My husband and I spent many years in public education and we have a dream where all kids in foster homes feel loved and valued by adults and are supplied with the means to seamlessly fit in with their peers. A place where every child belongs.

We are registered as a nonprofit and while we wait for our 501c3 status to be approved by the federal government, we are asking our friends and family to help launch Fitting In Foster by donating directly through GoFundMe so we will be prepared to step up before the 2025-26 school year kicks off.

Fitting In Foster will coordinate with educators and social workers in our local area to identify needs beyond the basics. Needs to help with belonging such as high school painted parking spots, senior sunrise dues and tee shirt, homecoming mum and dance ticket, yearbook orders, etc. We are starting with high school foster children and then hope to extend down to middle school as we secure the funds to cover these grade levels.

I know we have a community with a Giant Heart and I can't wait to see how many children we can lovingly and anonymously support.

Kasondra

Here is where it all began~~~

Taylor was a quiet, respectful, and attentive child in my 8th grade science class. A few weeks into the school year, I noticed a pattern with Taylor. She rarely had her homework complete, even though she worked diligently while in class. She had developed a habit of quickly catching me in the hallway during passing period to tell me that her homework wasn’t finished. I taught 160 plus students, so it took me a few weeks to learn personalities.

One morning when Taylor stopped me in the hallway, I interrupted her to say that I needed a better reason for her missing work, and not just the normal excuse. Taylor made a statement that stopped me in my tracks – “I have to help get the younger kids ready for bed and then it is lights out at 8pm.”

My focus and attention immediately snapped to her and I asked one question, “Taylor, who do you live with?”

Taylor lived in a group foster home and the practice of quietly telling me about her missing homework was an attempt to keep me from calling on her in class. I asked Taylor if her other teachers knew she lived in foster care, and the answer was no.

I initiated a group email with Taylor’s other teachers to create a plan to best support her. We discovered that math was her weakest subject, largely due to little parental homework support growing up. Reading was her strongest subject also due to spending substantial time alone. She rode an early bus to school, so instead of waiting in the cafeteria, I gave her a permanent pass to proceed to my room. She ate pop tarts (her request) for breakfast and we decided if she would stay and work in my room, or go to math tutoring for the morning.

I ordered her school pictures, paid for her yearbook, and added money to her lunch account for the cafeteria treats such as ice cream. She blossomed that year, and in the spring, Taylor was placed with her Aunt in Maryland. I felt both nervous and overjoyed with this development.

I am positive that Taylor made a deeper imprint on me than I did on her, and she has always been the spark to establish Fitting In Foster. A dream where all kids in foster homes feel loved and valued by adults and are supplied with the means to seamlessly fit in with their peers. A place where every child belongs.