ADOPTION EDUCATION
At Nebraska Children’s Home Society, we believe adoption is a lifelong process not an event.  Therefore, we place a special emphasis on adoption education by reaching out to educate birth parents, adoptive parents, and the general public about adoption.  Innovative programs like Adoption University® support this belief. 

Adoption University
Adoption University® is a comprehensive program designed to educate and inform youth about positive, ethical adoption information. The thought-provoking lectures and activities in Adoption University® allow students to consider how adoption touches people’s lives.

Training
Adoption University® is also training educators across the state of Nebraska and throughout the United States on how the high school, middle school, and elementary school curriculum can be used in their classrooms.  Additional workshops are being held to educate community members about the Nebraska Children's Home and the services we offer.  Workshop participants include educators, community members, community volunteers, and Health and Human Services personnel.

Middle School Curriculum
The Adoption University Middle School curriculum follows a two-day syllabus comprised of activities, vocabulary, surveys, discussions, case studies, and a video targeting 6th- through 8th-grade students.

• Participants will learn that today’s families are created in a variety of ways –among them, adoption.
• Students can strengthen their vocabularies and gain insight into aspects of adoption.
• Students will also have the opportunity for discussion upon viewing the emotional video, which shares the real-life stories of peers from families created by adoption. 

Click here to view the Middle School Curriculum.
(Macromedia Flash is required to view)

High School Curriculum
The week-long agenda of activities, role playing, guest speakers, surveys, discussions and a powerful video created specifically for 9th-through 12th-grade students, accommodates a traditional or block-style class schedule.

• Hands-on exercises within the curriculum mimic real-life scenarios. 
• Students will have the chance to examine their own family values and goals for the future. 
• Students explore parenting and adoption options, interact with guest speakers, and read touching letters written by couples waiting to become parents through adoption.

Click here to view the High School Curriculum.
(Macromedia Flash is required to view)

This innovative Adoption University® curriculum was developed by Nebraska Children’s Home Society to guide students through the serious questions encountered when facing an unplanned pregnancy, without the anxiety and intense emotions their real-life counterparts experience. 

Each Adoption University® unit Includes:

• Instructor’s daily plans
• Students’ activity pages
• Answer keys
• High school birth mothers’ stories video
• Middle school adoptees’ stories video
• Elementary school adoption book to read to class

Questions & Answers

• Is training required to use Adoption University®?
  Yes and no.  A one-day training is required for the high school level program.  However, no training is needed for using the middle school or elementary versions. 
• Who is using Adoption University®?
  High school and middle school Family and Consumer Science teachers, Health teachers, counselors, college and university professors, elementary school teachers, and youth group facilitators have chosen to integrate this program into their courses.
• Who supports the Adoption University® curriculum?
  The Nebraska Department of Education supports Adoption University® as supplemental material.
• What is the cost of materials for us to incorporate Adoption University® into our teaching?
  For more information, please contact us at (402) 451-0787 or adoptionuniversity@nchs.org.

Contacting Us
If you want to learn more about Adoption University® or are interested in using the curriculum, please contact us: