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The goal of Success in School is to help children and youth in care to do better in school.
Alberta Education and Alberta Children's Services work together to improve educational outcomes and high school completion rates for children and youth in provincial government care.
Currently, educational achievement results for children and youth in care are below the general student population. More children and youth in care:
Success in School (SIS) is a framework to allow local partners to meet local needs. This helps school authorities and Alberta's Children's Services work together at the local level with:
The goal of these groups is to share information and plan for the educational success of these children.
To help at-risk children and youth, the ministries of Alberta Education and Alberta Children's Services are working to:
“Success in School for Children and Youth in Care” is an initiative by the ministries of Alberta Education and Alberta Children's Services. It creates a framework to support success in school for children and youth in care. For partners who are working together to support children and youth in care, this framework:
This is the basis for creating local regional agreements between:
Where appropriate, other partners can be an important part of these agreements, including:
This framework and agreements enable these partners to create a core team of support. This is to share information and engage in joint planning and decision-making.
Children and youth in care are a vulnerable group of young people. They can have extraordinary needs due to their circumstances.
The educational results (1997-2007) for children and youth in care compared to all Alberta students show:
The SIS initiative helps focus on these students in purposeful ways to improve educational outcomes.
Alberta Children's Services and Alberta Education drafted and revised the framework. This was based on:
The 4 demonstration sites field tested the draft framework. They noted strengthened relationships between children and youth in care and their core support team. These teams consist of the students, their caseworkers, teachers, caregivers and other professionals.
The SIS framework aligns with current practices. It provides more tools for the teacher and caseworker. Strategies within the framework include joint planning. This means including supporting partners in addressing the child or youth's needs. This allows teachers and caseworkers to be proactive and inclusive. This has been noted to save time by avoiding crisis management.
It is important to focus on all children and youth in care and not wait for obvious signs of difficulty. The provincial education data reinforces the need to be proactive and work together.
Learning challenges are more common in children and youth in care. These include language or academic delays and emotional or behavioural concerns. This is often due to the traumatic or neglectful situations that brought them into care.
It is important to encourage and acknowledge all children and youth in care to do well and to recognize their achievements. This creates positive impacts for them and their families when successes are celebrated.
Completion of these plans is not intended as a duplication of Individualized Program Plans (IPPs). The SIS plan has holistic goals. It also has information outlining who to contact and involve in specific situations. The SIS plan also recognizes that the entire core team has a role to play in implementing the plan.
The IPP and SIS plans can work together and refer to each other to prevent duplication. For example:
The IPP can refer to goals and actions identified in the SIS plan, as a cross reference
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Success in School Plan Template (PDF, 139 KB)
Working Together results in powerful relationships and collaborations. Collaborative relationships are critical for supporting young people in care.
One way to measure successful collaboration is when a child or youth in care is adapting and thriving in school and in life.
Creating a successful core team takes time, effort and commitment. The relationships that we create are strongest when built upon trust, knowledge and shared goals. Everyone involved is impacted in a positive way through the creation of powerful relationships and collaborations. Such relationships are critical for helping young people in care.
The student’s strengths, needs, hopes and dreams help to determine who should participate in collaborative team meetings. Team members surrounding a young person in care can include a variety of people such as the caseworker, caregiver(s), families, school point person, school principal, counsellor, classroom teacher and others as appropriate. Some students may wish to include a person they feel close to as part of their team, such as a trusted teacher, support staff, coach, friend or community member. By helping children and youth in care in a positive and proactive way, the team is not only helping to prevent crises in their lives but also helping the students become independent, capable, confident individuals who experience success in school and in life.
The following strategies are based on research and successful practices and are intended to assist communities and teams as they plan together to help young people in care.
Before the meeting, ask if there are cultural protocols that need to be followed and allow time for this in the meeting process.
Consider having refreshments or a simple snack for the team to help make the atmosphere more relaxed and informal. The student might like to help prepare the snack as a contribution to the meeting.
Consider the purpose of the meeting and invite only those who are necessary. Having too many adults can be overwhelming for students or create an atmosphere of discomfort for them and/or their caregivers. Larger numbers of participants can contribute to the length of the meeting and reduces opportunities to speak.
Take time to introduce each member of the team. When meeting for the first time, have each member tell a bit about themselves and their relationship with the student. Ensure the young person knows who everyone is and their role in helping with their success.
Talk about the purpose of the meeting. Describe everyone’s roles and the process that will be followed, including who is chairing, who will keep notes and who will act as timekeeper.
Remind the team that the meeting is about the strengths, hopes and needs of the student in care, and about determining how the team will work together to help the young person achieve their goals.
Encourage the young person to talk about their hopes, dreams and goals for their education and school-related activities. Be sure to listen and ask questions for clarification without reacting negatively or challenging what they are saying. Focus on the positive.
Share contact information and various ways of reaching each team member to ensure ease of communication.
At the end of the first meeting, set future meeting dates when applicable. Delegate a team member to arrange the meeting logistics and send reminders to the rest of the team.
When possible, combine the collaborative team meetings with other meetings such as student/parent/teacher conferences or IPP discussions. Caseworkers could arrange for concurrent plan discussions to occur immediately prior to, or after the school success meeting for the convenience of those involved. School staff would typically not be involved in these discussions.
Record decisions and agreed-upon actions of the team including who is responsible to follow up with each action. Provide copies to each team member after the meeting.
Allow time at the end of the meeting for questions or comments and to thank everyone for participating.
Make time at least once a year for the team to celebrate successes. In a relaxed setting, review the year’s accomplishments and discuss suggestions for the future. Take time to celebrate the successes of the students and the good work of the team.
Some acknowledgement of successes may be as simple as a note or a phone call, while other celebrations could involve a small gift or going out together for a special event.
Events such as completing high school deserve special recognition and the celebration of success should be a collaborative effort of the team.
Some regions host a lunch or dinner with guest speakers where they take the opportunity to honour each young person in care who has graduated with a special ceremony. Other regions give a gift of significance to the young person, including a cultural component where applicable, such as involvement of elders or a gift of an eagle feather or blanket. Youth in care should be supported by their caregivers and caseworkers to attend their high school graduation events as any other graduating student.
Adults in the lives of children and youth can help build positive and healthy relationships with them. Youth in care say:
Here are some ways to support educational success for young people in care.
Kind-spirited humour goes a long way with young people. It shows that you can relax and enjoy life and relationships. Find things to laugh about together. Some young people like telling jokes, and pre-teens and teenagers enjoy learning how to use humour appropriately in social situations. Laughing at yourself and your own mistakes shows humility and makes you seem real and more approachable.
Many youth in care express appreciation later on in life for adults that ‘hung in with them’ during difficult times in their lives.
Personal disclosures such as stories about your pet, favourite sports team or personal passions create opportunities to talk in general and can help identify common interests.
Then, if a crisis arises, your assistance will be welcomed.
Although abuse or neglect is often implied if in care, be wary of asking for personal information about the past that is not necessary to developing a meaningful relationship.
Making assumptions about how the young person feels or what they want will disrupt your relationship.
There is a lot of unavoidable bureaucracy that young people in care have to deal with. It is important to keep it simple and commit to promises.
Young people in care want to blend in and be treated like everyone else.
The young person has much more going on in their life than being a child or youth in care.
Young people often have semi-developed goals for their future. Even if you believe their dream is far-fetched (e.g., playing in the NHL, becoming a singer or movie-star), help break down their goals into smaller, more manageable tasks that get them involved at school or in the community (e.g., joining a hockey team, arranging voice lessons, taking a role in a school play).
Use clear language to communicate your expectation that they will graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education or work training.
Respectfully point out how choices or actions may get in the way of goals.
Prior to the first team meeting, explain the purpose of the meeting and who will be there.
Ask the young person if there is anyone they want to invite to the team meeting as personal support.
Look for opportunities to build on their strengths.
Use challenges as a learning opportunity.
As a team, remember to stay on task.
Work together to identify who can provide additional support.
Develop a plan with the young person about managing stressful situations.
Arrange a meeting between a young person and the appropriate cultural liaison for the school, when appropriate.
Talk with the young person about their experience of safety at school and in the community.
Identify who in the school will go out of their way to check in with the young person on a regular basis. This person should look for opportunities to make the young person feel special and unique.
Invite the young person to participate in school activities or events.
Be innovative in developing opportunities for participation.
Ensure the young person has various outlets for expression.
Connect with Learner Services:
Phone: 780-415-0783
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]
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