Children need stability in their schooling to encourage academic success and give them opportunities for social development, self-esteem, skills building, creating friendships, and more.
However, foster and adoptive children frequently face unique challenges that can disrupt consistency and stability, like changing schools in the middle of the school year. These transitional events can be incredibly disruptive, impacting their academic performance, emotional well-being, and social connections.
Today, we’ll identify the effects of changing schools mid-year for foster and adoptive children, their specific difficulties, and how families can support them during these challenges.
Academic Disruptions
Out of the many negative consequences of changing schools mid-year for foster children, disrupted academic success is one of the most impactful. In situations like these, three main factors contribute to academic disruptions:
#1: Loss of Learning Time
When transitioning from one school to another, students miss essential learning time within a consistent environment, which can cause them to fall behind their peers in grasping core concepts.
#2: Adjustment to New Curriculum
No two teachers are the same, and the way they teach will vary between each classroom. Adjusting to changes in curriculum and instruction style at a new school in the middle of the year—when all the other kids in the class have been there the whole time—can be complex and confusing for foster and adoptive children; they can often have gaps in essential knowledge.
#3: Insufficient Academic Records
If a child or teen moves schools in the middle of the year, there will likely be delays in transferring their academic and behavioral records. Without having the correct documentation of the child’s academic progress, the administration may place them in the wrong classes or fail to give them the necessary support, like learning disability accommodations.
Emotional and Social Impact
Consistent, accommodating schooling is necessary for a child’s social development; in the same sense, lacking it can be detrimental. Changing schools mid-year for foster and adoptive children often means they risk straining their emotional well-being, disrupting their support system, and struggling to form and maintain fulfilling, genuine friendships.
Strain on Emotional Well-Being
In the middle of the year, school changes can increase a foster or adoptive child’s worry and anxiety, distracting them from their studies.
Difficulty in Forming Friendships
School is the primary source of social opportunity for foster and adoptive children. Many children are more open to making new friends at the beginning of a new school year; however, when they move to a new school mid-year, they usually feel isolated. The rest of their classmates have already formed friendships in previous grades or earlier in the year.
Often, when a foster or adoptive child makes their first real friend at a new school, they may have to move schools again, discouraging them from branching out and making new friends!
Disruption of Support Systems
Losing access to trusted teachers and counselors can disrupt the emotional support foster and adoptive children depend on.
Family Support When Changing Schools Mid-Year for Foster and Adoptive Children
Knowing the effects of changing schools mid-year for foster and adoptive children is only the beginning of a parent’s responsibility for providing support. Foster and adoptive parents who take these specific actions have the most supportive impact on foster children when moving schools:
- Maintain consistent, detailed communication with both schools throughout your child’s move from one to another to help facilitate a smooth transition of records and ensure the new school supports your child’s essential and academic needs.
- Ensure your child has stability and consistency elsewhere (with their daily routines or home life).
- Don’t let a child fall behind. Give them the right resources to stay on track, such as extracurriculars, tutoring, and counseling.
Giving Foster and Adoptive Children Reliable School Placement
By understanding and addressing foster children’s challenges when changing schools mid-year, we can better support their academic and emotional well-being.
The Alabama Free Will Baptist Children’s Home helps children from difficult domestic situations who need a loving home. We provide an anchor of stability for our residents, ensuring they are in school and well cared for.
If you feel led to support us and our residents, please donate to our Home or keep us on your prayer list. These means of support can make a substantial difference in the lives of our residents; we rely on these gifts to provide for our residents as they learn, grow, and develop.
To learn more about the Alabama Free Will Baptist Children’s Home and how we support the lives of children and teens, visit our website and read more on our blog.