First Star Academy Summer 2025 Video
Scholars and Peer Mentors at the First Star Cal State University San Bernardino Academy share the impact of the program
Destination Graduation Report
The Foster Youth Pre-College Collective Releases “Destination Graduation” Report; Underscores Foster Youth Challenges and Promising Practices That Successfully Impact Academic Progression LOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 4, 2024) - Deeper investment in highly relational one-on-one services will close the persistent gap between the high school completion rates of youth in the foster care system and other [...]
Peter Samuelson to receive APSAC Award
First Star's Co-Founder and President, Peter Samuelson, has been selected to receive this year's Outstanding Media Coverage Award at APSAC's Virtual Colloquium. Peter is being honored for both his work with First Star and his latest film Foster Boy, which has activated a national movement of reform against corruption in the for-profit foster care system. The Award will be [...]
First Star CEO Lyndsey Wilson appears on NewsNation PRIME
June 3, 2021 First Star CEO Lyndsey Wilson appears on NewsNation PRIME and weighs in on the tragic police shooting involving runaway foster children in Florida (story). Noting that foster youth are retraumatized in group homes where they are more likely to test lower in school, less likely to complete high school, and are more [...]
First Star Featured in TIME Magazine’s April Cover Story
Our CEO, Lyndsey C. Wilson, lends her voice to the April 12th cover story in TIME magazine, which serves as a time capsule that captures the difficulties young people face to finish high school and to go to college. The article highlights a First Star Miami scholar who is now shifting their sights from college to the workforce, shining a light on [...]
Foster care crisis
Foster care crisis: More kids are entering, but fewer families are willing to take them in NBC Article 12-30-20 By Char Adams The nation’s foster care system has been especially overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic, with experts and state agencies saying more children are entering the system, and fewer families are willing to take them in [...]
Best Practices for Supporting the Class of 2020 Foster Youth
May 2020: First Star, in collaboration with United Friends of the Children, and FosterEd (NCYL) drafted a two-page document to assist school-based professionals with guidance on how to best support foster youth during this challenging time. This list of best practice strategies was designed for teachers, counselors, SpEd teams, FY liaisons, administrators, and any individuals [...]
Program Creates Postsecondary Pathways for Youth in Foster Care
Central Illinois Program Creates Postsecondary Pathways for Youth in Foster Care Voices and Viewpoints by Chequita Brown / Feb 6, 2020 It’s 9:15 on a Saturday morning and youth begin to sluggishly saunter into a room. There’s a faint whisper of “Good morning” barely escaping one First Star Scholar’s lips as he finds a seat, [...]
Shaq in the Hat
February 17, 2020: Shaquille O'Neal attended the premier of Foster Boy at the Pan African Film Festival on Monday night. While there he met students from the First Star UCLA Bruin Guardian Scholars Academy. Shaq is focused on bringing awareness to the foster care system as the executive producer of “Foster Boy,” a film [...]