Back to school: Tips for students’ transition to in-person classes

By Marian Golan
Passaic County CASA Advocacy Supervisor

Everyone—give yourselves a pat on the back for making it through a difficult school year as you guided your child through virtual and hybrid classes! Whether you are a CASA Advocate, a resource parent, a caseworker, a grandparent/relative, or a biological parent, you played a critical role in ensuring our children made it through last year.

 As students return for in-person classes, the transition to back-to-school may present with issues that are beyond the usual September challenges

Here are some old standby tips—as refreshers to all of us— as well as tips for COVID-19 procedures. 

Listen to your children and acknowledge their feelings about returning to school. 

For example, if a child says, “The kids won’t play with me,” you can let them know you understand. You might say something like, “It sounds like you’re worried that you’ll be all alone. I understand. I remember when…” and give an example from your childhood. You might encourage your child to problem-solve, e.g., “What can you do that might make you feel better about that?” “How might your teacher help out?”

For younger students: Preview with them what the first day of school might look like. “I’ll walk you to the back door of the building where others will be lined up. When we see your teacher, I’ll say ‘bye’ and then pick you up at the end of the day. The teacher will tell you where to sit. You’ll have your lunch with you and eat in the classroom.”

For older students (and younger ones as well): Signal your confidence in their independence and in their ability to make good choices. For example, “You must feel good that you’ll be going to the bus stop by yourself this year,” or “I know that you’ll use your good judgment with whom you’ll walk home from school today.”

Returning to school with COVID-19 precautions in mind

It might be harder to get everyone out the door in those first weeks, so…

• If practical, visit the school with your child before school is in session, even if it’s just a drive-by.

• Talk to your children about the feelings they may have about returning to school—using the listen and acknowledge strategy. Be positive.

• Let your child know that mask-wearing may be required for students/staff during the school day. Wear masks around the house to help your children become comfortable with them. Make it fun. 

• Set up an ongoing communication system with your child’s teachers and school counselors. Faculty welcomes connections with caregivers and support adults like caseworkers and CASA, starting perhaps with an email after the first week of school to introduce yourself and to set up periodic check-ins. 

 Remember—as a caregiver you need to take care of yourself!  Be mindful of your own needs for healthy food, adequate sleep, exercise, and socialization. Reach out to others for support.

Through active listening, open communication, and confidence building, we can make this a great school year for all of our children.    

How CASA Helps Children in Foster Care Prepare for Educational Success

by Gina Cetta
Program Director

“Back to School.” Three words that can mean so many different things to children. Some are excited. Some are nervous, while others are scared. Some can even feel anger at the thought of returning for another year. Here at Passaic County CASA, we are excited about the opportunity for growth in the children we serve as they return to school! New teachers, new classmates, new things to learn. It can be an exciting time, filled with possibilities.

One of the many goals that Passaic County CASA has for the children we serve is that they do their best in school. CASA volunteers monitor their child’s progress in school through corresponding regularly with teachers and/or counselors, attending school meetings, and attending Back to School Night whenever possible. Teachers have shared that before CASA’s involvement, some children never had someone attend Back to School Night for them.

To help children in Passaic County start off on the right foot, Passaic County CASA provides them with new backpacks and school supplies.  For the past eight years, CASA has held a school supply collection and the Passaic County community is always so generous.

New this year, Passaic County CASA hosted a “School Supply Pop Up Shop” and invited children and their foster or biological parents to come shop for themselves. The children were excited to choose their own backpacks and supplies. Glitter, unicorns, and superheroes were popular themes this year! Passaic County CASA was able to provide backpacks and supplies for more than 400 children in Passaic County for the upcoming school year, in addition to supporting the supply distributions of several partner organizations including the Paterson Task Force, Camp YDP, the Windsor School, and of course the Department of Child Protection and Permanency.

For children who were unable to attend this “Pop-Up Shop,” CASA volunteers spent a busy few weeks in August delivering backpacks full of supplies. CASAs love to share the stories of their delivery of backpacks to their CASA children and how the children’s faces light up with excitement. CASA Melanie is an advocate for 17-year-old Andrew. She had reported difficulty in getting Andrew to speak with her, and when they did talk, he frequently replied with one-word answers. Melanie delivered an Adidas brand backpack and supplies to Andrew. His entire demeanor changed when she gave him the supplies. He was smiling and talkative. He expressed his happiness with getting the backpack he had been wanting and carefully took every item out of the backpack to inspect it. From that moment, Andrew has been much more responsive to his CASA. A new backpack and supplies may not seem like a big deal to some, but to the children we serve, they mean a lot.

As our children head back to school, please consider how you can play a role in their educational success. Volunteer or donate today to give a child a voice this school year.

CASA kicks off school supply drive

Help us ensure that our CASA children start off the school year on the right foot – and with new school supplies in hand.

Many of the kids we serve won’t be going back-to-school shopping with mom or dad come August. In the fall, some of our children will start the school year at a brand-new, completely unfamiliar school because they've moved foster homes. All of them need school supplies to make the transition into the new year just a little bit easier. 

Suggested donations include backpacks, composition and spiral notebooks, three-ring binders, writing utensils, folders, calculators, etc. All items must be new.

Besides physically equipping the children with backpacks filled to the brim, the school supply drive also provides children in foster care with confidence and some much needed excitement.

 “A child in foster care is unable to focus on school or be excited about starting school like other youth may be because they often do not have the same level of support or preparation for the school year,” said Passaic County CASA Executive Director Erica Fischer-Kaslander. “By ensuring that they have proper supplies for their grade and class through our advocacy and supply collections, CASA is one step closer to ensuring a child has a chance at a successful, safe, and permanent childhood home.”

All school supply donations may be dropped off at the Passaic County CASA for Children office, located at 415 Hamburg Turnpike, Suite B1, in Wayne. Donations will be accepted through Friday, August 24. For more information contact Pam Saunders at 973-832-4002 or pam@passaiccountycasa.org.

Beginning of school year often shows more abuse/neglect of children

The end of summer and the start of a new school year is an exciting time for most children. However for some, the beginning of the school year could be the beginning of a troubled journey into the foster care system when signs of abuse and neglect these children have suffered over the summer are noticed by teachers, staff and other parents.

Teachers, like all New Jersey residents, are mandated by law to report child abuse and neglect. Last year, 21% of referrals for child protection concerns to the state child abuse hotline originated from schools.

“Unfortunately, many children who are at risk of being abused or neglected do not interact with many adults from outside of their families when they are not in school. Because of this, it is not uncommon for reports of new suspected abuse or neglect to come to the attention of the system at the beginning of the school year, “said Erica Fischer-Kaslander, Passaic County CASA for Children’s Executive Director.

Many of the youth who are confirmed to have suffered abuse and neglect are then placed under the jurisdiction of the court and reside in an out home placement such as a foster home, group home or residential treatment facility. Often these youth are living at a great distance from the communities, family and friends which are familiar to them. Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers are specially trained community members who speak up for the best interests of youth who, through no fault of their own, end up in the foster care system.

“Separation from everything they know is scary for a child, especially at a time when fellow classmates are eager for the new school year to be underway; these changes at home can be even more stressful on a child,” Fischer-Kaslander explained. “Because of this, we need more people in our communities to speak up and make sure the voices of these children are heard in the process. We want to make sure that they are able to reach a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible so they are able to move forward with their lives and focus on their education and the vital building blocks of success.”

Over 600 youth are in the foster care system each year in Passaic County alone. However, due to limited funding and volunteers, only approximately 30% have the benefit of a CASA volunteer.

“Too many children go through the turmoil of the foster care system without the benefit of an advocate. CASA needs more volunteers in Passaic County and across the state to step up and be a voice for children who need them. That’s the bottom line,” said Fischer-Kaslander.

CASA volunteers are authorized to meet with everyone on the child’s case, including teachers, case workers, counselors and health care providers. This unique access provides the basis for thoughtful, objective recommendations to the Family Court Judge regarding the child's overall well being. Through written court reports at each hearing, CASA volunteers act as the eyes and ears of the Judge.

This school year, CASA is asking community members to consider becoming a CASA volunteer and help children in need find safe permanent homes.  CASA staff states that the average volunteer spends between 10-15 hours working on their case, however the hours are completely flexible and they are in control of their schedule. Volunteers are currently being sought to enroll the fall training class, scheduled to begin on October 11. Training will be held one evening a week for 6 weeks.

The first step in becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate is to attend a one hour orientation session held at the CASA office located at 415 Hamburg Tpke in Wayne.  CASA advocacy protects the best interest of each child and reduces the state's cost of caring for children in foster care. The schedule of information sessions are held on Tuesday evenings on the following dates: September 20 at 6pm and September 23 at 10 am.  

For more information or to RSVP please visit www.passaiccountycasa.org, call  973-832-4002 or email Info@passaiccountycasa.org

About Passaic County CASA:

Trained CASA Volunteers speak in family court on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system and are dedicated to ensuring these children are placed in safe permanent homes as quickly as possible. In Pasaic County, over 630 children are placed in foster care annually. Last fiscal year, CASA served 215 abused and neglected children with nearly 90 CASA Volunteers and helped place 75 children in permanent homes. For more information about CASA visit www.passaiccountycasa.org