CORE | Coalition for Residential Education

CORE’s National Conference this year is March 16-18th. Make sure you, or somebody from within your organization, comes to share ideas and meet others from within the residential education field! We’ll also discuss significant CORE initiatives with our members! Please follow the link provided at the bottom of our home page to find out all the conference details and to sign up! We hope to see you there!

Carol Emig, President of Child Trends, the nation’s leading independent research and policy center focused exclusively on improving outcomes for children, will offer the Opening Keynote address at the 2011 CORE National Conference on March 16, at the Milton Hershey School, in Hershey, PA. Ms. Emig was recently Executive Director of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, and directed all aspects of this important panel. Other conference highlights include: Student-led tours of the Milton Hershey School, a focus on outcomes collection, a half day on student use of technology – the opportunities and challenges, Catherine Hershey awards for those in the residential education field, workshops, and more.

CORE just completed a national survey of existing residential education programs.  The 2010 survey “Residential Education In The United States: An Overview,” garnered a 61% response rate, with 107 residential education programs serving approximately 12,550 children and youth answering questions on Program Models, Student Demographics, Outcomes, Budget, and more.

Findings show residential education programs overwhelmingly exemplify a dedication to modeling themselves after a family lifestyle: 92% accommodate students in houses or cottages; 75% utilize full-time, live-in house couples. View Program Model Findings

To receive a complete copy of survey findings, please email coreinfo@residentialeeducation.org

Dr. Ed Knight, President of Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services of Austin, TX and Tina Aycock, Executive Director, Hope Village for Children of Meridian, MS joined the CORE Board of Directors at CORE’s Annual Meeting September 30, 2010. “The addition of these new board members significantly strengthens our collective expertise, and our ability to better serve vulnerable children, youth, and families,” said Executive Director and Founder Heidi Goldsmith.

Tina Aycock is Hope Village’s first Executive Director, assisting the program’s creation, in partnership with television star Sela Ward. Tina has served at-risk in Mississippi since 1988, as a Rehabilitation Counselor and as Executive Director of East MS Children’s Shelter. Hope Village is a residential education program that provides a broad spectrum of specialized programs, services, and facilities to youth in the foster care system. These services include Emergency shelters for children ages birth through 18, therapeutic group homes for children ages 12 through 20 and two transitional homes designed for young adults preparing to age out of the foster care system. Tina’s degrees include a BA in Social Work from Mississippi State University and an MS in Counseling and Psychology from the University of West Alabama.

For the past 25 years, Dr. Ed Knight has worked tirelessly to expand offerings to under-served populations in Texas and Louisiana. Since becoming President of Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services in 2002, he has expanded offerings to include six residential campuses in different cities in Texas for abused and disturbed children; one residential campus for single mothers and their children; community-based foster care in several communities, family preservation programs in eighteen cities in Texas and Louisiana, and an advanced education program for high school graduates. Ed’s many degrees include a Doctorate in Organization Development, Colorado Technical University and Master of Science degree in Social Work, University of Texas. Ed is recipient of the 2008 Catherine Hershey Administrator of the Year award. “I am proud to be a part of this national association.  I can think of no higher calling than to support the advancement of residential programs in America that nurture young lives and work to enhance each youth’s educational experience.  The work of our member agencies across the country, to offer new opportunities to disadvantaged youth, makes our nation stronger.”

CORE member programs will gather on Capitol Hill on September 29 to showcase to policymakers and Administration officials what (and how) residential education programs offer youth, their families, and our communities — and how policymakers can ensure our programs’ continued effectiveness and best uses of resources.

CORE will also unveil the most recent findings from its national survey – the only one of its kind currently conducted – Residential Education in the U.S.: An Overview. The findings provide an overall landscape of the residential education field, including who is served by residential education programs, program models used, funding and referral sources, and compelling overall outcomes.

For more information, please contact the CORE office.

We are pleased to announce that an impressive 78.5% of 2010 CORE-member residential education program graduates will attend two- and four-year colleges this fall.

Another 13.1% will attend trade and technical schools, while 1.6% will join the military and 7% will enter the workforce.

This achievement is especially impressive given the backgrounds of these youth: the vast majority are from low-income, single or zero parent families, with many from the foster care system. A significant number were homeless prior to enrolling in one of the approximately 40 residential education programs in CORE’s network.

When compared to the national college enrollment rate for all high school graduates of 70.1% (2009, latest figure, Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor), one can see the effectiveness of residential education for disadvantaged youth who are traditionally underrepresented in post-secondary education.

CORE applauds all graduates and their programs for this outstanding success. Congratulations!

CORE is thrilled to announce a strengthened partnership with Bryan Samuels, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he is currently serving as the federal head of foster care. CORE and its member programs will meet quarterly with Commissioner Samuels to discuss advocacy, outcomes measurement, research, and more.

Those who attended this year’s CORE National Conference will remember him as the inspiring and very effective closing keynote speaker.

We look forward to continuing our dialogue with him!

CORE is delighted that next year’s national conference – the only national gathering of practitioners in the residential education field and a terrific opportunity to network with programs across the country – will be hosted March 16-18 by the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania. The largest residential education program in the nation, Milton Hershey School has long been a supporter of CORE and is a model of excellence for the field.

We look forward to having you join us! Please stay tuned for more information.

- Overview of 2010 National Conference Events

From Place to Place and Waiting for Superman shed light on America’s broken child welfare and education systems – and as a result, how children are struggling profoundly and getting lost in “foster care drift,” “drop-out factories,” and “academic sinkholes.” Residential education – where at-risk youth live and learn in safe, stable, and education-focused settings – is one viable alternative to foster care and ineffective school systems.

Directed by Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim (also of An Inconvenient Truth), Waiting for Superman follows five promising students through our country’s education system that inhibits – rather than encourages – academic growth. The documentary provides an exhaustive review of public education. One of the five students hopes to attend residential education program The SEED School of Washington, DC, and illustrates the high stakes for families without many options.

Waiting for Superman will be released this fall and is the recipient of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best U.S. Documentary.

From Place to Place spends two years in the lives of six youth who recently aged out of Montana’s foster care system. At 18 years old, they are forced to leave the system without the skills or support they need to be successful. They struggle immensely to make the transition from foster care to independence. Their stories of trauma, abandonment, multiple placements, and aging out can argue the need for nurturing residential education programs, many of which also have transitional independent living programs where graduates can continue to reside and learn life skills as they transition to adulthood. The film will be released in December.

- Trailer for Waiting for Superman – Official Movie Web Site 6/3/10
- Trailer for From Place to Place – Official Movie Web Site 6/3/10

May 6 marked the second annual National Residential Education Day – a day to celebrate the many opportunities residential education programs provide for children while increasing understanding of residential education at national and local levels. Students, alumnae, staff, and supporters introduced, reminded, and served as “voices” of residential education to media, referral sources, donors, policymakers, and child welfare professionals through a variety of activities across the country.

CORE member programs tailored events to fit their individual program’s needs and strengths.
A sampling of events include:

Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children instituted their second annual Advocacy Day, where youth success stories were delivered to each state representative, and youth met with policymakers to share how residential education has impacted their lives.

Boys’ Home, Inc. in Virginia instituted their second annual “Heads and Shoulders” open house event, inviting community members to learn about their program. Youth showcased the array of services offered. Allegheny County author Josh Hagy also spoke to youth about the importance of literature and writing.

Methodist Children’s Home in Texas used the Willson-Johnson Lecture Series for social workers, teachers, and counselors in Central Texas as an opportunity to educate child welfare professionals on the residential education option. The guest speaker was Frank Kros, president of The Upside Down Organization and executive vice president of The Children’s Guild in Maryland.

Crossnore School in North Carolina organized an open house event for the local community and a campus-wide assembly where NASCAR Hall of Famer and Crossnore alumnus Waddell Wilson inspired youth and staff with his personal story of determination,
overcoming hardships, and achieving success with the help of Crossnore support and relationships.

Milton Hershey School (MHS) in Pennsylvania implemented activities that further integrate the academic and residential components of their home and school. In addition to the Houseparent-Teacher Alliance hosting two open forums for staff, houseparents accompanied students to school while teachers and staff ate, toured, and had social time in student homes. A parade showcasing student homes was held. Additionally, MHS alumna and current houseparent Deanna Slamans ’91 held an assembly and book signing of Faith’s Pursuit, her memoir of growing up at MHS.

Some programs celebrated the day internally while many programs reached out to local media using common language – CORE’s “branding” language that defines and distinguishes residential education.