Who Are The Key Players In The Lives Of Prisoners' Kids?

When teachers receive their roster each school year, they are handed more than a list of names—they receive an opportunity to invest in lives.

By Bethany McIlrath

It's likely that some of these lives are impacted by crime and incarceration. 2.7 million children in the United States have a parent behind bars.Teachers and school administrators play a significant role in creating a positive or negative experience for all of their students, but particularly those who come from more vulnerable backgrounds.Several strategies can help educators support prisoners' children in school:

TREAT STUDENTS AS INDIVIDUALS, NOT PRODUCTS

As an article in Education Week points out, students who have an incarcerated parent are statistically more likely to be incarcerated themselves one day. Students with incarcerated parents are often and unfortunately stigmatized as criminals (or on the path to becoming one) themselves. Sadly, bullying is common for children who have a parent in prison. Teachers should be on the lookout for this behavior and intervene.Other ways that educators can come alongside students with a parent in prison are highlighted by Project Avary, a program that supports children of prisoners:

• Addressing students' feelings about incarceration without focusing on the crimes of the parent
• Offering one-on-one attention and validation
• Praising and helping students grow in their talents and natural positive qualities
• Collaborating with caregivers positively to support students
• Avoiding generalizations that highlight the student's challenging situation

VALIDATE AND ENCOURAGE EMOTIONAL PROCESSING

Most children react with strong emotions to the incarceration of a parent. The emotions can be confusing, especially for younger children. Youth.gov explains that having a parent incarcerated is classified as an "adverse childhood experience" (ACE), just as abuse and other traumatic experiences are.School staff can help students with incarcerated parents by encouraging them to express their emotions in healthy ways. Behaviors should be corrected, but emotions should't be punished. Validating that a student has a right to experience their own feelings and develop their own opinions can help students take personal responsibility while also healing from the trauma.

MAINTAIN EXPECTATIONS WITH GRACIOUS FLEXIBILITY

School psychologist Eric Rossen outlines several elements of supporting students with incarcerated parents. One is that students need to be given flexibility without lowering expectations. He explains that teacher expectations influence student performance.When teachers maintain high expectations, students are challenged in a positive way to live up to these expectations. Due to lifestyle changes and hardship that may affect students' ability to focus or complete homework as quickly, some flexibility, such as extra academic support or understanding of the emotions behind a problematic behavior, is also important.ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN ACTIVITIESSince the incarceration of a parent can be isolating for a child and negatively affect a student's social relationships, educators can support students by encouraging participation in extracurricular activities. Before- and after- school activities give students:

• Personal interaction with adults and mentors
• Something in common to share with peers
• A space to relax and develop skills they desire
• Oversight that may be lacking at home during those hours

Students often benefit from involvement in activities and events outside of school as well. For instance, children with incarcerated parents may be especially blessed by attending summer camp such as Angel Tree Camping®. Educators can discover opportunities like these and share them with students. Some even choose to use their skills in education to support students at camps throughout the summer.RECOGNIZE THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONOne of the main reasons that an educator has an amplified effect on the lives of students with incarcerated parents is because these children often face a variety of significant obstacles. They lack not only the presence of a parent, but also may face instability at home, financial insecurity, little oversight or structure outside of school, inconsistency, and much more.For many students living with challenges like the incarceration of a parent, school is one of the only places that is stable and consistent. Educators have the opportunity to make that inherent structure safe and positive so that children who may not have support elsewhere have the opportunity to shape their lives for good.An important note: Children may not be aware that their parent is in prison. If a caregiver discloses this information, the educator should hold that information in confidence unless given permission to share it.ABOUT BETHANYA learner at heart, Bethany McIlrath loves to share about her Savior and ways to lovingly serve others whom God has so loved. You can find Bethany's writing on her blog: FirstandSecondBlog.com. She is a guest blogger for Prison Fellowship®.This article was originally published on the Prison Fellowship website and republished with permission.

Is the Gospel Making a Run in High Schools? ‘The Jesus Club’ Author Says ‘Yes’

At a time when Christians in America who are living out their faith, especially within institutions such as public schools, often feel threatened, One Voice Student Missions has successfully established lunchtime Bible studies at more than 70 high schools in Los Angeles, other areas of California, and in other states.It is because of youth groups such as One Voice that high school students in the L.A. area and beyond are being exposed to the gospel at a greater rate than many may presume.Enter The Jesus Club.Brian Barcelona, 26, who is the One Voice Student Missions founder and author of the book, The Jesus Club - Incredible True Stories of How God is Moving in Our High Schools, leads the youth organization by example, teaching Bible study in four L.A. high schools weekly. He said that his success in sharing the gospel is not so much about his own words or preaching style but the fact that he “shows up” on a consistent and regular basis.In the book, Barcelona recounts that in 2009, at the end of Spirit West Coast, “a huge weekend event, with some of the best Christian bands and speakers from across the country,” he had an encounter with God during which he received his marching orders—It was like a stern order from a general to a soldier, yet His words also felt like a father asking his son for a favor.“As I listened closely, the Lord said, ‘Brian, I want to release a movement that will save the high schools of America. And I want to use your life to do it. This movement will take your city. It will take California. So goes California, so goes the nation,’” writes Barcelona in the first chapter of his book. Farther on, he states, “God continued to speak: The movement I am about to release is going to restore prayer in public schools again.”Barcelona told Together LA that students have many of the same issues today, such as drug abuse, gang participation, family problems, and emotional trials such as depression, as in previous generations, but also face a different problem.“This generation faces a unique hurdle that no other generation has faced and that is social media,” Barcelona said. “Adding to their own problems, people are now going through other people’s feeds and seeing what’s going on in their lives. Studies have shown that this is the ‘loneliest generation’ ever but no one feels lonely because everyone is connected...If that makes sense. The relationships are not really that deep. That’s what I see going on at schools.”When asked how he approaches high schools for the first time, considering that the current political climate includes a large adversarial component, he said, “I don’t think that there is as much hostility towards the gospel as there is towards religion. I think defining those two (gospel and religion) and separating them from the beginning and realizing that a religious agenda is not the same as living out the gospel.“What we find in going into a campus is that we bring the Good News of the Kingdom,” he continued. “The Good News at its core is that we don’t have to be bound and linked the same as we once did. There is freedom in Christ. That’s not just modeled in a sermon or ‘Let me do worship in your school’ or ‘Let me go preach to all your kids.’ That’s modeled first in my response to how I will serve an administrator or my willingness to obey even some of the laws that already exist.“Sometimes, it’s not even [about] laws, but confusion about what separation of church and state really means. When we go into a campus we are there to serve… whether they let me preach the first week or let me preach in 5 months, I’ll do whatever I can to serve that campus and to bring the love of Jesus onto that school.”The Jesus Culture’s church and movement lead pastor, Banning Liebscher, states in an endorsement of Barcelona and One Voice: “I am so encouraged by the work that Brian Barcelona and One Voice Student Missions is doing to impact campuses across the nation. Nothing is more critical in this hour then to reach the youth of America where they are at every day. I am grateful for the heart and passion to lay down their lives for the next generation.”On the WebJesus Club Author Talks to Together LA [VIDEO]One Voice Student MissionsThe Jesus Club - Incredible True Stories of How God is Moving in Our High Schools