Carly's Story
In the fall of 2008 Carly was finally doing well in school. She’d been removed from her birth home and placed in a group home that she really liked. Her grades and attitude were improving and everyone involved was quite pleased with her turnaround. Then she was placed in a relative’s home and she quickly began to deteriorate. Her attitude and grades suffered and she was quickly slipping back into bad decision-making. By late January she was removed from her relatives home and sent back to the group home where she’d previously been successful.
Only she didn’t do well there this time and was moved once again. By the time a referral was made to a Treehouse Educational Advocate she’d been suspended from school and placed in yet another new home. Fortunately for Carly, her Treehouse Advocate knew just what to do.
Carly’s Advocate talked to the school staff and scheduled a meeting to work on her Individualized Education Plan (IEP). At that meeting the IEP was revised to include all the necessary accommodations for Carly that would make her successful in her new school. The Advocate also requested an assessment test that would further help determine what Carly needed and how her teachers could help her. Even though there were only a few weeks left in the school year, the staff all worked together to administer the assessment.
The information they gathered was used to further develop Carly’s IEP and gave her teachers critical information for helping Carly. Carly’s advocate recently spoke with her and Carly reported having had a wonderful summer in her new home and a great start to the school year. The work that Treehouse Educational Advocates do is complex. It requires a depth of knowledge about laws, rules, and regulations as well as good negotiating skills. The benefit they bring to foster kids can tip the scale from staying in school or not, graduating or not.
Only she didn’t do well there this time and was moved once again. By the time a referral was made to a Treehouse Educational Advocate she’d been suspended from school and placed in yet another new home. Fortunately for Carly, her Treehouse Advocate knew just what to do.
Carly’s Advocate talked to the school staff and scheduled a meeting to work on her Individualized Education Plan (IEP). At that meeting the IEP was revised to include all the necessary accommodations for Carly that would make her successful in her new school. The Advocate also requested an assessment test that would further help determine what Carly needed and how her teachers could help her. Even though there were only a few weeks left in the school year, the staff all worked together to administer the assessment.
The information they gathered was used to further develop Carly’s IEP and gave her teachers critical information for helping Carly. Carly’s advocate recently spoke with her and Carly reported having had a wonderful summer in her new home and a great start to the school year. The work that Treehouse Educational Advocates do is complex. It requires a depth of knowledge about laws, rules, and regulations as well as good negotiating skills. The benefit they bring to foster kids can tip the scale from staying in school or not, graduating or not.
Foster Care Fact
In a Washington state study, only 59% of youth in foster care enrolled in 11th grade completed high school by the end of 12th grade.
