School Stability is the Keystone of Learning

In December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Protections for students in foster care found under ESEA, as amended by ESSA, aim to enhance collaboration and align both education and child welfare systems to improve educational outcomes. ESSA amends the ESEA to include educational stability for children and youth in foster care exclusively under Title I, Part A.

Frequent school changes are common among children in youth who are entering foster care placement or who have been in foster care placement. School changes are disruptive to their education and makes it difficult to develop supportive relationships with teachers, peers, and within their communities. Unplanned school changes are associated with delays in children’s academic progress, leaving highly mobile students more likely to fall behind their less mobile peers.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, and Center for Schools and Communities are working together to ensure school stability and school success for children and youth with experience in foster care.

Keystone icon in blue with School Stability is the Keystone of Learning

Pennsylvania Foster Care Education Training and Technical Assistance Staff

headshot Matt Butensky

Matthew Butensky

Youth Development Project Manager

State Education Agency Point of Contact

Center for Schools and Communities
275 Grandview Ave.
Camp Hill, PA 17011

717-763-1661, ext. 171
570-238-0258 cell
[email protected]

Benjamin Simmons

Youth Development Specialist

Center for Schools and Communities
275 Grandview Ave.
Camp Hill, PA 17011

717-763-1661, ext. 110
[email protected]

Educators’ Guide for Students in Foster Care

Students with experience in foster care placement experience complex trauma and face a number of systematic barriers to academic and social success. While legislative measures provide schools with a framework for ensuring academic stability, educators must purposefully form supportive relationships with students with foster care experience. This guide is an educator’s toolkit for establishing in-school support and enriching a student in foster care placement’s experience at school. (Written 2024)

Key Foster Care Facts

Community. Resilience. Collaboration. Opportunity. Belonging. School Stability. Being Understood. Access. PA Poster Care dot org
An estimated 30% of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQ+. PA Foster Care dot org
In Pennsylvania, 44% of children and youth in foster care are placed with a relative. PA Foster Care dot org
Approximately 20,000 youth age out of foster care annually without a permanent family. PA Foster Care dot org
An estimated 77% of eligible youth in foster care leave care without receiving the federally funded services available to them. PA Foster care dot org
There are more than 390,000 children and youth in foster care in the U.S. PA Foster Care dot org