It seems obvious that keeping kids in their home school with their peer group – a concept known as “school stability”– is a key ingredient in the recipe for academic success for students in foster care.
Research shows that on average, children lose four to six months of learning each time they change schools. This is especially acute for high school students, who run into issues obtaining the credits they need to graduate or may have to re-take classes due to coursework alignment issues. For highly mobile students, this means they’re too often treading water or falling behind, making it that much more difficult to end the cycle of disruption that places unnecessary hurdles in their path to a successful adulthood.
If the problem is obvious – being “in the system” can make it hard for children to get to school, stay in school, and thrive – the answer is also straightforward: make it easy for them to do so.
Click here to read the whole piece by Michelle Lustig, Ed.D, MSW, PPS
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