Supporting Successful School Experiences for Students in Foster Care Through Collaboration November 3, 2011

Supporting Successful School Experiences for Students in Foster Care Through Collaboration Michelle Lustig, Ed.D, MSW Coordinator, Foster Youth and Homeless Education Services San Diego County Office of Education San Diego County Office of Education

Learning Outcomes 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

The Pathway of Cross System Collaboration 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

California: Foster Youth Services Programs 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

The Role of Foster Youth Services Programs (FYS) 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

The Role of Foster Youth Services Programs (FYS) cont’d 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

California Foster Youth Education Task Force 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/

FosterEd Connect 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.

Legislation Relating to the Education of Students in Foster Care 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

Legislation Relating to the Education of Students in Foster Care cont’d 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: An Overview: 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

Leadership from Juvenile Court : 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

Collaborative History: 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

Cross System Information Sharing: 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

School Success Project 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

School Success Project-cont’d 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 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%

The Tutor Connection Program 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.

The Tutor Connection Program cont’d 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: Insure that all students in foster care have the educational support they need to succeed in school Educate future teachers on the unique needs of these vulnerable students so they are more empathetic prepared teachers.

The Tutor Connection Program (cont’d) 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 Supporting Successful School Experiences for Students In Foster Care through Collaboration Upper Darby School District

Upper Darby School District Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) 2010 Performance

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

AYP Targets 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

Performance Targets Mathematics Reading 2002-2004 35% 2002-2004 45% 2002-2004 35% 2005-2007 45% 2008-2010 56% 2011 67% 2012 78% 2013 89% 2014 100% Reading 2002-2004 45% 2005-2007 54% 2008-2010 63% 2011 72% 2012 81% 2013 91% 2014 100%

American Indian or Alaskan Native Asian or Pacific Islander 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 Yes Bywood 25 24 No Garrettford 21 Highland Park 26 Hillcrest 13 Kelly 17 15 Primos Senkow Stonehurst 20 Westbrook Park Beverly Hills 33 32 Drexel Hill High School 28   District 6 Total 269 259 96%

PSSA Math Proficiency – All Students 2010 Target = 56 % 2011 Target = 67 %

PSSA Reading Proficiency – All Students 2010 Target = 63 % 2011 Target = 72 %

How the Upper Darby School District helps students grow… 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/ www.ncldtalks.org/content/interview/detail/3351/

Bywood Elementary School : 18 Languages Arabio Urdu Hindi Fulah Spanish Tamil Bengali Vietnamese French Creole and pidgins Lao Punjabi Chinese Tigrinya Khmer Tagalog Hmong Mandingo Of the 685 students at Bywood Elementary School, 212 have had some form of ELL services, 102 are current ELL students, 25 are 1st year out monitored students, 12 are 2 year out monitored students. Economically Disadvantaged 579 out of 685 are free/reduced lunch. Arabio (Turkish) Urdu (Pakistan) Fulah (niger/congo) Tamil (Indian Sub-cont) Mandingo (Senegal/Sierra Leone)

Ethnicity Statistics

Bywood Elementary School http://paayp.emetric.net/school/overview/c2 3/125239452/1960

Math Growth… All students: 79.6% Black students: 75.7% Asian students: 91.9% IEP students: 47.6% ELL students: 78% Economically Disadvantage students: 80.3%

Reading Growth… All students: 73% Black students: 70.2% Asian students: 82.3% IEP students: 28.6% ELL students: 70.8% Economically Disadvantaged students: 74.9%

Supporting Successful Experiences for Foster Care Students Team collaboration within school and out of school Members of the team include: School Psychologists Social Workers Principals Teachers Counselors Parents Case Workers

Working Together Teams Can Determine 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

Home School and Agency Communication 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

Case Studies There are many students in foster care who have been successful and have achieved academically in the Upper Darby School District

Contact Information Michelle, Lustig, Ed.D, MSW Coordinator, Foster Youth and Homeless Education Services, San Diego County Office of Education Mlustig@sdcoe.net Dan McGarry Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Upper Darby School District, dmcgarry@uppperdarbysd.org Brenda Kabler Coordinator of Psychological Services, Upper Darby School District, bkabler@upperdarbysd.org Debbie Staub Early Learning & K-12 Education Advisor, Casey Family Programs dstaub@casey.org