Training & Events

Teacher In-Service Program: Adopted Child in Elementary School

Friends of Adoption presents an in-service program for teachers called "The Adopted Child in Elementary School." Following is the explanation that we provide to the school about the program.

You can also print a copy here.

The Adopted Child in Elementary School
We are all on a lifelong journey of discovering, "Who Am I?"; For a child who has entered his or her family through adoption, understanding adoption is part of that journey. As a professional, you will share in a part of that journey with these children.

Statistics show that in today's society, only 1 out of 4 children lives with his or her biological parents. As a result, your students belong to families that have come together in very different ways. Adoption is one of the ways that families come together; it is a valid way to build a family whose commitment is lifelong.

Our workshop entitled "The Adopted Child in Elementary School" will give you some tools to guide you as you work with children who have been adopted. We will explain the use of Positive Adoption Language, and how it moves adoption from a negative choice to a positive choice in the lives of these children and all children, in giving them a better understanding of adoption. In addition, we will address some general information on adoptive families and present some developmental issues that children who entered their families through adoption face as they grow up.

We will conclude with some group discussion that will look at different class assignments and how to handle certain situations that might arise among peers, on playgrounds or in the classrooms of our schools. Our workshop is presented by members of Friends of Adoption in cooperation with area schools and the Department of Children and Family Services.