School Strategies Intended To Help Grandchildren

Introduction

An increasing number of American grandparents are finding their later years different from what they expected. Instead of a quiet retirement, sweetened by delights of occasional visits with grandchildren, many grandparents have taken on the role of surrogate parents to their grandchildren. Reasons behind this trend involve a variety of family circumstances, including the death of one or both parents, parental abandonment, the high incidence of divorce, an increase in the number of never-married mothers (especially teen mothers), parental imprisonment, drug addiction, or mental illness. The AIDS epidemic also plays a role in this increasing shift of responsibility for child rearing. The Orphan Project of New York City (1995) estimates that 75,000 to 125,000 children will be orphaned by the year 2000 because their mothers have died of HIV/AIDS.

 

Recent legislative activity is also likely to contribute to an increase in the number of grandparent-grandchild families in the future. The amended September 1995 Social Security Act requires states to specify adult relatives as the first foster care option; the Kinship Care Act of 1996 (introduced by Senator Wyden of Oregon and recently referred to the Senate Committee on Finance) puts grandparents first in line as potential foster care parents and adoptive parents for grandchildren who, for safety reasons, have been removed from their parents' home.

 

In short, while grandparents have often raised their grandchildren in times of family crisis, the proportion of families in crisis situations is growing. A 40 percent increase in grandchildren living in their grandparents' homes, many without their parents, was reported between 1980 and 1990 (de Toledo & Brown, 1995). Families made up of grandparents and their grandchildren are just one of the diverse family structures with which schools are learning to work.

 

The Demographics of Grandparents as Parents

The National Center for Health Statistics (Saluter, 1996) reported that 3.735 million children under the age of 18 (5.4 percent) live in the home of their grandparent or grandparents, and that black children are more likely (13 percent) to live with a grandparent than white children (3.9 percent) or Hispanic children (5.7 percent). While nearly half the grandparent households with a grandchild include the child's mother, about a million families in the United States are made up of grandparents raising their grandchildren without one of the children's parents (Takas, 1995). Thus, about 1 in 20 children under 18 lives in a home headed by a grandparent without parents present. Grandparents serving as surrogate parents represent all socioeconomic and ethnic groups. Most families headed by grandparents live in an urban setting and have less than a high school education, and more such families live in the south (57 percent) than in all other areas of the United States combined (Turner, 1995).

 

How Schools Can Help

Schools can contribute significantly to helping grandparents cope with the stresses of parenting a second time around. As a basis for understanding and helping, school personnel may need to learn to recognize and accept strong feelings experienced by each member of the grandparent-parent-child triad. Grandparents (even those who find great satisfaction in raising their grandchildren) often feel disappointment mixed with anger, blame, guilt, and serious concern about family finances. Parents usually have ambivalent feelings of gratitude and resentment, as they grieve the loss of their child even if they recognize that the decision to remove the child from their care is in the child's best interest. Often, resentment deepens as estrangement widens. Children raised by grandparents may express feelings of abandonment, even though they are grateful to their grandparents for taking care of them (Saltzman & Pakan, 1996). Grandparent and grandchild interactions with noncustodial parents can be supportive or damaging to all the parties involved.

 

School Strategies Intended To Help Grandparents

Schools can use many strategies to support grandparents who are working to raise and educate their grandchildren. Many schools may find the following list of suggestions useful.

 

Examine school policies on enrollment. Existing policies may need revision to accommodate the realities of children living with their grandparents. For example, in some districts, once the grandparent has informal authority from the parent or legal authority, he or she is able to enroll the child in school, review the child's records, and make any requests or decisions about the child's education (American Association of Retired Persons AARP, 1993). In other districts, formal guardianship is required for anyone other than a parent to make school decisions on behalf of the child.

 

Have helpful information on hand for grandparents acting as parents. School counselors may want to write to the organizations in the Resource List accompanying this digest for more information on parenting the second time around, and they may want to share it with teachers and grandparents acting as parents. They may want to check with local social service agencies to find out about support groups and "reparenting" or "grandparenting" classes for grandparents raising a second family. Such services may help reduce the isolation that is commonly cited as a major problem for grandparents raising their grandchildren (de Toledo & Brown, 1995).

 

Keep in mind that short-term "respite care" for young and school-age children often tops the "wish list" of grandparent caregivers (Turner, 1995). If they do not already routinely do so, schools can prepare information in advance on before- and after-school programs, on lunch and breakfast programs, and on Head Start or other preschool programs for "all" families.

 

Be sure that school policy supports appropriate referrals for educational, health, and social services, as needed. Grandparents may not be aware of services available to help their grandchild academically or to help the child deal with emotional and psychological problems. Eligibility for such services may be in question in some situations, yet many grandparent-grandchild families are particularly in need of this kind of assistance (AARP, 1993).

 

Keep in mind that school may be a much different place from the schools that grandparents remember. Schools might consider scheduling extra time for grandparent teacher conferences, letting grandparents know how to reach the teacher not only when there is a problem but at any time, and encouraging grandparents to volunteer at school to gain a sense of current school practices.

 

Use "family-friendly" strategies to encourage surrogate parents to take an active role in their children's education. These strategies include using inclusive language on home-school communications. Schools might want to stress to teachers the importance of understanding how the child views his or her primary caregiver. When the teacher is sending home important notices, the teacher needs to know whether it is "Grandmommy" or "Poppa" who will need to read, sign, and return the forms. The child and his or her classmates need to hear the teacher's accurate acknowledgment of this important relationship.

 

School Strategies Intended To Help Grandchildren

Schools can also help children cope with the stresses of adjusting to their living arrangements. The strategies listed here particularly affect the children.

 

Anticipate transitional or adjustment difficulties and act to minimize them. If a grandchild has only recently come into the grandparents' home, he or she may need time to adjust to a new routine, including expectations that he or she will attend school regularly and complete schoolwork.

 

Look for children's strengths and build on them. As many as two-thirds of children who have grown up in difficult circumstances have within them the resilience to grow up to lead healthy, productive lives (Benard, 1991). With support and sensitivity, these children can often meet teachers' expectations.

 

Place children living with grandparents with the most stable and experienced teachers. Whether because of long-term family instability or recent sudden trauma, children living with their grandparents may not only need extra attention during the school year but also the classroom stability that an experienced teacher can provide.

 

Try not to single out children because of their family status in front of peers or other teachers. Shame and the feeling of being different from their peers, however unjustified, can contribute to a difficult school adjustment for these children.

 

Conclusion

Children from families headed by grandparents constitute a growing proportion of students in schools, and their numbers can be expected to continue to increase. Schools that recognize and support these nontraditional families will be able to provide better service to their communities.

 

For More Information

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). (1993).

 

GRANDPARENTS RAISING THEIR GRANDCHILDREN: WHAT TO CONSIDER AND WHERE TO FIND HELP. Washington, DC: AARP.

Benard, B. (1991). FOSTERING RESILIENCY IN KIDS: PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN THE FAMILY, SCHOOL, AND COMMUNITY. San Francisco: Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development. ED 335 781.

 

Chalfie, D. (1994). GOING IT ALONE: A CLOSER LOOK AT GRANDPARENTS PARENTING CHILDREN. Washington, DC: Women's Initiative of the Association of Retired Persons.

 

de Toledo, Sylvie, and Deborah E. Brown. (1995). GRANDPARENTS AS PARENTS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR RAISING A SECOND FAMILY. New York: Guilford Press. ED 393 549.

 

Orphan Project of New York City. (1995). ORPHANS OF THE HIV EPIDEMIC. New York: Author.

 

Saltzman, Glenn, and Patricia Pakan. (1996). Feelings...in the Grandparent Raising Grandchildren Triad (Or Relationship). PARENTING GRANDCHILDREN: A VOICE FOR GRANDPARENTS. 2(1, Winter): 4-6.

 

Saluter, Arlene. (1996). MARITAL STATUS AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS.Current Population Reports Series. Washington, DC: National Center for Health Statistics.

 

Takas, Marianne. (1995). GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN: A GUIDE TO FINDING HELP AND HOPE. Crystal Lake,IL: National Foster Parent Association, Inc. ED 394 712.

 

Turner, Linda. (1995). Grandparent-Caregivers: Why Parenting Is Different the Second Time Around. FAMILY RESOURCE COALITION REPORT 14(1-2, Spring-Summer): 6-7.

Article:  http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/grandparents.3.html

 School Issues, Grandparent Caregivers: A National Guide

Developed by Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC)

 Second only to the family, teachers and schools play a major role in the development of children. It is important for all caregivers to understand their rights and responsibilities in relation to this important institution. One of the first responsibilities many grandparent caregivers have is to enroll children in school. This chapter will help guide you through the registration process and explain your rights and responsibilities in relation to the school. After the enrollment, you may want to contact the school's "parent/faculty" or "parent/teacher" organization to find out how the group incorporates grandparent caregiver concerns in its activities. The school's volunteer coordinator may also be a resource for information.

Do I need to be a legal guardian to enroll my grandchild in school?

If you can show that you are your grandchild's custodian or "person in parental relation" to your grandchild you may enroll your grandchild in school and you will be responsible for making sure that your grandchild between the ages of [six and sixteen] goes to school. A "Person in parental relation" includes the child's father or mother; adopted father or mother; step-father or step-mother; legal guardian; or a custodian.

 

A custodian is someone who is caring for a child because the parent or legal guardian of the child has died; is in prison; is mentally ill; is in an institution; has abandoned the child; is living outside the state; or whose whereabouts are unknown.

 

Advocacy Tip: Consult your state laws to see if they permit grandparents to enroll children in school without the benefit of a legal relationship. California, for example, has an affidavit or declaration for enrollment that parents or legal guardians can sign which authorizes an adult, like a grandparent, to enroll a grandchild in school and authorize school related medical care. Washington D.C. also has an affidavit which can be used to enroll a child in school without the benefit of a legal relationship.

How do I register my grandchild in school?

Call your local Board of Education. They will need to know where you live in order to tell you the school district in which to enroll your grandchild. Next, call that school district and ask about its particular procedures. You will be asked to verify the child's address by presenting one or more of the following: a valid driver's license, a recent utility bill, rent receipts, a letter from a social service agency or other records.

 

At what age can children be enrolled in school?

Children must be [5] years of age on or before [December 1], in order to be eligible to attend kindergarten in September. A child eligible to attend school in September may enroll in a pre-kindergarten summer program operated by the school district. For kindergarten, the school administration will generally require a birth certificate, proof of residence and immunization record. For transfer registration, proof of grade level (a report card or transfer document) is generally required.

 

Advocacy Tip:

The age children can enroll in school varies from state to state. Most state laws require children between the ages of six and 16 to go to school.

 

What are my responsibilities as a guardian regarding school attendance?

You must send your grandchild to school. It is unlawful to neglect or refuse to compel a child between the ages of [6 and 18, 6 and 16] to attend school.

Advocacy Tip:

Most states have laws which penalize parents, guardians or others responsible for the care of a child for not sending them to school. Fines and jail time can be imposed.

 

Are there any exceptions to compulsory school attendance?

Yes. Your grandchild is not required to attend school if any of the following apply:

  The child must attend a funeral;

The child is observing a religious holiday or ceremony. (You, as [guardian, person in parental relation or caretaker] must make a request in writing to the principal.)

Advocacy Tip: Most states have exceptions to the compulsory education laws. Other exceptions include where minors have completed a four-year high school, absences for religious observance and education, or where it can be shown that the caretaker is unable to control the child, or other exceptions as allowed by the rules and practices of the public schools.

 

What should I do if my grandchild cannot attend school?

You should call the school and notify the child's teacher that your grandchild will be absent due to illness or an emergency. It is important to notify the school each time your grandchild will miss school because any pupil absent without a valid excuse for [a certain amount of] days in a school year is considered truant and will be reported to the attendance supervisor or superintendent of the school district.

 

Advocacy Tip: Most states have attendance officers who will inform the parent or other caretaker in writing, by mail or in person of the child's absence from school. Check the practices in your area for notifying the school of a child's absence.

 

Will I be notified if my grandchild does not go to school?

Many schools have a policy which requires the [teacher/school attendance officer] to call the responsible adult in the event that a child does not attend school. You should check with your grandchild's school to see what guidelines are followed in that school. Some schools have a "Truancy Hotline" that receives calls regarding school age children that have been observed outside the school during school hours.

 

What types of immunizations are required to enroll a child in school?

You must show proof that your grandchild has been immunized against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles (rubeola & rubella), poliomyelitis, Hib (haemophilus influenza type b), and mumps. Some school districts may require proof of a physical examination and current TB test.

 

Advocacy Tip: Most state laws require children to be immunized against certain diseases. Check the Education Law or the Public Health Law to see what immunizations are needed to enroll a child in your state. Most state school immunization requirements include immunizations against poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, haemphilus influenza type b (Hib) and hepatitis B.

 

Are there any exceptions to the immunization requirements?

Children may be exempt from the immunization requirement for medical reasons and because of religious reasons. Children may also be excused from the immunization requirements if a licensed doctor certifies that immunization may be detrimental to the child's health.

 

What kinds of schools may children attend?

Children may attend public, private or other approved schools. If the child is being tutored as an alternative to attending school, the tutor must be credentialed and the tutoring sessions must be for [a certain period of days] per year.

 

Are there programs for preschool children?

Children younger than [5] years of age can be admitted to preschool programs. These programs include Head Start, Early Childhood Education, and pre-kindergarten programs. You should check with your school district or look through the phone book to see what programs are available in your area.

 

What should I do if I believe my grandchild may have a disability?

If you suspect that your grandchild has a disability which would require special education you may request that the child be tested. Children between the ages of [3] and [5], and students enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve are eligible to be evaluated. In addition, school-based primary intervention programs are available to detect and prevent emotional, behavioral and learning problems.

 

Advocacy Tip: Most schools have a procedure which allow children to be evaluated for special education. Contact your local school board for more information.

What kinds of programs are available for children with a disability?

Special Education classes and facilities are provided for disabled children. Programs are also available for children as young as [3]. Every pupil who is determined to have a "handicapping condition" by a committee on the handicapped will receive the benefits of free and appropriate public education. "Children with a handicapping condition" are children under the age of twenty-one who are entitled to attend school and who, because of mental, physical, or emotional reasons are entitled to receive appropriate educational opportunities from a program of special education which will include transportation, special classes, home instruction and special teachers.

 

I am concerned about my grandchild's privacy. Who will see the information regarding the evaluation?

All information about your grandchild's special education evaluation is confidential. Your written consent or a judicial order is required before unauthorized persons can access your grandchild's records.

 

Advocacy Tip:

Generally, grandparents who are legal guardians have the right to inspect their grandchild's records and challenge any information which is included. Also check your state laws to see who else can see the child's records. For example, in New York, a "person in parental relation" can also access school records.

 

Can I see my grandchild's school records?

Parents and people in a "parental relationship" can access school records. If you are your grandchild's legal guardian or if you are your grandchild's custodian, you can see your grandchild's school records.

 

If I am unable to take my grandchild to school, is transportation available?

The governing board of the school district may provide for transportation of children whenever, in the board's judgment, such transportation is advisable and good reasons exist. Contact the school district in your area to see if transportation is available.

 

Advocacy Tip: Transportation may also be available to children who live far away from the school or if transportation would be in the child's best interests. Transportation may also be available in areas where there is little or no public transportation or where space is available on the school bus. Check with your school district.

 

What types of discipline will the school use?

Each local school board sets the policies for discipline within that school district. An effort is made to involve teachers, parents or guardians, and students in the disciplinary procedure. You can ask for a copy of the disciplinary policy for your school district.

 

Advocacy Tip:

The use of corporal punishment (spanking or paddling) is prohibited in public schools. Teachers and school personnel can usually, however, use reasonable force to protect themselves, other children, or school property.

 

If my grandchild needs medication can s/he receive it at school?

A school nurse or designated school employee may administer prescription medicines provided that written authorization is obtained from the child's physician stating the method, amount, and time to be given. A written statement from the parent or guardian is also required.

 

Advocacy Tip:

Check your state education laws for local policy on the administration of medication and inform them of the procedure or availability in this answer.

 

Are there any school food programs?

Yes. Most schools participate in the federally funded school lunch program. You will be asked to fill out an application which will verify your income. Many children qualify for free or reduced cost meals through this program. Recent changes in federal law affecting benefits programs may cause some changes in the availability and rules for eligibility.

 

What types of child care programs are available?

There are programs for children whose caregivers begin their workday before school starts, after-school programs and programs for pre-schoolers. Child care facilities and family day centers are licensed through the Department of Social Services.

 

How can I find these child care programs?

Some school districts may operate programs. Call your local district office and ask about available programs. It is also possible to find child care facilities in the yellow pages of your phone book. Some churches and community programs also operate child care facilities.

 

It is a good idea to ask about the qualifications of the child care providers. You may want to ask: whether the providers have taken classes in early childhood education; whether they know basic First Aid, what the procedures are during an emergency, and what types of discipline are used. If you are planning to enroll your grandchild in a daycare facility rather than in private home care, it is also important to ask about the staff to child ratio. You should ask how long the staff has been at the particular center and about staff training regarding sensitivity to children who are part of a nontraditional family structure.

 

http://www.prisonactivist.org/lspc/ngcm/school.html