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From reluctant tutors to committed teachers
Tutor Connection fills knowledge gaps in teachers, too.
Foster care is poorly understood by most teachers, Dr. Halcòn says, because they don’t learn about it in their own schooling: “And later, when they have 29 other kids to deal with, teachers don’t focus on foster youth because [those students] are new, they’re behind, and they won’t be there for long anyway.”
Tutor Connection gives future teachers experience in the field as well as college classwork.
At first, Dr. Halcòn reports, the college students are reluctant, even fearful: “We have to teach them that foster kids are not criminals, they’re wards of the court.”
But by the end of the semester, the future teachers are committed. “They realize they’re working with great kids who are dealing with major life issues, not of their own making, that need a sensitive hand to deal with. A good teacher can do that,” Dr. Halcòn says.
Nearly half of last semester’s 150 students in the Education 364 class continued tutoring beyond their commitment. Many ended up giving 40 hours instead of the required 20.
Taking new awareness into the
school system
In eight semesters San Marcos and Casey Family Programs have trained 825 future teachers to recognize and respond to the educational needs of youth in foster care.
During the semester course, Casey social workers match the tutors and students and monitor the matches, as well as teach the foster care curriculum.
Tessa Juarez is now a public school teacher in the San Diego area. Her experience was typical of her classmates in Education 364: “I was still an undergrad, so this was my first experience with kids. I’d never thought of foster care—I just wasn’t aware of it. But it became very meaningful.”
She remembers the commitment of her student: “I couldn’t be late or absent—he was waiting for me, 15 minutes early even.” She had the satisfaction of seeing his grades go up.
“It was really helpful to be prepared to teach at-risk kids,” she says. In a typical school year, she has three foster youth in her classes. “They need stability, and they need somebody at school that they can ask any question to.”
Feedback from Education 364 students has revealed another positive effect. Teachers from Tutor Connection often become their schools’ experts on foster care. They advise their colleagues and principals on ways to support students from foster care.
“Everything’s in place at my school to welcome foster kids,” Tessa Juarez says. “You can’t ignore them—you have to go out of your way for them.”
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