Students With Diverse Families Written by Wendy

Students With Diverse Families

Written by Wendy Schwartz of Columbia University, Family Diversity in Urban Schools is a study of urban students living with caregivers other that their biological parents. In it, she presents a comprehensive and illuminating exploration of these households, along with recommendations that will help schools provide support for these families. Her well documented, well organized article characterizes the most common types of nontraditional families, and makes recommendations for schools that provide support for these families. The definition of family that the author prefers is the following:

Any group of individuals that forms a household based on respect, the meeting of basic needs, as well as those of love and affection, and one in which assistance is freely given to maintain social, spiritual, psychological, and physical health

According to Hampton, Rak, and Mumford, anywhere between thirty and sixty percent of all urban students live with caregivers that are not their biological parents. These children have distinct, additional requirements. I purposefully used the word distinct, because the diverse families illustrated in this document encompass numerous household situations, similar only in that the children's caregivers are people other than their biological parents.

For example, children of gay or lesbian parents are more likely to treat their home life matter-of-factly in middle childhood, while adolescents may be more critical of their home life. Support for this family requires that the teacher respects the family decision regarding disclosure and avoids asking details about the student's home life. In addition, the teacher is advised to acknowledge any prejudice against homosexual people or beliefs about the morality of homosexuality.

In comparison, children of foster homes have problems that are usually more complex. Most often, these children "demonstrate the effects of past neglect and abuse, grief over separation from their biological family, and the trauma of frequent placement changes." They may be more worried about meeting their survival needs than their educational requirements.

Support for these families is also more complex. The school needs to have a program to involve parents and help them create a comfortable and functional setting for learning. At school, these children need to feel welcome. Generally, they have been in multiple schools. They probably have fallen behind and may not have developed learning skills yet. They need to be enrolled and integrated into the new school promptly. They need supports at school to increase their self-esteem. Often, the school needs to arrange medical treatment and psychotherapy. The school's role for foster children is far more involved than for the children of gay parents.