Youth in care make up a significant population of the education system in Simcoe County.

48% of youth in care graduate from high school (that’s less than 5 out of 10)

Out of that 48%, 3% go on to pursue some sort of post-secondary education

Out of that 3%, less than 1% graduate from their post-secondary studies.

Due to a lack of guidance and support, students in care can have difficulty with things like selecting the proper courses they need to graduate with the right credentials in order to pursue their post-secondary goals. This can also lead to great challenges in learning healthy time management and proper emotional regulation skills. It is important to note that this does not instill weakness in these students - they often display rather a resilience that most people don’t need to learn until much later in life.

Youth in care often find themselves balancing heavy work schedules in order to stay on their feet, which can have a negative affect on their academic performance. After speaking with several former youths in care, a common experience they shared was that of missing classes or struggling with being on time due to their work schedules. All of the youth we spoke to stated that the teachers who checked in on them and showed them compassion for what they were going through were crucial to their success.

It is common for youth in care to lack career guidance and aspirations. Teenagers usually struggle with these questions anyways, however it becomes much more complicated for these students who have so much going on in their personal lives. Their goals and aspirations may look more like day-to-day survival than making plans for their future. What these students are usually lacking is guidance and support. It could be as simple as sitting down with your students, asking and listening to them about their interests and their fears, and supporting and encouraging them through whatever their next steps may look like.

It’s safe to say that as teachers we rarely know what is going on behind the scenes for most of our students. With youth in care, there is usually a lot more going on than meets the eye. Finding a moment to create a safe space for them to discuss what they might be going through could be greatly beneficial, as many of them are lacking any sort of structured parenting at home.