Promoting adoption and blended families in schools
The backpacks are packed, the school lunches made – it’s the time of year when children bid farewell to the summer and begin the new school year.
However, children aren’t the only ones who should learn something new this year. Back to school is also a great time for adoptive parents to educate their child’s teachers about positive ways to promote adoption and blended families in the school environment.
According to the U.S. Census, 1 in 25 households with children has at least one adopted child. As adoption becomes more normalized across the nation, more parents are helping educate teachers, school administrators and other peers about adoption.
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute has released a paper aimed at educating educators about adoption issues. Adoption in the Schools: A Lot to Learn highlights important areas for teachers to take into consideration regarding adoption. Subjects include ways to speak positively about adoption with their classes, how to deal with hurtful comments some children may make about their adopted classmates and how to amend class assignments that adopted children may be sensitive to, such as assignments centered around the child’s baby pictures, as not all adopted children have photos of themselves as babies.
Read the full version of Adoption in the Schools: A Lot to Learn.
Additional Resources for Back-to-School:
- Find more information and ideas on how to promote adoption in your local school, courtesy of Adoptive Families Magazine.
- Check out our National Adoption Month tips for bringing adoption to your child’s library or classroom.
- Print and share our worksheets for Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Technology Services (ARTS) Family Trees:
- Share tips for using positive adoption language, which can be good for teachers to remember.
