How to Support Refugee Students in Your School Community

Student from Yemen in class

Learn how educators of refugees can back up students' social-emotional health, academic instruction, and acclimation to a new life in the U.S. This article also offers strategies for smoothing the transition for both refugees and mainstream students and supporting students through the COVID-19 pandemic.

See related manufactures, videos, books, and more in our Refugee Resource Section.

Notation: A special thanks to Bridging Refugee Youth & Children'south Services for their contributions to this article.

"An immigrant leaves his homeland to discover greener grass. A refugee leaves his homeland considering the grass is burning under his feet…"

— Barbara Police, More Than Just Surviving Handbook: ESL for Every Classroom Teacher

My first experience with refugees was in 1980, every bit a student. Large numbers of Asian students began enrolling in my inferior high schoolhouse — Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees who were resettling in Minneapolis as part of the Refugee Resettlement Human activity.

Minnesota is a state congenital from the efforts of immigrants, and many citizens are familiar with the stories of their ain ancestors who came to build a new life here. Yet these newcomers were non immigrants — they were refugees who had no selection but to leave the country they loved and brainstorm a new life in a strange new country. They were also very different from the immigrant ancestors with which our community was familiar, and unfortunately our teachers and the schoolhouse staff didn't explicate much virtually the newcomers who looked very different from our average pupil.

They were in ESL classes, more often than not separated from the mainstream, and to us, their habits seemed strange. They weren't familiar with Western style clothes, and then boys would wear frilly, feminine blouses, had long hair, and were comfortable property easily. Their languages were so different than the languages any of u.s.a. had ever studied. They married very immature, and equally a effect some of the girls had children at 14 or 15 years old.

Most American students didn't know much about the geography or history of Vietnam and the region, and so the new "gunkhole people" who were arriving in large numbers were a mystery to us. While I am ashamed to admit this, at the fourth dimension, my junior high peers and I made up our own stories about these students, often creating more misunderstanding and tension.

Fast forward well-nigh 3 decades. During the 1990s, the United states experienced a dramatic increase in refugee resettlement, albeit more than 132,000 refugees in 1992.¹ That number declined steadily throughout the decade except for a brief surge in 1998 and 1999, simply post-obit the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the number of refugees admitted to the U.Southward. dropped off sharply, and has been in flux ever since.^2, ³

What is of import to notation, yet, is that, according to the Brookings Institute's Metropolitan Policy Plan, between 1983 and 2004, refugees had "overwhelming been resettled in metropolitan areas with large foreign-born populations," where the bear on of their inflow may non have been every bit dramatic as it would be in smaller cities. The Metropolitan Policy Plan'south recent enquiry, notwithstanding, shows a tendency of resettling refugees in medium-sized and smaller cities such as Binghamton, NY, Sioux Falls, SD, and Spokane, WA — areas where a large refugee population tin can take a major impact on the community.^four That impact is peculiarly significant if people, governments, and schools are non used to meeting the needs of such a diverse population.

As ELL educators we have a unique opportunity to help educate our mainstream students and families about newly arriving refugees, develop cultural agreement and credence, and smooth the transition for both refugees and mainstream students.

Refugee or Immigrant?

According to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Condition of Refugees, a refugee is "a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a item social grouping, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fright, is unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country." An immigrant is a strange national who is issued a visa to live and work permanently in the Us. In most cases, a relative or employer sponsors the individual by filing an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Immigrants come up to the U.S. for a diverseness of reasons, such every bit joining family members or for educational and work opportunities, but not considering they have a fear of persecution in their native country. They normally accept time to make arrangements to leave their country — selling or renting their home, gathering important documents, making travel arrangements, and proverb good-farewell to loved ones. Oftentimes they are sponsored by family members who will assist them with basic needs and aligning to U.S. culture when they arrive.

Refugees come to the U.South. to escape persecution or unsafe situations such as war in their ain country. They often leave their homes quickly, mayhap fleeing danger. They rarely have time to make any arrangements, gather important documents, or say expert-bye to loved ones. In fact, depending on the situation, they may leave their abode and not know the fate or whereabouts of their family unit members, which causes a lot of stress. They ofttimes live in refugee camps in neighboring countries while waiting for their application for resettlement to be candy. The camps vary in the support and resources provided. Some camps may exist well-established and have organized housing, nutrient distribution, and didactics opportunities, while others may lack even the basics of make clean water and sanitation. When refugees arrive in the U.South. they receive services and support from ane of the x national voluntary agencies that have contracts with the U.S. government in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. They often have to learn a whole new culture and language without the back up of extended family.

Challenges Faced by Refugees

Post-Traumatic Stress

Mental wellness is an expanse of concern for resettled refugees. Due to the extremely stressful circumstances typically associated with their departure from their own country and their journey to the U.S., Postal service-traumatic Stress Disorder is a real concern when assisting refugees. Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an feet disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Information technology is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma. This stressor may involve someone's bodily decease or a threat to the patient's or someone else's life, serious physical injury, or threat to physical and/or psychological integrity, to a caste that usual psychological defenses are incapable of coping.

Signs and symptoms of PTSD, as listed on KidsHealth, include:

sleeplessness
nightmares
inability to get along with others, peculiarly in close relationships
paranoia and distrust
unwillingness to discuss or revisit in whatsoever way the site of the trauma
persistent, intense fright and anxiety
feeling hands irritated or agitated
having difficulty concentrating
feeling numb or detached
no longer finding pleasance in previously enjoyable activities
feeling helpless or "out of control"
experiencing intense survivor guilt
being preoccupied with the traumatic event
physical symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal distress, or dizziness
suicidal thoughts, plans, or gestures

More than information about how to assist refugees who are suffering from PTSD is available from the National Kid Traumatic Stress Network. If refugee students or their family members display these symptoms, it is important that the schoolhouse and/or their sponsoring organization assist them in getting professional person help and handling. Work with school social workers or counselors to help students who are experiencing PTSD.

Limited Formal Pedagogy

Refugees ofttimes have lived for many years in a country with an unstable infrastructure due to extreme poverty, state of war, or disasters. This means that many children (and adults) may non have had an opportunity to nourish schoolhouse and learn basic skills in their ain language. For older children and adults this can significantly touch on their learning when they begin school in the U.S. In my commune for example, we have many Somali students who begin ninth grade and have never learned to write in their own language — this presents an additional challenge when learning new vocabulary and English script.

Students with interrupted formal educational activity are not less intelligent than other students their historic period, and they do not need special educational activity referrals to address these bug. They simply need an opportunity to learn basic skills and receive very skilled and intentional instruction to accelerate their learning. For loftier schoolhouse students, they must complete in iv years what mainstream students have xiii years to end. (To read more well-nigh how to assess whether ELL students demand Special Teaching services, see How to Address Special Teaching Needs in the ELL Classroom.)

I would as well like to underscore that refugee students do non come to us "knowing nothing," as I have heard some teachers limited in frustration. It may seem that manner when they are compared with other students their historic period, just refugee students have learned skills in survival and decision-making through intense exposure to dramatic global issues that nigh of their peers probably have not experienced. They are capable of learning English and the skills necessary to be successful academically; information technology volition just accept longer than mainstream students and fifty-fifty other ELL students who have had formal education in their own language in their dwelling house land.

Lack of Documentation

Because refugees leave their homes due to crunch, they rarely have of import documents with them that assist them in navigating U.Southward. civilisation. Refugees may lack nascence certificates, vaccination records, marriage certificates, and educational transcripts. Most of these items are re-created and certified through the U.S. authorities resettlement process, merely at that place still may exist mistakes. Birth certificates may accept incorrect years on them, and students may really be older or younger than expected for a certain grade level. It is also interesting to annotation that some cultures exercise not place such importance on birthdays and documentation of nativity, and so when the refugee application is processed they are oftentimes given a altogether of January 1st. This may crusade confusion in school records when the district enrollment shows two Mohamed Mohamed's that have the aforementioned birth engagement. Working with these records requires careful attention on everyone's office, particularly counselors and schoolhouse administrators.

One area that has been specially challenging in our district is the acceptance of high school transcripts from other countries. When placing ELL students in high school courses, counselors evaluate their transcript to determine if they have already successfully completed some required courses and to determine correct class-level placement. If a student successfully completed biology in the home country, he or she does not need to take information technology again only because it is in English language. Verifying transcripts from other countries tin be difficult, especially when they are from educational institutions in countries that accept experienced a lot of turmoil. The majority of refugee students who come to my district practice not take a transcript from their own land, and fifty-fifty if they say they take completed required courses, counselors take no way to give credit for information technology. If a newly enrolling high school ELL student does not take an official transcript he or she is automatically placed in ninth grade. This has caused some distress in refugee students (especially older teens) who want to complete high school quickly and motion on to college. Counselors who work with the student and family, all the same, can assist them understand the benefits of iv years of free schooling in English earlier they enroll in college.

Parent Outreach

As educators we likewise accept an opportunity and a responsibility to assistance refugee parents understand the U.S. educational system and how they can best help their child succeed. In many other countries, the teacher is responsible for educating the child, and the parent is not expected to be involved. It is very dissimilar in the U.S., and refugee parents may not understand the expectations. Depending on their cultural background, they may be dislocated as to why the teacher would look the parents to assistance in educating their child. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a bilingual staff fellow member or family unit liaison in your schoolhouse to communicate effectively with refugee families and address areas of concern. The organization Bridging Refugee Youth & Children'south Services (BRYCS) offers some ideas in Involving Refugee Parents in Their Children's Teaching.

Resettlement Challenges

The federal government places refugee families in specific states and provides bones support for their resettlement. A representative from a local bureau often identifies a place for the family to live when they go far, and assists them with initial integration into the culture. Though refugees are entitled to a minor amount of cash aid upon inflow and are eligible to utilize for boosted time-limited assistance, it is necessary for most refugee adults to look for piece of work very soon later on arrival. Children are enrolled in school, and adults are encouraged to take ESL classes to learn English. As the family unit adjusts to their new life, they may make up one's mind that there are better opportunities in another part of the U.S. and relocate to another land. This has happened often in Minnesota, where family members have relocated to the Twin Cities area to be with other family unit members.

Social service agencies often recognize the extensive needs of refugee families and enlist the services of translators, health professionals and established community members from the refugee's country to provide the necessary assist. A common area of concern in Minnesota is helping refugees (who mainly make it from very warm climates) to find and article of clothing appropriate wear for the cold atmospheric condition. Some of the things that we take for granted, such as how to turn on a stove or pay an electric nib, may exist very challenging for refugee families, and they need support to learn the skills they volition need in their new land.

Y'all Are Welcome Here: Supporting the Social and Emotional Health of Newcomer Immigrants

You Are Welcome Here (#DearbornWelcome) is an award-winning twenty-minute pic from Colorín Colorado highlighting how the Dearborn, MI public schoolhouse district is helping its immigrant students succeed. The film features Salina Uncomplicated Schoolhouse and Salina Intermediate School in the Southward Finish of Dearborn which serve large populations of families from Republic of yemen. Related resources, videos, and interviews are too available.

What Yous Can Practice to Support Refugee Students

Here are some suggestions for steps yous and your school can accept to support refugee students:

Make up one's mind a "welcome" process for your school

This will ensure the refugee students and families feel welcome when they arrive, and that everyone knows what their role will be in enrolling new students throughout the year. Be certain to include a process of assessment and so teachers volition have consistent information on newly enrolling refugee students.

Learn about your students
Learn every bit much as you can about refugee students' cultures, and invite students to share their noesis with their classmates.
Help students and families find resources they need
Develop a list of community resources such every bit food and clothing shelves, wellness care centers, and adult ESL classes. Have the data on manus to share at conferences or other family events.
Go to know the families by having regular meetings
Consider what works best for the families — if they live in a concentrated area with a community eye you may want to concur the meetings in their neighborhood. Exist sure to take bilingual back up, food and childcare. Federal funds can be used to provide transportation also.
Remember that students may exist under a lot of stress
Fifty-fifty as students appear to adjust, they may be worrying nigh family members in their dwelling house state, or near difficulties adjusting to the new culture and language. Look for signs of stress and piece of work with school social workers or counselors and the family to develop a plan to assist the educatee reduce anxiety. Welcoming and Orienting Newcomer Students to U.South. Schools, published by BRYCS, offers some fantabulous suggestions for helping students conform.
Integrate the students' cultural and country data into your weekly classroom routines
This will help them maintain pride in their country, and to help them share information with their peers. Teachers can create a "News" corner that contains data about the students' dwelling country, or have Friday "Music Madness" twenty-four hours and have students bring in music to share.
Increment exposure to language
Have elementary English phrases and pictures posted around the room and the school.
Keep students engaged
Identify appropriate resource and support activities to keep the newly enrolled students engaged in learning fifty-fifty while their English skills are notwithstanding very low. Endeavour to make the learning time meaningful (by doing grouping piece of work with other students who speak the same language), but not exhausting for the student (like writing a summary in English.)
Pair students with trained peers who can serve as "buddies"
Create a school ambassador program with trained peers to guide newly enrolled refugee students through their start weeks of school.
Use age appropriate materials
For older students who demand to develop initial literacy skills, work with other staff to provide age-advisable materials that allows the students to practice their developing skills, but doesn't require them to complete activities designed for immature children.

In my experience with refugee students, I have been deeply impressed past their resiliency, determination, and overall positive attitude. It tin can be easy for me to forget what has occurred in their past and the challenges their families may exist facing because my students are focused so positively on the opportunities earlier them and their bright future. They may have had no selection in leaving their home country when the "grass was burning nether their feet," just instead of looking back, many of them look forward to "greener pastures" as they build their new life in the U.S. with educational success. Through increased understanding of the refugee experience, teachers volition be ameliorate able to meet their students' needs and be a resource in educating other students and adults on the refugee experience, and the continuing need for inclusion and back up.

Booklists, Videos, and More

Refugee booklists

A book tin be a great fashion to introduce a item disharmonize or issue to students or colleagues. These booklists include books for children, immature adults, and school or community professionals. Due to the violent nature of the conflicts described, withal, we encourage y'all to review titles carefully before recommending them or using them in the classroom.

Recommended Resources

These online resource provide background information on refugees and highlight numerous materials from related organizations that educators can apply back up refugee students and families. Nosotros also have a special folio on Syrian refugees.

Related resources

Educating Newcomer ELLs with Limited Schooling: An Overview
How to Support ELL Students with Interrupted Formal Instruction (SIFEs)

Videos

Educator voices: Refugees in the classroom

These video excerpts highlight the many ways that educators can back up refugees and newcomers in the ELL classroom. Full interviews are available in the Run into the Experts department and Encounter the Author section, and the clips are also available on YouTube.

Citations

* To view this file, you lot'll demand a copy of Acrobat Reader. Well-nigh computers already accept it installed. If yours does non, you can download information technology now.

Endnotes

ⁱThe Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Admissions Summary as of May 31, 2008. Department of Land. http://wrapsnet.org/Reports/AdmissionsArrivals/tabid/211/linguistic communication/en-The states/Default.aspx

ⁱⁱDewey, Arthur E. "Immigration Afterwards nine/11: The View From the United States."Remarks to the American Club for International Constabulary, April 3, 2003. http://world wide web.country.gov/yard/prm/rls/2003/37906.htm

ⁱⁱⁱPRM Admissions Summary.

⁴ Singer, Audrey. "From 'There' to 'Here': Refugee Resettlement in Metropolitan America." Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution. September, 2006.

⁵Data from the Role of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Reports to Congress, 2005

⁶The ORR is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Homo Service'southward Assistants for Children and Families.

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