Posted: 11/6/2017

Partnership is Key for Educational Success

Partnership is Key for Educational Success

Heartland for Children and our local school boards in each county have a strong partnership when it comes to serving children in the foster care system. We work collaboratively to make sure students’ needs in the school setting and community are met. Every public school in Hardee, Highlands and Polk Counties has designated a DCF/Heartland School Liaison to be a single point of contact for people within our system of care. They help to streamline communications and problem solve when needed. Heartland for Children just finished up annual training for the DCF/Heartland School Liaisons with a focus on child abuse identification and reporting, sharing of information and trauma informed practices in the classroom. We were excited to learn that several schools are currently implementing promising practices surrounding helping children learn self-regulation, including various breathing techniques and yoga.  We also had the opportunity to share a new educational matrix that helps to clarify which individuals involved in a student’s life have signature authority for specific educational functions.  We look forward to continuing to improve processes for increasing student success by focusing on rewarding students for their achievements and problems solving solutions for those that might be struggling educationally.  We are proud to report that as of the end of October 2017, data from Polk County Schools indicates that our students are overall faring well this school year.

• 89% of our students have had no disciplinary actions
• 69% of our students earned a “C” grade or better in all of their classes
• 72% of our students have 3 or less absences

Help us in congratulating all of our students on their impressive academic achievements and in thanking our partners within our school systems for their commitment and passion for seeing these children succeed!