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Building Pathways of Success for Every Young Person
How Stability, Advocacy, and Emotional Wellness Help Youth Thrive This School Year
As families prepare for another school year, the excitement of new classrooms and fresh opportunities comes with important questions: How can we help children feel confident? How can we support their emotional well-being? How can we ensure they have the resources they need to succeed?
For children and youth in kinship and foster care, returning to school can involve more than adjusting to a new schedule or meeting a new teacher. Many young people are navigating changes in caregivers, school environments, friendships, and expectations while also processing experiences that may impact their academic and emotional well-being.
At A Second Chance, Inc. (ASCI), preparing children for school means preparing the whole child. For 33 years, ASCI has been a leader in kinship care, providing an integrated, family-centered service model that goes beyond traditional child welfare services. Rather than focusing on a single area of need, ASCI brings together educational advocacy, caregiver support, youth programming, trauma-informed services, case management, and community partnerships to address the interconnected needs of children and the families caring for them. This integrated approach allows ASCI to support families across multiple areas of their lives while building stability, strengthening relationships, and creating opportunities for children to thrive.
Last year alone, ASCI assisted 482 students, helping young people access educational opportunities, advocacy, and support that promote their academic, social, and personal development. This measurable reach reflects ASCI’s broader commitment to ensuring children have the stability, relationships, resources, and advocacy they need to thrive, not only in the classroom, but throughout their development.
As the new school year begins, ASCI spoke with Dr. Christine White-Taylor, Education Liaison II, Dr. Tamara Thornhill, CARES Worker III, and Dr. Jah-Chant Robinson, Principal of Penn Hills Senior High School, about what children need most to experience success both inside and beyond the classroom.
Their message is clear: when children are surrounded by adults who understand their experiences, advocate for their needs, and believe in their potential, they are empowered to succeed.
Every student walks into our building carrying much more than a backpack. They bring their dreams, their talents, their challenges, their fears, and their lived experiences.
— Dr. Jah-Chant Robinson
Creating a Strong Foundation Before the First Day
A successful school year begins before the first bell rings. While many families focus on school supplies and schedules, Dr. White-Taylor emphasizes that preparation also means understanding the resources, expectations, and communication systems available to students and caregivers.
For caregivers, knowledge is power. Knowing about the school where the child is going and what resources are available is important.
— Dr. Christine White-Taylor
Through Best Interest Determination meetings and ongoing communication with school districts, ASCI’s educational team works alongside caregivers, caseworkers, and schools to help ensure educational decisions reflect each child’s unique needs. This collaborative approach is part of ASCI’s integrated service model, bringing educational support into the broader network of services surrounding each child and family
For older students, preparation may include reviewing schedules, understanding graduation requirements, exploring activities, and learning self-advocacy skills. For younger children, caregivers play an important role in helping them feel comfortable, prepared, and excited about a new learning environment.
ASCI recognizes that every child’s educational journey is different. With more than three decades of experience serving kinship families, ASCI works to meet young people where they are and connect them with the combination of advocacy, resources, and relationships they need to succeed.
Educational Stability Creates Opportunity
For many children, school represents more than academics. It is a place of consistency, friendships, trusted adults, and belonging. For youth who have experienced changes in living arrangements or family circumstances, maintaining educational stability can provide a sense of safety and normalcy.
School has been an anchor for a lot of people. Knowing where you’re going, knowing who’s there, knowing it’s a safe place, that’s all part of stability.
— Dr. Christine White-Taylor
A stable educational environment enables students to continue building relationships, participating in activities, and developing confidence. Dr. Robinson emphasizes that belonging is a critical part of student success.
Academic excellence cannot exist in isolation. When we invest in students’ emotional well-being, relationships, leadership skills, and sense of belonging, we create the conditions where learning truly thrives.
— Dr. Jah-Chant Robinson
This whole-child approach is central to ASCI’s work in kinship care. Rather than addressing educational needs in isolation, ASCI connects educational advocacy with caregiver support, youth programming, clinical services, and community resources. By looking at the broader circumstances affecting a child, the organization can help address barriers that may otherwise interfere with learning and stability.
At ASCI, success is understood as more than academic achievement. Success includes confidence, resilience, connection, and a young person’s belief that their future is full of possibilities.
Understanding the Connection Between Trauma and Learning
Children communicate their needs in many ways. Sometimes those needs are expressed through words, but often they appear through behavior.
Returning to school can bring excitement, but it can also create stress related to academic expectations, friendships, bullying, routines, and fitting in. For children in care, those challenges may be intensified by experiences of trauma, grief, separation, or placement changes.
For more than 33 years, ASCI has recognized that supporting children in kinship care requires looking beyond the immediate behavior or academic concern. ASCI’s integrated approach allows caregivers, educational advocates, clinical staff, and other professionals to work together to better understand what may be influencing a child’s experience.
Dr. Thornhill reminds caregivers and educators that understanding a child’s experiences is essential when responding to their behavior.
Every behavior communicates a need. Instead of asking, ‘What’s wrong with this child?’ we should ask, ‘What has this child experienced, and what support do they need to succeed?’
— Dr. Tamara Thornhill
Dr. Robinson shares a similar perspective when working with students. Rather than viewing challenges as defiance or a lack of motivation, adults can look deeper and provide the support children need to feel safe, understood, and capable.
Trauma doesn’t stay at home when a student walks through our school doors. It often shows up in ways that people misunderstand.
— Dr. Jah-Chant Robinson
Recognizing When a Child Needs Additional Support
Children often experience emotional challenges before they have the words to explain what they are feeling. Caregivers, educators, and trusted adults should pay attention to changes such as:
- Increased irritability or emotional outbursts
- Withdrawal from family, friends, or favorite activities
- Changes in sleeping or eating habits
- Difficulty concentrating or declining grades
- Increased aggression or defiance
- Excessive worrying or perfectionism
- Sudden changes in mood or personality
For youth in care, adults may also notice increased anxiety around transitions, difficulty trusting others, fear of abandonment, or strong emotional reactions to situations that may seem minor.
Dr. Thornhill encourages adults to respond with curiosity rather than criticism. Consistent, supportive relationships help children feel emotionally safe enough to process emotions and develop healthy coping skills.
Supporting Emotional Wellness Through CARES
At ASCI, emotional wellness is an essential part of preparing children for success. Through Clinical and Responsive Engagement Services (CARES), ASCI extends its integrated approach beyond educational advocacy, providing trauma-informed, relationship-centered support designed to meet children and families where they are.
The CARES team works alongside children, caregivers, schools, and community partners to:
- Build healthy coping and emotional regulation skills
- Strengthen communication between youth and caregivers
- Support positive behavior through trauma-informed approaches
- Help families navigate school-related challenges
- Connect children and caregivers with mental health and community resources
- Advocate for services that support academic and emotional success
This coordination is one of the ways ASCI’s service model differs from a traditional, single-focus approach to child welfare. Rather than viewing education, caregiver support, behavioral health, and family stability as separate needs, ASCI works to connect these areas so families can access more comprehensive support.
ASCI’s goal remains the same: helping every child feel safe, connected, resilient, and hopeful about their future.
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give a child is helping them believe that this adult will still be there tomorrow.
— Dr. Jah-Chant Robinson
Advocacy and Partnerships That Change Outcomes
As ASCI’s Education Liaison II, Dr. White-Taylor works to ensure students’ educational needs remain at the center of decision-making. Through reviewing educational records, participating in school meetings, collaborating with caseworkers, and communicating with school districts, ASCI serves as a bridge between families and educational systems, helping caregivers understand their options and ensuring children’s educational needs remain visible in broader case planning.
Dr. White-Taylor encourages caregivers to stay connected by attending school events, communicating with teachers, participating in school activities, and learning about available resources. When adults work together, children are surrounded by a network of support that helps them overcome challenges and reach their goals.
This collaborative approach reflects ASCI’s longstanding leadership in kinship care: supporting not only the child, but also the caregivers, schools, and systems that influence a child’s ability to thrive.
A New School Year, A New Opportunity
Every school year represents a new beginning. For some children, it means meeting a new teacher. For others, it means entering a new school, building friendships, or discovering new interests. For youth who have experienced difficult circumstances, it represents another opportunity to grow, heal, and recognize their own potential.
Dr. Thornhill reminds young people that their experiences do not define their future:
“If you’ve experienced difficult things in your life, your feelings are valid. Your circumstances do not define your future. Your story is still being written, and there are people who believe in your potential.”
Dr. White-Taylor encourages caregivers and students to approach the school year with curiosity and optimism:
“Look at it as a new adventure. There are so many avenues of exploration. Be ready for the new and different. It’s going to be exciting.”
Helping Children Thrive Beyond the Classroom
At A Second Chance, Inc., preparing children for success means recognizing that academic achievement is connected to the stability, relationships, and support surrounding them. For more than three decades, ASCI has built its work around this understanding, developing an integrated model that brings together services and professionals to support the whole family.
School success isn’t determined solely by academics. When children feel emotionally safe, connected to caring adults, and supported through life’s challenges, they’re better equipped to learn, build healthy relationships, and reach their full potential. Whether a child is living with their parents, grandparents, relatives, or a foster family, every child deserves at least one adult who consistently reminds them, ‘You matter, you belong, and you are capable of great things.’
— Dr. Tamara Thornhill
This message reflects the heart of ASCI’s work: every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive while surrounded by adults who understand their experiences and believe in their ability to succeed.
As the school year begins, ASCI encourages caregivers, educators, and community members to stay engaged, ask questions, build meaningful relationships with schools, and utilize the resources available to support children and families.
From educational advocacy and caregiver education to youth enrichment and trauma-informed services, ASCI’s integrated approach is designed to meet families where they are and walk alongside them as their needs evolve.
Together, we can help every child enter the classroom feeling supported, valued, and prepared to succeed. Learn more about ASCI’s educational advocacy, CARES program, kinship support resources, and partnership opportunities today by visiting our website. When we invest in children, we invest in a stronger future.
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