Critical Exposure was a gateway for my students to take a deeper dive into conversations on social justice issues. My students explored their agency through photography, presentation, and written...
Partners for Kids in Care Summer 2013
Location:
Washington, D.C.
Issue:
Foster Care
Dates Of Project:
June-August 2013
How does an unstable home life affect one’s education?
Critical Exposure worked with Partners for Kids in Care, an initiative of the D.C. Child & Family Services Agency that supports youth in the foster care system, to explore this question. Nearly all youth in the program had experience in the foster care system, and the group brainstormed changes they wanted to see.
Despite the myth that educational experiences are solely determined by students’ personal will, youth in this program identified a number of factors that impact a foster student’s education. The struggles that these students voiced, such as lacking emotional support from family members and not knowing where they will stay each night, are compounded by the challenges that many youth in DCPS already face.
An exhibit of the students’ work was held at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, which funded the project.
