing
Interagency Agreement/MOU Foster Youth Student Information
System (FY-SIS©)◦School Success Project◦The Tutor Connection Program
History of Presiding Judges who took the lead
Standing Court Orders Chair of Foster Youth Services
Advisory Committee Creation of “I Can Go to College”
Events
Collaboratives◦ Regional Collaboratives brings together:
School district and school site personnel Child Welfare staff and administration
◦ Foster Youth Services Advisory Committee◦ School District Foster Care and Homeless Liaison Meetings
College Connection◦ Brings together:
Local colleges and universities County ILS staff CBO ILS staff Foundations Community partners (EdFund, Cal Soap, Credit Unions, etc.)
◦ Events College Connection Days Career Fair
Agreement across all child serving systems that information can and should be shared when legally allowable and in the best interest if the child:Interagency Agreement (2006/2011)
50 signatories Includes mandates as well as best practices and local policies
MOU Juvenile Court HHSA, CWS Probation SDCOE
Foster Youth Student Information System (FY-SIS©) Web based secure database which houses the health and
education information of children under the jurisdiction of Juvenile Court
Collaborative effort focused on increasing cross system knowledge and awareness while increasing the education and stability and outcomes for students in foster care.
Partners include:◦ Child Welfare and The San Diego County Office of
Education, Foster Youth and Homeless Education Services.
◦ Original funding from The Stuart Foundation, QUALCOMM, Inc., Promises2Kids Foundation, and Casey Family Programs.
Foster Youth Liaison team provides services to youth, serves as an interpreter or broker between child-serving systems, and provides assistance with all aspects of referrals for services.
Effort has sustainability plan
Outcome 2009 (1/09 start)
2010 2011 2012-thru 9/11
Total referred and served 675 1849 1895 348
Total # remained in same school for entire school year
273 343 343 N/A
% stayed in SOO –Best Interest during placement change
43% 34% 41% 59%
% changed to less restrictive setting
16% 28.5% 26.5% 54%
Special Education Assistance
67 260 282 56
Social Worker Knowledge 57% 72% 73% N/A
The Program:◦ Low cost/no cost program that leverages the expertise of partners
to achieve shared outcomes.◦ Partners include:
San Diego County Office of Education, Foster Youth and Homeless Education Services,
California State University, San Marcos, College of Education and Office of Community Service Learning
San Diego County, Health and Human Services, Child Welfare Services.
◦ Students in foster care receive tutoring that varies among subject specific, subject remediation and study skills/organizational methods.
◦ The tutors are future teachers, enrolled in CSUSM’s College Of Education.
◦ Tutors receive curriculum that covers the child welfare and foster care systems as well as the impact of child abuse, neglect and trauma on academic development.
◦ SDCOE oversees program administration and curriculum instruction, facilitates tutor/student match, and respond to issues about the child welfare and foster care system’s.
◦ Child Welfare provides the majority of student referrals to and performs background checks on all tutors.
◦ Achievement of the program’s dual goals is expected to produce a systemic change that will positively impact future generations of students in foster care. The dual goals are: 1. Insure that all students in foster care have the
educational support they need to succeed in school 2. Educate future teachers on the unique needs of these
vulnerable students so they are more empathetic prepared teachers.
Impact:◦ Over 1850 future teachers have participated in the program◦ Over 2300 students in foster care have received tutoring services. ◦ Academic outcomes include:
Students K-8: 98% improved in at least one subject area on Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (WRAT 4)
Students Grades 9-12: 79.5% improved their overall GPA. This % does not include students whose GPA’s remained unchanged.
The program has been recognized by the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Foundation Partnership Foundation as a certified community/university partnership and has received additional recognitions and awards locally, in California and Nationally, including a Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association.
Upper Darby School District
No Child Left Behind
• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001– All students must be Proficient or higher
in mathematics and reading/language arts by 2014.
– To ensure that districts/schools are on track to achieve this goal, states determine if districts/schools are making sufficient progress each year; i.e. Adequate Yearly Progress
Participation in the state math assessment Participation in the state reading
assessment Performance on the state math assessment Performance on the state reading
assessment Other academic indicators
Mathematics2002-2004
35%2005-2007
45%2008-2010
56%2011
67%2012 78%2013 89%2014 100%
Reading2002-2004
45%2005-2007
54%2008-2010
63%2011
72%2012 81%2013 91%2014 100%
Subgroups (N≥40)
• American Indian or Alaskan Native
• Asian or Pacific Islander• Black/African American non-
Hispanic• Latino/Hispanic• White non-Hispanic• Multi-Racial/Ethnic• IEP (Special Education)• ELL (English Language
Learner)• Economically Disadvantaged
AYP Summary
Building Attempted Subgroups Subgroups Made Made AYP
Aronimink 9 9 Yes
Bywood 25 24 No
Garrettford 21 21 Yes
Highland Park 26 25 No
Hillcrest 13 13 Yes
Kelly 17 15 No
Primos 15 15 Yes
Senkow 17 17 Yes
Stonehurst 21 20 No
Westbrook Park 13 13 Yes
Beverly Hills 33 32 No
Drexel Hill 25 25 Yes
High School 28 24 No
District 6 6 Yes
Total 269 259 96%
PSSA Math Proficiency – All Students2010 Target = 56 %2011 Target = 67 %
PSSA Reading Proficiency – All Students2010 Target = 63 %2011 Target = 72 %
Strong research-based core curriculum/interventions
Strong dynamic leadership Data driven decision making using multiple
data points Creative use of schedule and people Fidelity to not only the interventions
provided but the mission http://www.ncldtalks.org/content/
interview/detail/3351/
Arabio
Urdu Hindi Fulah Spanish Tamil Bengali Vietnamese French
Creole and pidgins Lao Punjabi Chinese Tigrinya Khmer Tagalog Hmong Mandingo
http://paayp.emetric.net/school/overview/c23/125239452/1960
All students: 79.6% Black students: 75.7% Asian students: 91.9% IEP students: 47.6% ELL students: 78% Economically Disadvantage students: 80.3%
All students: 73% Black students: 70.2% Asian students: 82.3% IEP students: 28.6% ELL students: 70.8% Economically Disadvantaged students:
74.9%
Team collaboration within school and out of school
Members of the team include:◦ School Psychologists◦ Social Workers◦ Principals◦ Teachers◦ Counselors ◦ Parents ◦ Case Workers
Academic and behavioral needs of students in foster care
Intervention programs Services necessary to support students in
and out of school Assessments needed to determine eligibility
for special education
Favorable outcomes for students in foster care require constant communication
Updates on progress monitoring are essential
Changes in the environment at home should be communicated to the school
Extra curricular activities require the encouragement of both school and home
There are many students in foster care who have been successful and have achieved academically in the Upper Darby School District
Michelle, Lustig, Ed.D, MSWCoordinator, Foster Youth and Homeless Education Services, San
Diego County Office of Education [email protected]
Dan McGarryAssistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Upper Darby
School District, [email protected]
Brenda KablerCoordinator of Psychological Services, Upper Darby School District,
Debbie StaubEarly Learning & K-12 Education Advisor, Casey Family Programs