Written by:
Reïna Y. Batrony Cine, LMHC, Vice President, Community Based Services
Joni Rivera, MSEd, Assistant Vice President, Educational Services

For years, education has been at the forefront of our work at The New York Foundling. In fact, it’s a promise we make to each child we serve in our Foster Care programs. Through our collective work opening Mott Haven Academy Charter School in 2008, designing a one of a kind tutoring program in 2014, and creating a college success initiative with CUNY and ACS in 2016, we have remained focused not only on the safety and well-being of those who walk through our doors, but on education and the bright future it holds.

We are excited for what’s in store for the students we work with across New York City.

One of our biggest initiatives for 2021 is expanding the reach of Road to Success. This work began last year and is growing even more. We are now tutoring students in kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. Our Afterschool Allies program, which began in 2019 as a small pilot program serving grades K-5, has now been folded into Road to Success, which will allow us to double our enrollment of elementary-aged students—from close to 25 to 50 students—by December of this year. A student’s ability to read at grade-level is strongly predictive of their future academic success, and we’re excited to reach more children once they enter kindergarten. The sooner we close the learning gaps that we often see with children who enter foster care, the sooner we can improve academic outcomes as they enter middle school, high school, and plan for college.

Additionally, we launched Road to Success Citywide with the goal of providing a long-term tutor to every 7^th–12^th grade student in foster care across New York City (making our efforts city-wide!).  As a member of Fair Futures, a city-wide coalition of social services agencies that provides coaching, mentoring, and advocacy for children in foster care from middle school through age 26, we hope to reach more young people in the years ahead. If we can secure enough funding from the City, the Fair Futures initiative will be a gamechanger for all teenagers and young adults in foster care. Both Road to Success and Road to Success Citywide were founded in partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation—a steadfast supporter of The Foundling since 2013.

Another new initiative planned for 2021 is a 12-week STEM program for students in grades 6-12 who are enrolled in any of our tutoring programs. Participants will complete virtual classes each week to learn computer literacy skills, including how to code and create digital art. In the final weeks of the program, students will take the skills they learned to work on a project for their college portfolio – from the creation of a game to digital artwork.

We believe that the path to a better, brighter future for children in foster care is with education. 2020 was a challenging year, yet our students continued to grow, showing a testament to their perseverance and the efficacy of Foundling-run educational programs. We look forward to seeing even more success this year—and in the years to come.

The Foundling’s tutoring and educational support programs for young people in foster care are generously supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Foster Care Excellence Fund in The New York Community Trust, Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Blanche T. Enders Charitable Trust, and Con Edison.

At The Foundling, we see education as the pathway to independence. Our programs lay the groundwork for healthy development, wellbeing, and self-determination by teaching critical life and learning skills. We know that education is much more than what happens in a classroom, and includes families learning to communicate effectively, children navigating life challenges without strong family support systems, and young adults relearning habits to change the trajectory of their lives. This is especially true today, nearly eight months since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The 2020-2021 school year will undoubtedly present unique challenges for students and their families and caregivers—but for those involved in the child welfare system, they will have to overcome even larger hurdles and obstacles. That’s why The Foundling is doubling down on efforts to provide educational programming and support services to hundreds of students across our community.

Read our roundtable conversation with Foundling staff and expert leaders from our organization who work closely with students, families, tutors, mentors, and teachers—and you’ll hear firsthand how the school year is going so far.

	PARTICIPANTS
	Clarisse Miller The Foundling’s Fostering College Success Initiative   Jessica Nauiokas Head of School, Mott Haven Academy Charter School   Joni Rivera Road to Success, Road to Success Citywide, and Afterschool Allies at The Foundling Elizabeth Tremblay School Based Mental Health at The Foundling   Michelle Watsula School Based Mental Health at The Foundling

 

---

How are students faring with their return to school?

Jessica: Our students love coming to school, so we are cognizant of how learning remotely impacts them emotionally and mentally. Creating a structured routine and predictable schedule has really helped. School is in session using Google Classrooms from 8:00am-2:00pm and students interact with their classroom community virtually and complete pre-recorded activities throughout the day. They have blocks of time where they are encouraged to take breaks and get their bodies moving!

Michelle: Students are happy to be back at school and to have the ability to see their teachers and friends. Some students are disappointed with the low turnout of other students returning for in-person instruction—they miss the “normal times” from last year. And the student who are fully remote are sad that they aren’t blended, but their parents opted for remote learning due to having other people in their home who are immunocompromised.

How do you keep teachers, staff, students, and parents motivated each day?

Jessica: We plan virtual classes, assignments, events, gatherings, and meetings with a single question in mind: How do we uplift everyone and bring joy to the learning experience? We also hold monthly student celebration community meetings, weekly staff circles, and weekly “Coffee Hours” for families. Our team also makes surprise ‘cookie and treat’ deliveries to families!

How are students staying connected and maintaining friendships this semester?

Clarisse: We’ve increased the number of workshops we do so that students are interacting more with us and each other. Students are staying in touch with their friends through phone calls, video chats, social media, and interactive video games. Some make time to hang out or form study groups—which is really nice to see take shape. Kids need these social touch points to stay connected and to maintain friendships, and they’re doing a great job so far!

Michelle and Elizabeth: Some students are able to spend time with peers who live in their direct neighborhood, but many are feeling isolated and frustrated with the lack of social interaction. In some of our high schools where we provide therapy to students, we’ve seen freshmen feeling socially disconnected and struggling to make new friends because they’re not physically in school. We’re making the most of tech tools like Google Classroom to run interactive events and workshops that help new students meet classmates. We want to give them every opportunity possible to make new friends and feel connected. In recent weeks, we’ve seen some great participation and success.

How are your teams adjusting to working remotely?

Michelle: They have been creative in engaging students, families, and faculty through virtual workshops. In October we began re-entering NYC schools, and are now using a hybrid of in-person and telehealth services—whatever each individual school needs is what we deliver.

Joni: Our tutors have been extremely innovative! They’re using a multitude of technological tools and platforms to match the different learning styles of our students, like giving styli to students who learn best when they can write and draw on their tablet screens. We’ve created remote learning tip sheets, supplied links to additional online learning resources, and developed a training program on remote learning best practices.

What challenges are you facing—and what do solutions look like?

Joni: Given the changing academic landscape, some of our goals related to college access have shifted. Standardized tests like the New York State Regents exams and SAT/ACTs are largely cancelled, so we have been working with students to instead boost their math and English language grades in order to demonstrate college readiness without standardized tests. At the same time, we’ve been adapting to support 9^th grade students entering high school. Research has demonstrated that this time of transition is of particular importance in predicting graduation rates, so we’re prioritizing support for these students to ensure they don’t fall off track with remote learning.

Elizabeth: It’s hard to get know new students when our team has not been able to meet them in person. We’re trying to balance addressing each student’s learning needs and their social emotional needs. We can’t ignore the stressors caused by the pandemic, but we also don’t want students to fall behind in their classes. Collectively, students have shown to be incredibly resilient and strong, and eager to make their new routines work in the most successful ways possible!