Rescuing Forgotten Futures:  A National Conversation on the education of students in foster care.

Research consistently suggests that childhood trauma, placement instability and a myriad other factors leave many students in foster care far behind their peers in almost all academic measures. In the face of this challenge, stakeholders from across the country in both child welfare and education are proving that tight collaboration between education and child welfare systems can yield dramatic results for students in foster care.

Also tomorrow, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will begin the long awaited  revisit of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Among the reforms is a seminal amendment that focuses squarely on improving the educational achievements of children in foster care. In an effort to highlight the need for leveling the educational playing field for youth in care, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) and Fostering Media Connections (FMC) have organized an unprecedented “National Conversation” to highlight and bolster a dramatic, nationwide movement for change.

WHAT:

Administrators, teachers and students in California, researchers in Illinois and policymakers in Washington DC will share the realities, tough choices and strategies for improving educational outcomes for students in foster care. All the proceedings will be transmitted live, over the Internet.

CCAI and FMC will release an “Action Guide” that includes research, legislative history, on-the-ground journalistic accounts and a broad range of recommendations.

WHEN:

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011: 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET

WHERE:

Live Webcast: http://fosteringmediaconnections.org/2011/10/09/educational-opportunity-for-students-in-foster-care/

Register Here: http://fosteringmediaconnections.org/ccai-fmc-national-education-town-hall/

WHO:

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): Co-Chair of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA): Co-Chair of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth

George Sheldon: Acting Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA): Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption

Cheryl Smithgall: Researcher Fellow at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Mike Jones: Teacher and Co-Founder of Courageous Connection, Sacramento, CA

Carey Sommer:  High School graduate through Courageous Connection

Jetaine Hart: 2009 CCAI Foster Youth Intern and current Educational Mentor for Foster Youth at Alameda County Office of Education, Foster Youth Services

Derrick Riggins: 2011 CCAI Foster Youth Intern

Madison Sandovall-Lunn: 2011 CCAI Foster Youth Intern

Christina Miranda: 2007 CCAI Foster Youth Intern

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