Approximately 3 million children in the United States have a parent in prison. Most teachers have these children in their classrooms. These young people face unique challenges that affect their classroom behavior and learning.
Many of them, often being raised by grandparents or foster parents, share the ache of separation that any child who doesn't have regular contact with one or both parents experiences. Added to this are the particular pains of having parents in prison: shame and isolation; a sense of guilt for their parents’ condition; anger at their parents and others; and anxiety about themselves, their parents, and their caregivers. “We have to grow up fast,” the older children I’ve spoken to often say.