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The Austin, TX Independent School District (Austin ISD) is home to more than 21,000 English language learners. While the majority of students are Spanish speakers, students throughout the district speak 116 languages. Austin ISD also serves about 700 refugee students.

Currently, over 300 Afghan students are enrolled in Austin ISD and the district is preparing to welcome nearly 100-200 Afghan families in the coming months following the recent developments in Afghanistan. We spoke to a team from Austin ISD's Multilingual Education Department to learn more about their preparations and lessons learned so far. This team included the following members:

David Kauffman, Executive Director for Multilingual Education

Salimah Shamsuddin, Refugee Family Support Coordinator

A Refugee Family Liaison (This team member is from Afghanistan and asked not to be named.)

You can see additional coverage of Austin's initiatives (both in the school district and locally) to welcome Afghan refugees in the recommended resources below.

Note: ELLs in Texas are now referred to as "emergent bilinguals" based on a recent change in state policy.

Multilingual Education in Austin

Austin ISD has taken some key steps to ensure that educators throughout the district are prepared to serve their diverse student body. In addition to robust bilingual programming, all elementary school teachers are ESL certified, and at the secondary level, all English teachers must be ESL certified. That requirement is also starting to roll out for content areas.

Dr. Kauffman notes, "We really try to build a structure where all of our classes support language learning and our emergent bilinguals. We also have a real emphasis on cultural proficiency and inclusiveness. It's an ongoing priority that we make sure that our teachers and our staff and our schools are culturally proficient and that we're creating inclusive environments where everyone feels welcome and everyone is able to see themselves in the classroom. Those are core things that we want to make sure are always in place."

It's also worth noting that the district has extensive experience resettling students who have been displaced from both domestic and international situations, such as evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and Burmese students from Myanmar.

Refugee Family Support Services Office

The Refugee Family Support Office services include assistance with:

Registration and enrollment support

Cultural orientation for student and parents

Parent/teacher conferences and meetings

Crisis intervention

Resource mapping and referrals to mental health providers

Day-to-day interpretation services - such as assisting families with understanding school forms - for 90 campuses

Facilitating campus events targeting refugee families (e.g., Coffee with the Principal, Back to School Night, Know Your Rights events, etc.)

Home visits

Emergency language support for families and campuses

Interpretation for special education meetings

For example, in the case of families arriving from Afghanistan, the Refugee Family Liaison will help families with registration and a cultural orientation. That orientation might include topics such as how lunch works, how schedules work for secondary students, school transportation, and public transportation. The team will also provide crisis supports that are needed.

Ms. Shamsuddin notes, "We work very closely with our licensed mental health professionals and our school counselors to make sure that the students are referred to culturally competent mental health providers that know how to work with refugee families. We emphasize a focus on wellness rather than mental health, which is a more inviting entry into the topic."

In addition, the Refugee Family Liaison makes a point to inform families of their right to an interpreter and the language access resources available in the district, noting, "I always inform parents, 'Don't think because you don't speak the language you can't communicate with your students' teachers. Ask them to provide you with an interpreter.' Then I give them that information."

Ms. Shamsuddin notes that the Refugee Family Liaison's relationship with the families is a key source of trust and communication. "This work is essential to building relationships among families and schools. The liaison's knowledge, skills, and competencies make them an effective advocate for our families and provide the families with the tools and resources they need to be successful."

In addition, community partners are critical and the team has worked extensively to develop those partnerships. According to Ms. Shamsuddin, "Having a strong network of community partners including social services, education, refugee providers, community based organization and advocacy groups allows for interagency collaboration, resource sharing and effective coordinated services."

Professional Development

Ms. Shamsuddin and the Refugee Family Liaison have also prepared a staff training to help educators get more familiar with important facts about Afghanistan and cultural considerations. Some of the points they share include the following:

Afghan vs. Afghani: Afghani is the currency in Afghanistan. "Afghan" is the appropriate adjective to use when discussing students or families from Afghanistan.

Geography: Afghanistan is located in South Asia. Afghan students are not Arab or from the Middle East.

Language: The two primary languages spoken in Afghanistan are Dari and Pashto; in addition, many people speak regional languages that are less common.

Eye contact: In Afghan culture, individuals may look away rather than making eye contact; this is not a sign of disrespect but may be interpreted as such by Western educators.

Supporting Afghan Students and Families During This Time

Ms. Shamsuddin and the Refugee Family Liaison also have put a lot of thought in how to help their colleagues effectively partner with families during this time. Some recommendations they share include the following, which are especially helpful to remember as events in Afghanistan continue to develop and the anniversary of 9/11 approaches:

Learn how to pronounce students' names correctly.

Build relationships with students and families so that you can build trust. This will take time but is essential in order to partner effectively with families.

Don't lose sight of Afghan cultural strengths, their pride in their culture, their resilience, the diversity they bring into the school, and the courageous work these Afghans did in their country in spite of numerous dangers.

Consider that students and families are hurting. They are going through a traumatic, tumultous period and still have family and friends back home. They're deeply concerned about many different things, and students may have a hard time focusing.

Afghan staff are also hurting. It's important for leaders, managers, and colleagues to be empathetic and flexible. It's also critical to recognize that Afghan colleagues face a double challenge of navigating a challenging time personally while being immersed in the trauma that refugee families who are arriving have faced.

Students may have experienced trauma; avoid referencing topics that might remind them of that trauma, such as ethnic tension, the Taliban, and women's rights in Afghanistan. If students want to discuss their experiences, listen, but don't ask personal questions. Give them a private space to share more if they wish to and consider whether additional support is needed.

Don't put Afghan students on the spot to speak about their experiences or opinions, and give students the chance to leave the class during discussions they find upsetting. This is a deeply painful time for the Afghan community.

On this point, Dr. Kauffman adds, "Our families have no obligation to speak on behalf of an entire population. We can't expect them to inform us about things that as Americans we should probably already know about. The most important thing is ensuring they feel welcome and have a safe space to share their story if and when they choose to."

When asked for any closing thoughts, the Refugee Family Liaison notes that this is a time when compassion is the priority, offering the following advice: "Please learn more about what has happened in Afghanistan. This will help educators be more kind and compassionate towards their students who are coming."

For additional recommendations and cultural considerations, see the following:

Resouces from Austin

How schools can support Afghan students

How to partner with refugee students and families

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Welcoming Afghan Families: Lessons Learned from Austin ISD

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The Austin, TX Independent School District (Austin ISD) is home to more than 21,000 English language learners. While the majority of students are Spanish speakers, students throughout the district speak 116 languages. Austin ISD also serves about 700 refugee students.

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Teacher to Teacher - Advice from Afghan teachers - SIRIUS network

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Ireland's experience of migration has changed radically over the past two decades, with a shift from net emigration to net immigration. The 2016 Census indicates that 535,475 non-Irish nationals, from 200 different nationalities, are now living in Ireland.

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Education

Like our Rohingya friends, the Afghan people are no strangers to conflict, forced displacement, and an education disrupted. There were hundreds of universities and thousands of schools actively educating people in Afghanistan before the Taliban. Over time, cultural expectations and years of conflict deprived equal access to education, especially for women and girls. After the Taliban took over the country, education was partially stopped for an unknown period of time and girls were banned from secondary school.

The education levels of the incoming Afghan refugees vary greatly, which is where informal learning tools can play an important role. Our goal is to fill the education gap by providing a versatile, agile product that can be used to learn vocabulary, build conversation, and preserve culture and language.

What's Special About Your Materials?

Everything is contextualized to Afghan culture. We work alongside cultural assistants in the community to create culturally sensitive materials to represent the Afghan community. We create cartoon characters based on reference photos of Afghan people.

We have also integrated other ethnicities to account for the diversity of the United States and other English-speaking countries. The cartoons are verified by community members to ensure cultural efficacy. These culturally sensitive materials are more relatable for the target community, fostering greater engagement.

Who are the Afghan people?

Afghanistan is a diverse, multi-ethnic country located in Central Asia. The Afghan people consist of numerous ethnolinguistic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, Qizilbash, Pamiri, Kyrgyz, Sadat and others. For simplicity, we refer to the people of Afghanistan as the Afghan Community, though we are aware of the various ethnic groups and acknowledge their diversity in language, clothing, religion, customs, and more.

The communities in Afghanistan have suffered from years of internal conflict, displacing millions of Afghans. According to the UNHCR, "Nearly 6 million Afghans have been driven out of their homes and their country by conflict, violence, and poverty."

Violence in Afghanistan intensified in 2021 and spread across the country, displacing over 600,000 Afghans - 80% of which are women and children.

Along with other English-speaking countries, the United States is receiving new arrivals of Afghan refugees. To aid in the integration process, we have designed culturally sensitive, contextualized learning materials for the Afghan community.

What Languages Do They Learn?

While the official languages in Afghanistan are Pashto and Dari, there are a variety of ethnic languages also spoken throughout the country. Our Afghan materials are available in Pashto, Dari, and English. The vocabulary works in two ways -

1. To provide introductory English vocabulary for those coming to the US and other countries where English may be a necessity.

2. To preserve Pashto and Dari for those who have fled their country and want to maintain their language, especially for the second and third generations.

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Education Like our Rohingya friends, the Afghan people are no strangers to conflict, forced displacement, and an education disrupted. There were hundreds of universities and thousands of schools actively educating people in Afghanistan before the Taliban. Over time, cultural expectations and years of conflict deprived equal access to education, especially for women and girls.

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Omniglot Encyclopedia: Describes the locations where Dari (also known as Afghanistan Persian) is spoken. Includes sample texts, explanation of sounds, and video clips, with links for more information at the bottom of the page. The Persian page provides the general history of Persian (Farsi) and its variations, some information about the different alphabets used to express it.

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The Alphabet: Reading and Writing

Aspirantum: This blog post on the Persian alphabet discusses its history and relation with Arabic, in addition to providing the various forms of Persian letters and their sounds.

Easy Persian: This website gives a detailed breakdown of the different forms of Persian letters and the sounds they make

FC LangMedia: This YouTube channel includes some introductory videos providing a quick overview of the names and sounds of the Persian letters and how to write the "big" versions. Another video demonstrates how to connect the letters.

Omniglot Encyclopedia: Provides the history of Persian (Farsi), its variations, and some information about the different alphabets used to express it, though the focus is the familiar Persian script that was adapted from the Arabic alphabet. Includes sample texts, explanation of sounds, and video clips, with links for more information at the bottom of the page.

Grammar and Vocabulary

Persian Online--Grammar and Resources: University of Texas at Austin has created a thorough resource guide providing a long list of web-based supplemental materials for Persian students and teachers. Grammar resources include word order, adjectives, demonstratives, verbs, numbers, and more. The guide also includes short videos on culture, a list of proverbs with audio, vocabulary lists with audio, and quizzes. It also provides information about the alphabet and how to type in Persian.

Listening Exercises and Videos

All Language Resources: Has a list of the "7 best" podcasts for learning Persian, in order from beginner to advanced.

Chai and Conversation: Provides free content as well as lessons that must be paid for in order to access. The paid content is clearly marked. The free content includes listening exercises to teach students conversational phrases starting with beginner level greetings. Unit three includes grammar lessons (with audio) that discuss verbs, past and present tense, imperatives, and more. The units continue with cultural and conversational themes, ending with Unit 8's "Vocabulary Sprints." Another section discusses classical and modern Persian poetry, with the audio files and a transcript of the audio.

My Persian Corner: The Music+Lyrics section of this blog by an Iranian-American provides the music, lyrics, translation, and discussion of popular Iranian songs. The blog in general gives insight into Iranian culture.

Persian Online--Grammar and Resources: As described in the Grammar section, for people looking specifically for listening exercises and insights into the culture, the Culture & Video and the Proverbs & Maxims sections may be of special interest.

PlayerFM provides a longer and more varied list of Persian podcasts. Topics include news, music and culture, mythology, literature and storytelling, history, religion, science and technology, and more.

Dictionaries

Aryanpour: A comprehensive English-Persian and Persian-English dictionary with other language translation options on the left-side menu. It provides translations, definitions, and synonyms.

Farsi Dictionary: This dictionary provides the English-Persian or Persian-English translations with explanation of part of speech, and example sentences.

LexiLogos: This website provides the ability to search several famous dictionaries including two provided by the University of Chicago: Sulayman Hayyim and Francis Joseph Steingass, among others. The Glosbe dictionary provides audio samples.

Oman Library Resources

Some Dictionaries Available at the Oman Library

Some Language Acquisition Books at the Oman Library

Some Bilingual Books at the Oman Library

The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di, Bilingual English and Persian Edition with Vocabulary, by Shaykh Mushrifuddin Sa'di of Shiraz and Wheeler M. Thackstson
. : Ibex Publishers, c2008
Call number: PK6541.G2 T 43 2008
This research guide is maintained by the Oman Library at the Middle East Institute.

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Aspirantum: This blog post on the Persian alphabet discusses its history and relation with Arabic, in addition to providing the various forms of Persian letters and their sounds.

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The new question-of-the-week is:
It's possible that a number of schools might be welcoming Afghan refugee students soon. How can teachers/schools/districts best support them?
Today, Pamela Broussard, Claudia Leon, and Silvina Jover share their advice.

'Our schools can be a welcome refuge'
Pamela Broussard is an award-winning New Arrival Center teacher, trainer, and speaker. She lived in Afghanistan for seven years and has been working closely the last few weeks with Afghans who have been fleeing their country . If your district or school needs help with new arrivals or your Afghan population, she can be reached @LeadingElls:
Whether the Afghan families in your community arrived many years ago or just left, Afghans around the world are experiencing deep anguish as they watch and wonder what will happen to their beloved country, family, and friends. As educators, we have a sacred opportunity to walk alongside them and support them. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind on that journey.

1. Afghanistan consists of multiple ethnic groups, languages, and lifestyles. Like members of any nation, Afghans are diverse and may or may not relate to the other Afghans in your school. While these seven points are offer ideas for how to support refugee students, letting each person speak for him or herself is important.

2. Connect families to local refugee resettlement agencies and/or social workers in your school or area. Most Afghans fled with a day or two notice. leaving everything behind. Many may need practical and professional support.

3. The Afghan culture is one that values a collective society where relationships come before tasks. Taking the time to personally connect first before giving assignments or paperwork to adults, lets any students, including refugees, know you value them.

4. Expect families and students to process their trauma in their own way and at their own pace. Be an empathetic, listening ear but also honor quietness. Knowing their country has been overtaken by the Taliban is devastating. Tears may flow. Numbness, quietness, and disengagement may happen. Anger may build inside. Let your students and families know it is OK to have all those feelings.

5. In Afghanistan, gender roles are well-defined and understood even at a very young age. You may have different ideas or opinions on these roles, but while someone is grieving it is not the time to engage in such discussions. Instead, understand that men might do most of the talking because they are more used to leading in business and family affairs. Men and boys do not discuss their wife, sisters, or daughters with other men., In class, girls may not feel comfortable discussing or working with boys. Again, this is not the time to try to "do things the way we do it here." It is the time to create a supportive atmosphere to recover from trauma. Google Translate or Google Assistant can assist teachers to communicate with their new students.

6. Do not force Afghan students to prove their allegiance to only one place. Regardless of bombs, threats, or natural disasters, most refugees long for and miss home. Honor that. Don't make them feel they must only display gratitude for being here. Refugees will miss all of what "home" represents to them. In time, refugees will appreciate many different things in the United States, but it is OK to love their own country, too.

Remember that these families have lost homes, possessions, businesses, family, friends, and, their country at a moment's notice. Our schools can be a welcome refuge where healing can begin and joy can return.

Help Them 'Feel Safe, Understood, & Welcomed'
Claudia Leon teaches ENL and ELA at Bay Shore Middle School, N.Y.:
As soon as I heard that Afghan families were being evacuated from Afghanistan, I understood that one or more of these children might end up in my English as a new language class. As an ENL teacher, what can I do to prepare for these children? What can any teacher do to prepare to welcome them? Below are some ideas I would like to share. You'll note that my focus is not entirely on how to tweak your curriculum, but rather how to create a classroom environment that will encourage refugee students to feel safe, understood, and welcomed.

Helping these children feel validated will help them learn to trust you and the students around them. Refugee students need to be seen and acknowledged. They may be placed in a classroom of 30 students, and it is crucial that they not be allowed to fall through the cracks. This can be done by incorporating something from the Afghan culture, history, and/or language into your classroom and/or lessons. For example, an English or social studies teacher can incorporate a map of Afghanistan into lessons, or they can analyze or write about Afghan art. Perhaps a math or science teacher can learn about an Afghan mathematician or scientist. Imagine how comforting it would be for a refugee student to see that his or her country, language, and culture is so important to the teacher that he or she made incorporated it into a lesson.

Another way that teachers can prepare for Afghan refugees is to reach out to any staff who might speak Pashto or Dari. Ask if these staff members could serve as a mentor, mediator, or a tutor. While translation apps are very helpful (and, in many situations, the only options available), nothing compares to speaking face-to-face with someone fluent in your native language.

Getting to know the culture, history, and geography of Afghanistan can go a long way to creating a positive relationship with your students. Seek reliable websites, blogs, or podcasts and accurateinformation about Afghanistan. As teachers, we must educate ourselves so that we can make our students feel respected, valued, and appreciated.

'Funds Of Knowledge'
Silvina Jover is a bilingual social studies teacher in Las Vegas. Originally from Uruguay, she has been an educator and advocate for immigrant students and their families in the United States for the past seven years:
First and foremost, we need to understand that academics should occupy a second place when students and families arrive in the United States. Remember: " B rains in pain cannot learn."

The socio-emotional well-being of students must be at the forefront of all efforts by districts, schools, and educators. The education team also needs to be mindful of the cultural differences between the student's country of origin and the United States and act accordingly. It is undeniable that "culture shock" is very real and experienced by the lack of familiarity with the new operational habits, traditions, language, and other elements of U.S. communities.

Ideally, districts would have schools designated for newcomers where they could be serviced in smaller environments by a team of professionals; for example, education buildings that officiate as a transitional space to first address the student's trauma. This space would be encompassed with school psychologists, cultural specialists, bilingual/bicultural teachers, language acquisition experts, and family outreach specialists. The creation of a legal aid office to assist with the stress of paperwork related to immigration matters could prove to be extremely beneficial to families new to the country. Nevertheless, the reality in most districts is different and not all needed resources are available.

Thanks to Pamela, Claudia, and Silvina for contributing their reflections.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign-new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first nine years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.

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Educators Must 'Walk Alongside Afghans and Support Them' (Opinion)

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The new question-of-the-week is: It's possible that a number of schools might be welcoming Afghan refugee students soon. How can teachers/schools/districts best support them? Today, Pamela Broussard, Claudia Leon, and Silvina Jover share their advice. Pamela Broussard is an award-winning New Arrival Center teacher, trainer, and speaker.

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Mapped: Afghan refugees headed to 46 states

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California is projected to receive the largest number of Afghans at 5,255. Next is Texas, at 4,481.

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The new question-of-the-week is:
It's possible that a number of schools might be welcoming Afghan refugee students soon. How can teachers/schools/districts best support them?
Depending upon the numbers of refugees the United States military is able to evacuate from Afghanistan, many U.S. schools may be able to anticipate large numbers of those children to be enrolling soon.

This quickly put together series offers a few suggestions...

Today, Valentina Gonzalez, Tan Huynh, and Vivian Micolta Simmons have contributed responses.

Before we get to today's guest contributors, here are a few ideas I'd like to offer based on 17 years of teaching English-language learners, many whom have been refugees from various conflicts, including, in recent years, from Afghanistan:

First, and most importantly, teach through a "trauma-informed" lens. Elements of this kind of teaching can including emphasizing relationship-building activities (both teacher/student and student/student), being aware of potential "triggers," like fire drills; and establishing and implementing predictable classroomroutines.

However, remember that most of us teachers are not trained counselors or mental health specialists. Work closely with your school counselor (if your site has one) or a community provider so that they can provide additional needed support to your student(s).

Provide online support in your students' home languages to help them learn English. Providing these resources, and the time to use them, not only assists with English language acquisition, but also provides a space of some familiarity. There are a number of languages spoken in Afghanistan-the main ones students in my classes have spoken have been Pashto, Dari/Persian and, to a lesser extent, Turkmen/Turkish.

I have not been successful in finding many Pashto-language resources, but have recently heard some good things about this free ESL app designed to support Pashto speakers learning English.

There are a few more online materials to assist Dari/Persian speakers. My students have liked Internet Polyglot and have found the English For Persian YouTube channel helpful.

Also, Google Translate works-to a certain extent-with both Pashto and Persian, so it can be a helpful tool when communicating with both students and family members.

Please remember, and remind all your colleagues, that ELLs have the same intelligence that their non-ELL students have--they just don't speak proficient English yet (though they might speak multiple other languages)!

In addition, please remember, and remind all your colleagues, that good ELL teaching is good teaching for everybody. Most instructional strategies effective with ELLs can also be effective in making lessons more accessible to non-ELLs. Related resources can be found at The Best Sites For Learning Strategies To Teach ELL's In Content Classes and at The Best Collections Of Instructional Strategies For ELLs.

Now, here are responses from today's guests:

Relationships

Valentina Gonzalez has more than 20 years of experience teaching and working with multilingual students from around the globe. Her personal experience as an immigrant from Yugoslavia and language learner fuel her desire to advocate for English learners and support teachers with the best research-based teaching methods. Her work's primary focuses have been on literacy, culture, and language. Valentina is the co-author of Reading & Writing with English Learners: A Framework for K-5:

"Hi, Emily [name changed to protect the student's identity], before we start this language assessment, let me just verify your personal information. What a cool birthday, Jan. 1, 2001!"

"That's not my real birthday."

"What?"

"Ya, my birthday is in September. They give every refugee without paperwork that same birthday." And with both arms spread out wide, she says loudly with eyes wide open, "WELCOME TO AMERICA!"

I will never forget that child, that moment, what she said or how.

It's hard to imagine that a child might have witnessed horrible events that can traumatize them severely. On top of that, they are now in a new country that has a different culture and a different language. And are expected to learn content. Let's keep these kids' emotional state in our hearts and minds as we proceed.

What can we do in our classrooms to help?

Relationships, relationships, relationships. Build and sustain strong, healthy relationships between you and the student, you and the family, as well as among students. Most kids are not going to volunteer to say they are refugees. Many of them won't know the term itself. It's upon us to know about the kids we work with.

We learn the most by talking with them, asking questions, and creating spaces for open conversations. One of my favorite ways to do this is by sitting with students and having casual conversations. Over time, these casual conversations become very meaningful and students look forward to them. The more comfortable students feel with us and in our classrooms, the more they can learn and grow as students.

Community. No matter what subject you teach, always remember that you teach children first. Create a community in the classroom where all students feel valued for what they bring, seen for who they are, and heard as thinkers. A good way to start is by setting up routines and structures that provide students with space for sharing and a place to belong. Some teachers designate a sacred day/time for classroom community circles. These are times when students gather together and discuss important topics. Many teachers start or end the class period with a read-aloud. This offers the class a common text to discuss. Picking the right read-aloud can provide a way to help students build empathy as well as feel a sense of belonging.

Keep expectations high but support students. Students with refugee status may have experienced an interrupted education. But lack of opportunity is not equivalent to lack of ability. What's important now is to provide them with every opportunity to grow and develop as learners and community members. Just like all learners in our classrooms, refugees will have learning needs. Some may qualify for ESL services, but others may not. Others may need tutoring or additional accommodations.

It's hard for many of us to understand what a refugee family is experiencing. It's difficult to grasp all that may have happened and is currently happening. Families who come with refugee status did not arrive here with all of their belongings. In fact, they likely came with very little and have limited resources. As educators we can proceed from a place of care and support. And if you are concerned about a child's mental or emotional wellbeing, consult with school or district mental health personnel.

'Create a Sense of Belonging'
Tan Huynh (@TanELLclassroom) is a career -eacher specializing in language acquisition. Tan has taught students from 5th to 12th grade in public schools, private boarding schools, and charter schools. Tan has also taught internationally in China, Laos, and Vietnam. He shares teaching strategies on his blog Empowering ELLs, and has provided professional development in China, Thailand, Singapore, Italy, and Canada:
As I look at the photos of the helicopter hovering above a rooftop to evacuate people from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, I am reminded of similar images taken in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. Only 11 years later, my family would crowd into a boat not made for ocean travel to flee Vietnam in the hopes of having a better life. As refugees, we found a better life with the help of teachers like you.

No doubt these children will be traumatized by their sudden and harrowing escape. They will be there physically in your class, but their hearts will be with the people they left behind in a country they once called home. So what can we do as educators?

We can do so much to welcome our Afghan students. They want nothing more than to know that in your classroom, they are welcomed, safe, and cared for. As they have just been ripped from their communities and social networks in Afghanistan, we can create that sense of belonging in our schools. Work with your students to brainstorm ways they can make the Afghan students feel welcomed and safe in class. Talk to your most empathetic students and ask if they can be buddies with an Afghan peer to show them around the school, to invite them to sit together during breaks and lunches, and to encourage them to join in on activities.

I know that teachers can create a sense of belonging one-on-one with students, but our students have an equal role in creating that welcoming space for the Afghan students. Their hearts will ache for the teachers and classmates they left behind, but through the way we welcome them, they might feel the same warmth from their new teachers and classmates, one smile at a time.

'An Environment of Inclusion'
Vivian Micolta Simmons was born in Colombia and has been in the U.S. for seven years. She has been a teacher for 14 years and is currently working as a ESL/DLI lead teacher for the Iredell-Statesville schools in N.C.:
In light of the recent events in Afghanistan, different countries worldwide will start welcoming Afghan refugee students. But, unfortunately, these students come to a new country knowing little about the language and culture, which creates several challenges for them and their families.

It is challenging to help refugee families overcome all their challenges. Still, one thing is sure: As teachers, we can make everything that we can to provide a safe, nurturing environment for our newcomers in school. In addition, the school districts and leaders can help support newcomer students by implementing different strategies:

Provide an environment of inclusion: Make sure to welcome students into a classroom that shows that everyone is appreciated. Teach about different cultural backgrounds and have conversations with everyone about respecting each other's differences. Learn and use your students' names, learn a couple of phrases in their native language (if possible), acknowledge essential cultural celebrations, and most of all, model and praise kindness. Everyone in the classroom contributes to a positive transition process for newcomer students.

When possible, teach students about worldwide events: I understand this is a delicate topic, especially when discussing the over two-decade Afghanistan conflict. However, if it is at all possible, expose all students to information on the conflict to create a better understanding and break stereotypes (of course, it is important to discuss plans ahead of time with your Afghan students to ensure a discussion does not trigger additional trauma). This kind of discussion is not intended to increase feelings of pity or take sides but to make more conscious, empathetic, and compassionate minds. You might find some useful materials here or at Newsela.

Rely on your ELL specialists: ESL teachers have countless strategies in their instructional arsenal to help ease newcomers' transition into their new schools. Do not hesitate to ask for advice.

Continue providing high-quality instruction: Newcomers come to the classrooms with limited English proficiency. However, do not lower your expectations in class with our newcomers. Instead, look for strategies and activities that can add to quality instruction: use lots of visuals, assign peer helpers, use sentence starters, model your teaching (I do, you do, we do), link new information to prior knowledge, modify assignments and education, use cooperative learning strategies, and have one-on-one conversations using the help of your district's translator/parent liaison if at all possible. There are great pieces of advice on this Color í n Colorado article.

Provide mental health support: Work hand-in-hand with your school counselors. They are the experts in the building who can help our students cope with post-traumatic stress and give mainstream teachers strategies to help lower students' affective filter.

Thanks to Valentina, Tan, and Vivian for contributing their reflections.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.
I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.

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12 Ways to Support Afghan Refugee Students (Opinion)

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Four teachers with experience teaching refugee students share their suggestions.