Gladney welcomed some very excited guests this week for an AdoptED field trip our Fort Worth campus. A group of about 25 students from Burleson Centennial High School were taught about all the different aspects of adoption. They learned about the deep history of Gladney and our impact and role in the adoption world, and they were shown videos of real adoption stories from the perspectives of Birth Parents as well as Adoptive Parents. The AdoptED team and other Gladney staff did an amazing job of informing the students of how the modern adoption process operates and how far adoption has come.
Topics: AdoptED, Field Trip, Adoption Education
Early first period bell times. The stress of finding an open parking space. Lugging heavy bags up stairwells, down long hallways, and through masses of large teens. It is all worth it for an AdoptED high school presentation.
Topics: In The Classroom
This week Gladney welcomed 50 students from Denton Guyer High School. This is such an exciting time for the AdoptED team. We love providing adoption education to students and changing perspectives about adoption. It’s very humbling to realize that schools are eager to come to Gladney to learn about the adoption process and tour our campus. The students bring such an energy and have some many insightful questions.
Topics: Adoption Stories, Field Trip
We love to receive feedback from teachers and students on what they think of the AdoptED Virtual Classroom. The feedback helps us know what's working and what needs a tweak or two.
In early May we interviewed a Gladney caseworker for our ShiftED podcast (you'll get to hear this episode soon!). The plan was for Yvonne to come and speak about her job as an options counselor and her day-to-day life speaking with women in unplanned pregnancies. I have worked with Yvonne for many years and even tagged along to watch her navigate a relinquishment in a hospital many summers ago. I was touched by her compassion immediately. Personally, I knew her to be a single mother to two handsome boys and I have watched them grow on Instagram over the years, but I didn’t know her story until recently.
Topics: Unplanned Pregnancy, ShiftED Podcast, Virtual Classroom
Being a teenager today is hard. With non-stop exposure of the internet world, there is a constant stream of knowledge, information, and comparison. Bullying, hormones, love, break ups, unhealthy and high expectations on top of a global pandemic all effect our student’s mental health. Then there are additional traumas that some of them may have experienced. I think of all of this and what it would be like to face an unplanned pregnancy at this stage of life. Heavy.
Topics: AdoptED
This year was exciting for AdoptED. I felt that I had one year completed under my belt and was ready to make even deeper connections with students. Although our time in the classroom was cut short, I was still able to do just that. One student that really stands out was a senior at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth. It was a full day of classes between two teachers who were true advocates for their students. After my first 3 presentations, it was time for a lunch break and I was asked to stay for chicken pot pie prepared by the nutrition class, no worries it was edible.
Topics: In The Classroom
One of my favorite memories from this school year occurred at the end of a very long day. A student was sitting off to the side alone, so I went to speak with her once I had an open opportunity. As it turned out, it was her first day at this new school, so she was rightfully anxious. She told me she is a Gladney Baby and mentioned she has an open adoption with her birth grandmother. Other students heard her and started asking her questions and I watched this frightened young girl raise her shoulders up and lift her head.
Topics: In The Classroom
Yesterday the AdoptED Team hosted our first field trip of the semester on Gladney's Fort Worth Campus! Did you know we educate students not only on adoption but also on careers in the non-profit field?
Topics: Field Trip
One of the many ways AdoptED is shared with high school students is through school field trips to Gladney in Fort Worth, TX. During these field trips students participate in an interactive and educational AdoptED lesson, a tour of our Adoption Museum, lunch and hear from a panel made up of an Adoptive Parent, Adoptee, Caseworker and a Birth Mother.
Topics: Field Trip, Adoption Education