Classroom Support

UNDERSTANDING YOUR ROLE: Understand the importance of your role as an educator in the lives of young children.

Nurturing the teacher-student Relationship

SPEAK DIRECTLY TO STUDENTS— Depending on age, engage directly with children about where behaviors may be stemming from.

BE AVAILABLE— Make yourself available and welcoming to your students. If a student shares with you inside or outside the classroom, be accepting and focus on active listening instead of offering advice or providing solutions.
BECOMING OVER-INVOLVED— Stay supportive but keep a healthy distance. You don’t want to over-identify with the child’s experience and lose an objective perspective. You can be empathetic and remain grounded.
KEEP CHECKING IN— When a child’s parents are going through a divorce, consistency is key. This is true in terms of routine, but also in your emotional engagement with them. Divorce is not just one event— expect the periods of crisis and the calmer periods to come in waves. Healing isn’t linear.

SCHEDULE—Familiarize yourself with the child’s schedule.
TRANSITION/RESPONSIBILITIES— Remain aware of the child transitioning between households while making sure this doesn’t become an excuse for avoiding responsibilities.
CONSISTENT+FLEXIBLE— Maintain consistent rules and routine, but also remain flexible at times when the student clearly feels pressured. Remember that children respond to boundaries in the context of a trusting and loving teacher-student relationship.
ORGANIZATION— Organizational help with keeping track of homework etc. can be crucial in keeping the child from feeling overwhelmed about moving between two homes.
STRUCTURE+ROUTINE— Maintain classroom structure and a consistent school routine. Consistency in schedules and discipline provides security for children whose families are going through a divorce.

INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM CULTURE— Create a classroom environment that is inclusive of the different homes children may be coming from.
HOLIDAYS: How can you make holidays (especially mother’s and father’s day) inclusive?
Consider celebrating a “Family Appreciation Day” in addition to Mother’s or Father’s day.
Pay attention to changes in behavior around holidays, as they can be create anxiety and unease for the child.
Emphasize that these days are to honor anyone who the child loves and who loves them.
CURRICULUM: How can you make curriculum inclusive?
When doing an art project that prompts children to draw their homes and families, allow and encourage an accurate representation, if this includes multiple homes— also encourage the children to represent any important caregivers
Always emphasize that families look different, some include two moms, two dads, some only have one parent; caretakers can be anyone who loves a child. Within this context, normalize the idea of a child living in more than one household.

Family Books : Common in Reggio Emilia classrooms, family books are a wonderful way for children to take pride in their unique families and share them with their peers.
Story Dictation : Taking a child's dictation is a powerful emotional outlet and a great window in the children's mind.
Social Stories : Social stories (SSs) were originally used for for teaching social skills to individuals with autism” but increasing evidence is showing that there are helpful for children without special needs as well. An SS typically contains a short text adapted to the child's understanding with a picture about a specific social situation (Zhou et al., 2024). If a child is exhibiting challenging behaviors while family is going through divorce, this could be a helpful tool! More on how to write an social story here.

Zhou, N., Zhou, L., Ho, C. Y. T., McGrath, C., & Wong, H. M. (2024). Social Story Intervention for Training Expected Behaviors among Preschool Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(7), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21070940

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (2009). An Educator’s Guide: Interacting with Separating, Divorcing, Never-Married Parents and Their Children. https://www.afccnet.org/Portals/0/Committees/CEFCP%20-%20Educators%20Guide.pdf?ver=EBnAm2n4A3R43WUrPx1gBw%3D%3D

Leon, K. Spengler, L. (2005). Extension Helping Children Adjust to Divorce: A Guide for Teachers. https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/gh6611 University of Missouri

Green, K. McAllister, M. Metcalf, S. (2013). Divorce: recommendations for teachers and parents. https://www.education.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Divorce.pdf