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Culture is one of those words that carry a number of meanings. Professor Hofstede defined it as: The programming of the human mind by which one group of people distinguishes itself from another group. Culture is learned from your environment and is always a shared, collective phenomenon. By reading this article, you'll learn more about what we mean when we talk about culture.

Culture consists of various layers and we often compare it with an onion. On the outer layer of the onion, you'll have symbols , such as food, logos, colours or monuments. The next layer consists of heroes, and can include real life public figures, like statesmen, athletes or company founders, or figures such as Superman in popular culture. On the third layer, closest to the core, you´ll find rituals, such as sauna, karaoke, or meetings.

Rituals are recurring events which shape our unconscious minds. They exists both in society (e.g. celebrating Independence Day, Thanksgiving, tipping in restaurants, etc.) and in organisations (e.g. meeting practices etc.).

Heroes are people who have shown behaviour which showcases, for example, the national spirit (e.g. Steve Jobs or important politicians). Or, within organisations, heroes show behaviour that sets the example. In some cultures, heroes can also be the "anti-hero" - they can be the example of what not to do.

Symbols are items such as eating habits, foods, flags or colors. In the organisational setting, by symbols you might think about the logo of a company, for example. Symbols have emotions attached to them. But changing the symbols usually doesn't have a long lasting deep emotional impact, as for example changing rituals might. Imagine having moved from one organisation to another and facing a new way of conducting meetings. How long does it take you to get over the uneasy feeling in your stomach?

At the core of culture, you´ll find values. Values are broad preferences for a certain state of affairs (e.g. preferring equality over hierarchy). Values are transmitted by the environment in which we grow up, like the behaviour of parents or teachers showing us what is acceptable and what isn't. Values are pretty much shaped by the time we hit 10-12 years of age. surrounding that core, is what we mean by culture. Issues with culture don't usually pop up when everything goes well - it is when we feel threatened or uncomfortable that we have a tendency to go "back to basics". Back to the values instilled within us when we were young. of the likelihood of groups of people acting in a certain way. One person doesn't represent the whole culture but in a group of people from one culture, people are likely to act in a way appropriate for that culture. important tool of

This collective programming, consisting of values as the core, and the three layersAs culture is a group phenomenon, we use it to

analyse the behaviour of groups and make an assessment The Culture Factor an

From a business point of view this makes management, with regards to groups of people. While you cannot change values of people, you can make appropriate changes in the practices of your organisation to ensure you're working with those cultural values, rather than against them. To learn more about how to manage culture in an organisational setting, we recommend reading more about
Organisational Culture, or simply getting started by contacting us!
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in February 2019, and last updated in May 2023.

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Culture is one of those words that carry a number of meanings. Professor Geert Hofstede defines it as: The programming of the human mind by which one group of people distinguishes itself from another group. By reading this article, you'll learn more about what we mean when we talk about culture.

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Immigration has been a polarizing topic for years, but the current administration's stated goals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and end DACA have elevated the issue. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already increased its activity in many parts of the country. As a result, many immigrant students and their families (documented and not) are experiencing anxiety and fear about their futures.

Educators who work with immigrant communities want to know how to best support students and their families. We created this web package to supply the types of resources educators have told us they need. We'll continue to make updates, knowing that immigration policies and practices in the United States-and the corresponding needs in schools-are changing swiftly.

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Supporting Students From Immigrant Families

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Immigration has been a polarizing topic for years, but the current administration's stated goals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and end DACA have elevated the issue. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already increased its activity in many parts of the country.

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You Are Welcome Here (#DearbornWelcome) is an award-winning 20-minute film from Colorín Colorado highlighting how the Dearborn, MI public school district is helping its immigrant students succeed. The film features Salina Elementary School and Salina Intermediate School in the South End of Dearborn which serve large populations of families from Yemen.

Extended interviews are available along with recommended resources below. The film is also available with Arabic subtitles.

Awards and features

This project is also featured in the AFT's American Educator Spring 2020 edition.

Viewer note: The film includes references to traumatic topics such as violence and family separation.

Acknowledgements

This film was produced with the generous support of our founding partner, the American Federation of Teachers.

Featured Film

Video extras

You Are Welcome Here: Preview

This preview of You Are Welcome Her e was presented at AFT's TEACH 2019 conference.

A warm welcome for immigrant families in the front office

Norieah Ahmed, the Child Accounting Secretary at Salina Elementary School in Dearborn, MI, talks about her role in welcoming newcomer immigrant families to the school from the moment they walk in the door.

Looking at the whole child: Conversations with an award-winning social worker

Meet Dr. Rola Bazzi-Gates, a special education coordinator for Dearborn Public Schools and Michigan's 2016 Social Worker of the Year. Learn how her personal experience living through conflict helped prepare her to support students and families today.

Interviews with Featured Educators

Susan Stanley is the principal of Salina Elementary School in Dearborn, Michigan. In this interview, she discusses the ways her school is helping to address student trauma and creating a welcoming environment for all families.

Diana Alqadhi, English Language Development Specialist, Salina Intermediate School

Diana Alqadhi is an English Language Development Specialist at Salina Intermediate School in Dearborn, MI. As part of her work, she teachers newcomer immigrants. In this interview, she talks about the importance of building relationships with students and identifying their strengths.

Related Resources

Nadra Shami currently serves as a Language and Literacy SIOP Trainer in Dearborn, MI. The daughter of immigrants, Nadra grew up in Dearborn and her first job was at the school she attended as a child. In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Nadra explains how Dearborn is supporting its English language learners and immigrant students by developing staff capacity to serve a diverse student population.

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You Are Welcome Here: Support for Immigrant Students in Dearborn, Michigan

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You Are Welcome Here (#DearbornWelcome) is an award-winning 20-minute film from Colorín Colorado highlighting how the Dearborn, MI public school district is helping its immigrant students succeed. The film features Salina Elementary School and Salina Intermediate School in the South End of Dearborn which serve large populations of families from Yemen.

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Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association.

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Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, and receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association.

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Newcomer Resources

Newcomer Toolkit Adapted from "Newcomer Toolkit." Minneapolis Public Schools, multilingual.mpls.k12.mn.us/newcomer_toolkit

The Language, Culture and Equity Department is committed to providing the necessary support for the many new-to-country EL students that we serve. Their needs are unique in that many of these students may have had limited formal education experiences and may have not been previously exposed to the English language.

Assessments

Instructional Tools

Intake Guide

Resources for Staff

Checklist of Best Practices for Newcomer Students:

High school Newcomer students should be placed in a double-block of ELD and not enrolled in a mainstream English Language Arts class.

In collaboration with the ESL specialist, create a plan for how to help ELL students acquire the language of the content

Help ELL students by directly teaching content vocabulary which can be further reinforced by an ESL teacher

Have key terms and concepts on display all the time

Use drawings, diagrams, graphs and other visual aids to help the students to develop concepts and understanding

Use models or manipulatives to demonstrate concepts and/or processes

Use small groups

Using a "think-aloud" technique to solve the problem

Present activities that involve application of problems in contextual situations to make learning relevant to real-life experiences

Be flexible with student use of native language, if it is helpful in clarifying ideas and concepts

Focus on the meaning ELL students are conveying, not on their grammar and usage of the language. Increase the focus on reasoning and decrease the focus on language.

Adapted from "Newcomer Toolkit." Minneapolis Public Schools, multilingual.mpls.k12.mn.us/newcomer_toolkit

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Newcomer Resources Newcomer Toolkit Adapted from "Newcomer Toolkit." Minneapolis Public Schools, multilingual.mpls.k12.mn.us/newcomer_toolkit The Language, Culture and Equity Department is committed to providing the necessary support for the many new-to-country EL students that we serve. Their needs are unique in that many of these students may have had limited formal education experiences and may have not been previously exposed to the English language.

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Creating New Futures for Newcomers - MAEC, Inc.

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Transcript Speaker 1: Newcomer students are recently arrived immigrants or refugees who attend our schools. Many speak little or no English. Many have big gaps in their education. They may be fleeing violence or crushing poverty. They come looking for a better life. For these children, the newco…

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Creating New Futures for Newcomers

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UCLA education scholar Pedro Noguera believes that the key to transforming schools is by putting relationships at the center of education. He talks about the importance of knowing ELL students and newcomers, not just who they are academically but who they are as people. A lot of us aspire to do just that; Emily Francis lives it.

Emily Francis: My answer may sound like a cliché, but learn your students' backgrounds. Learning and understanding what your students have experienced can give a perspective you've never had. Learning their experiences can open up your eyes to a world you've never seen or lived before. Look for experiences where you feel what it is to walk in their shoes. Build your empathy toolbox! Diversity is sitting in your class. The world is sitting in your class. Use the best culturally responsive resource you have- your students!

Once you learn about students' backgrounds, embrace it and display it in the classroom and outside the class for all to see and value your students' lives.
Watch the above video to see how newcomer and ELL students are welcomed to school in Dearborn, Michigan
ELL Students and Newcomers: Strategies for the Classroom

Basic information can give me a great picture as to what else do I need to know and how to approach it. By knowing and demonstrating to the student that you know this basic information, he or she can immediately feel welcomed and have a sense of belonging in your class and school. The way I dig deeper into students' lives and background experiences is through literature. We read articles and books that represent our students' backgrounds; and by noticing that there are others like them, they open up to share more about themselves. We have to be sensitive and very careful as to what we're using though; a lesson should be abandoned as soon as we realize that the lesson is making a student feel too uncomfortable and/or discriminating. Just be flexible with your assignments.

Emily Francis: Adam, I may sound like a broken record but as I mentioned above, my identity and my experiences are core to everything I do, how I do it and why I do it. My students have to know my story so they understand that what I do in the classroom is because I've lived it myself. If my expectation is high is because I know what is possible and what they can do because I did it. Same goes for my colleagues; I have to share my experiences as an immigrant and as an ELL student so they know that what I tell them is because I have my ELL students best interests at heart. I, too, believe that sharing my experiences with my peers would give a little more buy-in with the methods and strategies I share because they know that I've lived it too. About "The Ellen Show" clip-well, that's my 10 minutes of glory I have to share with everyone who hasn't seen it yet. It's definitely a great platform to show students that no dream is ever too small.

We need to have a clear understanding of the skills needed to function in our society-how a student with a passion and clear perspective can do so much more than someone who can reach English proficiency but at a loss with his or her identity and potential. Empower students to embrace bilingualism, biculturalism and biliteracy. Students can impact others with what they are best at-being who they are.

There's no one best strategy that would fit all ELL students; that's why it is important to read and learn and continue to add strategies to our teacher toolbox.

Emily Francis is in her eighth year as an English as a second language teacher, and in her second year teaching at Concord High School in Concord, N.C. We met through Twitter, and it wasn't long before I became a fan. In each post, she shares her love of teaching, her professional expertise, and her passion as an advocate for her students.

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Building Relationships with ELL Students and Newcomers: A Conversation with Emily Francis

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UCLA education scholar Pedro Noguera believes that the key to transforming schools is by putting relationships at the center of education. He talks about the importance of knowing ELL students and newcomers, not just who they are academically but who they are as people.

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We teach our students that America is a nation of immigrants, where we welcome and celebrate those with the courage to take a chance and risk everything to seek a better, safer life for themselves and their families. But as our kids hear news about travel bans, border walls, and refugee quotas, they start asking questions as they try to make sense of conflicting messages. If you're struggling to find the best answers, books can help. We talked to Ruth Freeman, an English Language Learning (ELL) teacher and children's author about children's books that deal with the experience of students who are new to this country.

"Thankfully, there are more and more books exploring this topic," Freeman says. "Not only do they allow our ELL students to see themselves represented on the printed page, but they allow other readers to gain more understanding and empathy for newcomers. The following are a few of my favorite titles that I would like to recommend.
My Two Blankets by Irene Kobald and Freya Blackwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
What I especially love about this sweet story is how the illustrator has drawn the way a newcomer first hears English. There are streams of symbols and shapes coming out of people's mouths, not sounds. A new friend teaches her words and she begins to feel at home. As the book says, "moving is hard -- friends make it easier." She slowly learns to weave her old and new cultures together until, at the end, she comes to know that no matter where she is she will always be herself.
Joseph's Big Ride by Terry Farish, art by Ken Daley (Annick Press)
A boy who comes to America from a refugee camp desperately wants a bike, and the girl in his neighborhood has one. There is a funny mix-up of names. He calls her Whoosh because she rides by so fast. Will the boy find a way to befriend her and get a ride on the bike? The big, bold illustrations help tell this wonderful story about making friends in a new country.
All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel by Dan Yaccarino (Knopf)
A story told about four generations of Italian-Americans with a little shovel that was used differently by each of them. The last character in the story is the author himself! Colorful illustrations, simple text and a heartwarming message passed down to each generation (work hard, enjoy life, and don't forget to call home) make for a wonderful picture book.
Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey by Margriet Ruuis, artwork by Nizar Ali Badr (Orca Book Publishers)
A beautiful and poignant story, told in English and Arabic, of one family's journey to escape the war in their country. While the country is not named as Syria, the amazing illustrations are by a Syrian sculptor. Each picture is a collage of polished stones bringing to life the parents, children and burdens they carry on their backs as they walk to a new life. The sadness of saying goodbye, the bombs and the lives lost at sea are balanced carefully and sensitively with hopes and dreams for peace in their new home.
Other Recommended Titles:
Middle Grade
Coming to America: A Muslim Family's Story by Bernard Wolf (Lee and Low Books)
This is the true story told with photographs of an Egyptian family and how they adjust to their new life in New York City. Readers see the three children settling into their elementary and middle schools. We see the father at his job and the mother going to school to learn English. Pictures of the family shopping, doing homework, praying, and eating dinner together give readers a real sense of what it is like for members of one family as they work hard in the pursuit of a better life.
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas (Clarion Books)
What a fantastically funny book! Set in the 1970s, eleven-year-old Zomorod comes from Iran with her family to California and, to fit in, promptly changes her name to Cindy. After several years there, and moving four times, she has become almost a typical American middle school student, except that she still has to explain things to her parents like: snack foods, bean bag chairs and Gilligan's Island on TV. However, when the Iran Hostage Crisis occurs, life for an Iranian family in America turns more serious. A funny, distinctive voice and original story.
One Good Thing About America by Ruth Freeman, illus by Kathrin Honesta (Holiday House)
This fictional story was inspired by my wonderful middle and elementary school students. Anaïs was the best English student back home in Congo. Here in Crazy America she feels like she doesn't know English at all. Nothing makes sense...like chicken fingers on the lunch menu! She writes letters to her grandmother back home who tells her to find one good thing about America every day. Slowly, Anaïs does. Even while she worries about her father and brother left behind in Africa, she discovers pizza, autumn leaves, sledding, friends and teachers, until, at the end, they tell her she is one good thing about America.
Other Recommended Titles
Young Adult
Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team That Changed a Town, adapted for young people by Warren St. John (Delacorte)
This is the inspiring true story of a boys' soccer team in Georgia made up of refugees and the Jordanian woman who coaches them. Calling themselves the Fugees, the boys struggle to adjust to life in America while the town of Clarkston, Georgia, struggles to adjust to them. Many on the team have traumatic memories of the conflicts they left behind in their home countries. Their coach has to care for her players while finding a practice field, uniforms and funding. Not just for soccer fans, this is a story of hope and determination and achievement.
Something About America by Maria Testa (Candlewick)
A girl comes to America with her family to get medical treatment after she was badly burned in her home in Kosova, Yugoslavia. The story opens when she is thirteen. She has recovered but has scars on her neck that she covers with scarves. She tells her story in lyrical free verse, how she feels American, and how her parents do not. Then, an incident in a nearby town raises the issue of hatred and anger towards immigrants and she and her parents must decide how to respond. A beautiful, thoughtful story.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Delacorte)
This book has everything: the two main characters who tell the story are distinctive, appealing and funny; there is romance; and tension as one of the teenagers is due to be deported the next day to Jamaica with her family. But, on this last day, Natasha falls in love with Daniel, a Korean American. They spend one day together while she tries to stop the deportation. Telling their stories in alternating chapters, this is a touching and captivating novel.
Other Recommended Titles:

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Coming to America: Books Celebrating Immigrants, Refugees | NEA

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We teach our students that America is a nation of immigrants, where we welcome and celebrate those with the courage to take a chance and risk everything to seek a better, safer life for themselves and their families.

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How to Support Immigrant Students and Families: Strategies for Schools and Early Childhood Programs

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Across the country, educators are looking for ways to support immigrant students and families facing great uncertainty. This comprehensive guide includes more than 50 strategies that educators, staff, and administrators can use to ensure that schools and early childhood settings remain safe, welcomi…

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We've heard from educators who would like to know what steps they can take to ensure that front office staff are up-to-date about relevant policies. This has been an ongoing effort of ours and we continue to make sure all of our schools are aware of our efforts. I meet periodically with our principals on this issue and others to coordinate our efforts. - Scott Kizner, Superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools (former Superintendent of Harrisonburg Public Schools) It is expected that they are keeping their staff informed.
Overview
The 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe ruled that undocumented students have a constitutional right to receive a free, public K-12 education. All students, regardless of their citizenship or residency status, are entitled to attend school. School districts that either prohibit or discourage students from enrolling in schools because they or their parents are undocumented immigrants may be in violation of federal law and the Equal Protection Clause (of the Fourteenth Amendment) to the U.S. Constitution...Schools cannot bar a student from enrolling because the student lacks a birth certificate or social security number or has a record that indicates a foreign place of birth. (p. 1)
All students have the right to a free, public K-12 education, regardless of their immigration status or that of their parents. This includes access to services and programs such as free- and reduced-priced meals, English-language development classes, special education, and school activities. The American Federation of Teachers produced a fact sheet (2017) explaining:

Students' civil rights
To comply with these Federal civil rights laws, such as Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the mandates of the Supreme Court, school districts must ensure that they do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and that students are not barred from enrolling in public schools at the elementary and secondary level on the basis of their own citizenship or immigration status or that of their parents or guardians. (U.S. Department of Education, 2015, p. 7)
In addition, a federal guide on supporting undocumented students published in 2015 notes:

The rights of English language learners

In addition to the rights described above, English language learners (ELLs) and their parents have specific rights described in these resources from the U.S. Department of Education:

You can also learn more in this article about landmark court rulings regarding ELLs by Dr. Wayne E. Wright at Purdue University.

English language learners and special education

English language learners identified with special education needs also have the right to receive both language services and special education services, and their parents have the right to receive information about evaluations, IEPs, support services, and other related topics in their home language. Immigration status does not impact students' or parents' right to access these services.

You can learn more about this topic in the following:

Recommended videos

Ensure all staff understand immigrant students' rights

Why this matters

Students will come into contact with a variety of staff and personnel throughout the school. All of these adults have an obligation to protect students' privacy and access to an education. Violations of those rights could not only have an impact on the educational climate and cause a chilling effect on attendance or enrollment, but could also result in legal action.

Note: For additional information on early childhood settings, see our section on young children in immigrant families.

Use the resources in this section to become more familiar with these laws.

Consult with district officials or community partners on questions you have.

Review forms and policies to see which may need to be updated (see related recommendations in the following strategy).

Make sure you and your staff have up-to-date information on students' civil rights and educators' legal obligations to protect those rights.

Provide professional development and training as needed.

Tips for getting started

Keeping staff well-informed

immigration status has no bearing on a student's right to:

Ensure that all K-12 school staff understand that:

immigration status should not be requested, shared, or reported in public or private

staff should not tolerate bullying by other students or adults in the building

violations will not be tolerated and will be grounds for disciplinary action.

◦ enroll in elementary, middle, or high school
◦ receive school services, such as free- and reduced-priced meals, special education, or ESL classes
◦ participate in activities, such as field trips
◦ receive medical treatment

Who needs to know this information?

administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals

front office staff and counselors

janitorial, nursing, bussing, and cafeteria staff

substitute teachers and school resource officers/security personnel.

In addition, it is critical to underscore that these guidelines apply to all staff, including:

Sports participation: Some independent athletic associations throughout the country require certain types of documentation from students who wish to participate on a high school athletic team, such as a social security number. You can read more about these policies, as well as one high school's creative approach to starting a soccer league for immigrant students who were determined to play, in this article from The Hechinger Report, Immigrant Students Find Hope in Soccer, But Some States Won't Let Them Play.

Field trips: If there are any questions about required documentation for a school field trip, consult with district leaders and attorneys as needed. A principal in Maryland was placed on leave after sending home a bilingual notification related to a trip to the White House stating, "If a scholar is not classified as a U.S. Citizen, they will not be able to attend the field trip." While there were requirements for documentation for the White House visit, the district released a statement saying it "would not have approved any form or activity that 'excluded students based on citizenship, race/ethnicity, sexuality, religion or ability.'"

Extra-curricular activities and field trips

Recommended resources

Fact sheets and briefs

Let Us Learn: FAQs for educators

students' rights to a K-12 public education

extracurricular activities and free- and reduced-price meals

information/documents that can and cannot be requested during school enrollment.

Another useful resource is the FAQs for Educators from Let Us Learn: Schools for Every Child entitled "How does a child's immigration status affect their enrollment in school?" It addresses:

Note: Let Us Learn, an initiative of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, sent letters to all state attorneys general in the Fall of 2017 reminding them that all students have the right to enroll in K-12 public schools.

Recommended videos

Enrolling ELL and immigrant students: Attorney Roger Rosenthal

Why schools shouldn't ask about immigration status

Why this matters

As explained in our information on the legal rights of immigrant students at the beginning of this article, schools are not permitted to (a) ask about immigration status for purposes of enrollment or (b) ask any questions that would dissuade immigrant students or families from enrolling or have any kind of chilling effect. If families are asked for such information, they may be concerned that the information could be shared with an immigration enforcement agency. As a result, schools may need to review their registration forms. For example, a recent audit in California school districts found that at least 75 districts were asking about immigration status in the enrollment forms (Californians Together, 2017).

It is critical that front office staff have accurate information about enrolling immigrant students. They will not only set the tone for families' experience, but will have significant influence on whether the families feel comfortable sharing personal information - or even enroll at the school at all.

Review registration forms, home language surveys, or other forms related to school services/activities. Look for and remove any mention of immigration status.

Become familiar with alternate documents permitted for school enrollment, including paperwork related to residence in the district, proof of age, and guardianship. If you are uncertain about what is required, check with administrators or the district's legal office.

Explain to families what their rights are under federal privacy laws, detailed in the next section on protecting student privacy.

Be mindful of the language used on other school forms, such as report cards or other family correspondence. Terms like "citizenship grade" or "legal student absences" can create fear and confusion among immigrant families (Mangual Figueroa, 2017).

Tips for getting started

Social security numbers

how the social security number will be used and why the district is requesting it (CSBA, 2017)

that providing the number is voluntary

what kinds of paperwork will be accepted instead

that not providing a social security number will not bar students from enrolling in/attending school.

Districts should avoid asking for social security numbers; if they do, they must explain:

"Public charge" question: Free- and reduced-price meal applications

Note: Schools are receiving questions about whether free- and reduced-price meal enrollment will be counted against a green card application as part of the proposed "public charge" rules. It will not. You can read more about these proposed rule changes in this section of our guide.

Recommended videos

Enrollment questions on Social Security numbers, birth certificates, and more: Attorney Roger Rosenthal

Protect student privacy

Why this matters

Students have certain legal privacy protections regardless of immigration status. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records for all students. The American Federation of Teachers notes that, "Under FERPA, schools are prohibited, without parental consent, from providing information from a student's file to federal immigration agents if the information would potentially expose a student's immigration status."
FERPA does not allow schools to turn over a student's file to federal immigration agents. The school can turn the file over if a parent consents and gives them permission or if the information does not contain the student's immigration status. School officials are non-reporters. They are not required to report undocumented immigrants.
According to Illinois Legal Aid Online:

Note: The California School Boards Association shares the following reminder, "School leaders should review with legal counsel any request for student information submitted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement" (p. 4).

Review these regulations and your own school policies to see if any changes are needed.

Determine if there are other privacy policies that should be reflected in school policy/procedures at the district, city, county, or state level.

Ensure that all staff have updated information regarding student privacy laws, particularly those who are working on student enrollment.

Tips for getting started

Recommended resources

Find out what resources your district and state have about serving immigrant students

Why this matters

The challenges that immigrant students currently face speak to the importance of creating an environment in which (a) students and families feel welcome and comfortable in the educational setting and (b) all leaders and staff members understand students' rights and their obligations in protecting those rights.

District, school, and early childhood program leaders have addressed these issues in a variety of ways within (and beyond) their communities. Some leaders have focused on internal communication with staff, while others have made public statements regarding their immigrant students. Some districts that have such guidelines or resolutions have called themselves "sanctuary districts," "safe zones," or "safe havens."

These statements vary in content, length, scope, and method of delivery. Some leaders have collaborated with their school boards to draft resolutions or formal statements supporting all students' access to education. These statements have been delivered in writing or in person through press conferences, events, or interviews with local media in families' languages.

a welcoming message affirming the value of immigrant families to the community

an affirmation of all students' right to a free, public education, as well as their civil rights, regardless of immigration status

a reminder of existing policies that address discrimination, bullying, and bias

an explanation of steps for protecting student and family privacy

clarification of policies related to immigration and law enforcement activity

information on new or updated policies, such as the Los Angeles school board's directive to the superintendent to "develop a plan within 90 days that will train teachers, administrators and other staff on how to quickly respond to immigration enforcement agents"

messages that try to prevent drops in enrollment or attendance due to family concerns.

Common themes in this communication include:

These statements can serve as an important step in creating a climate of respect and trust for immigrant students, families, and staff members while also reiterating districts' legal obligations towards students and families.

The California School Board Association (2017) notes that,

While these resolutions do not provide further or greater legal protection for students than already exists in the law, they do help school districts utilize their lawful discretion to establish policies and procedures to ensure that the district is providing equal access to public education to all students and to ensure the safety and security of its students attending school to the best of its ability. They also direct staff how to respond to potential immigration enforcement activities by ICE or other immigration enforcement officers or agents. (p. 5)

The role of states

States also have an important role to play in communicating related state and federal laws. For example, New York State has published a section on its website titled Information Regarding Recent Immigration-Related Actions, available in more than two dozen languages, as well as guidance related to the enrollment of undocumented and unaccompanied youth.

California has published multiple documents clarifying existing rules and also has gone beyond what previously existed to create new policies, guidelines, and models for districts to use as they determine their policies at the local level.

In addition, California passed a statewide law, AB 699, increasing protections for immigrant students. You can see fact sheets and infographics about the law in English and Spanish here and also from the Immigration Legal Resource Center. The following documents were published in California as well:

Learn more from Informed Immigrants' section on Understanding state/local immigration-related policies.

Find out what kinds of resources, documents, and statements your district and state already have available and if those resources are available in multiple languages.

Keep in mind that:

Tips for getting started

In school districts that have refrained from making a formal statement about immigration-related policies, educators might find it helpful to communicate the following kinds of information to decision-makers:

◦ school districts are legally obligated to share information in a language that families understand (see multilingual versions of district statements in the "Recommended resources" below).
◦ school and district leaders may not realize the extent to which immigration policies are impacting families locally, as seen in this article written for Colorín Colorado. Helping leaders better understand the student population is an area in which educators working with ELLs and immigrant students can have a significant impact.
◦ many of these strategies are appropriate for early childhood settings as well.

◦ examples from other schools or districts, such as statements of support, resolutions, and other documents
◦ information on the impact of immigration policies on local students
◦ related policies at the district, city, county, or state level that might impact immigrant students.

How to frame the issue
As a public leader you always worry about the consequences of a decision, a statement, or an action and you want to examine issues from multiple perspectives. Who might gain from a decision? Who might be harmed? As we discussed our district support, we recognized that the heart of the matter was keeping students safe and supporting their continued learning. This meant that we needed to measure our actions by how they related to supporting the students' learning and social-emotional well-being. This has been helpful in empowering leaders as they make decisions in response to new situations.
Consider framing these issues in terms of student well-being and learning as a helpful starting point. ELL administrator Kristina Robertson notes,

Recommended resources

The following list shares a sample of documents published by districts around the country.

School district resources: FAQs and guides

School district resources: Public statements and resolutions on serving immigrant students

Related resources

Related news items

Recommended videos

References

See our complete reference list for works cited in this article.

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Immigrant Students' Legal Rights: An Overview

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We've heard from educators who would like to know what steps they can take to ensure that front office staff are up-to-date about relevant policies. This has been an ongoing effort of ours and we continue to make sure all of our schools are aware of our efforts.

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Introduction

Concerned about increasing threats to immigrant communities by several racially-fraught immigration policy positions advanced by the incoming federal administration, 1 Demos and LatinoJustice PRLDEF are issuing this preliminary report on the ability of local communities to decide, based on their own form of local government, how they may enact policies to protect immigrant rights. This report is by no means comprehensive; it is intended to provide advocates with basic information about available options to effectively address the very real safety and security threats to immigrant communities. Our research demonstrates how local democratic institutions may enact counter-measures that welcome and include immigrants as equal members of society. We believe that this moment of crisis provides an opportunity for local governments and schools to dedicate themselves to building a "beloved community" 2 that assumes responsibility for protecting its most vulnerable members and, in doing so, expands the well-being and security of all.
Este informe está disponible en español
This report is available in Spanish. Know your rights: protect yourself against ICE activity by reading United We Dream's multilingual fact sheets
Since the November 2016 election of a presidential candidate who ran on a platform of racialized xenophobia, a troubling wave of hate speech and hate crimes has been unleashed; the largest number has occurred in schools. 3 Immigrant communities are not only living in fear of the termination of recent policies such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),4 but also in real fear of draconian federal government policies that include racial profiling, 5 raids and mass deportations. 6 President-elect Donald Trump made campaign promises to "build a wall" to keep out "Mexicans," whom he universally labeled as "criminals;" 7 to deny refuge for Syrians seeking asylum from civil war, including Syrian children; 8 to institute an unconstitutional national registry for Muslims and temporarily ban Muslim immigrants from entering the country; 9 to retract President Obama's executive order deferrals of deportation for young people; and to deport 2-3 million undocumented immigrants. 10 For communities of color, the rhetoric has already resulted in the creation of a hostile environment, saturated with high levels of hate speech and hate crimes, even in schools and directed against places of worship. 11 In the month following the election of Donald J. Trump to the nation's highest office, over 1,000 bias-related incidents were documented, and nearly 37 percent of them included perpetrators expressing support for Mr. Trump while engaging in such deplorable acts against humanity. 12

In response, starting in the days immediately after the election, cities around the country reaffirmed their commitment to providing some form of sanctuary for immigrants. 13 Other local communities have sought to begin providing such protections, while student- and parent-led activism has led to schools reaffirming and seeking to expand them. Churches, hospitals and other local institutions may also provide protections for immigrants. It is important to know that these protections may be contested, as the federal government has "exclusive jurisdiction" over immigration law enforcement. Moreover, local jurisdictions that have provided protections for immigrants have had their federal funding threatened. 14

But even with these threats, there are various ways in which local communities are working to meet these challenges and protect their own residents, such as refusing to provide local resources to enforce civil immigration law, and providing safeguards against racial profiling or other unconstitutional actions. Many of these protections are already in use, and as our research shows, recent case law challenging civil rights violations in this regard may provide some baseline of protection for immigrant communities in the coming years.

Currently, around 400 jurisdictions, including at least 4 states, 39 cities, and 364 counties, share a strong commitment to inclusion, diversity, and welcoming immigrant communities through what is loosely-termed "sanctuary policy," through which they limit cooperation with federal requests to hold immigrants in detention. 15 Additional forms of protection include not sharing information about immigration status, safeguarding school environments, and policies protecting against discrimination. 16 Even though sanctuary policies are likely to be attacked, legal analysis shows that communities have some leeway to decide for themselves whether their local democracy will welcome and protect immigrants. While the federal government has "exclusive jurisdiction" over immigration enforcement, our constitutional system of federalism permits communities to exercise democracy at the local level, and creates avenues to resist the most draconian impulses of the federal government. 17 Although local communities cannot entirely stop federal immigration enforcement, violations of equal protection and tactics such as racial profiling and commandeering of local police to round up members of our local communities for deportation have been resisted effectively in the past, and can and should be resisted in the future.

Part A of this report will briefly describe various types of local protections for immigrants. Part B will describe the basic legal parameters, as well as current legal threats, regarding local governmental policies intended to protect undocumented persons from aggressive federal immigration enforcement. It will also explain how the U.S. Constitution supports local jurisdictions in shielding against inquiries into immigration status, protecting against racial profiling, refusing to detain immigrants, resisting excessive incarceration and deportations, and perhaps most importantly, safeguarding public school children, among other measures. Part C will summarize these conclusions and related policy advocacy recommendations.

We hope this information is helpful, and we encourage advocates to seek out and choose among a wide variety of tools in their pursuit of inclusive local democracies that reject discrimination, advance equal protection and welcome immigrants, in the way that best meets local community needs. This challenging time will require ongoing learning and adjustments in tactics and strategies to present the strongest defense of sanctuary policies and the inclusive vision of community, safety, security and local democracy that they embody.
Download the full report to read more

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Concerned about increasing threats to immigrant communities by several racially-fraught immigration policy positions advanced by the incoming federal administration, 1 Demos and LatinoJustice PRLDEF are issuing this preliminary report on the ability of local communities to decide, based on their own form of local government, how they may enact policies to protect immigrant rights.

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Coming to America - English Learners Speak Out

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In June 1982, the Supreme Court issued Plyler v. Doe, a landmark decision holding that states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status. By a 5-4 vote, the Court found that any resources which might be saved from excluding undocumented children from public schools were far outweighed by the harms imposed on society at large from denying them an education.

For more than thirty years, Plyler has ensured equal access to education for children regardless of status, but anti-immigrant sentiment continues to threaten that right. States and localities have passed measures and adopted unofficial policies that violate the spirit-if not the letter-of the Court's decision. For example, in 2011 the state of Alabama enacted a law requiring school administrators to determine the immigration status of newly enrolling students, which in turn resulted in markedly higher rates of absenteeism for Latino school children and caused much fear and confusion in schools. Supporters of the Alabama law wanted to challenge Plyler itself, claiming the Court implied that its ruling could change if sufficient evidence established that the enrollment of undocumented children harmed the overall quality of education, but that challenge was blocked by the Courts.

This fact sheet provides an overview of the Supreme Court's decision in Plyler and subsequent efforts by states and localities to avoid compliance with the decision.

What were the facts of Plyler v. Doe?

In 1975, the Texas Legislature authorized local school districts to deny enrollment in public schools to foreign-born children who were not "legally admitted" to the United States. Two years later, the TylerIndependentSchool District adopted a policy requiring foreign-born students to pay tuition if they were not "legally admitted." Under the school district's policy, children were considered "legally admitted" if (1) they possessed documentation showing that they were legally present in the United States, or (2) federal immigration authorities confirmed they were in the process of securing such documentation.

Shortly thereafter, a group of students from Mexico who could not establish that they were "legally admitted" brought a class action lawsuit challenging the policy. The district court, after making extensive findings of fact, held that the policy violated the Constitution and was also "preempted" by federal immigration law. A federal appeals court upheld the injunction, although its decision rested on constitutional rather than preemption grounds. The school district then filed a petition with the Supreme Court, which granted the case for review.

What was the basis for the Supreme Court's ruling?

The Court based its ruling on the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says in part, "No State shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." (This provision is commonly known as the "Equal Protection Clause.") Under this provision, the Court held that if states provide a free public education to U.S. citizens and lawfully present foreign-born children, they cannot deny such an education to undocumented children without "showing that it furthers some substantial state interest."

The Court found that the school district had no rational basis to deny children a public education based on their immigration status, given the harm the policy would inflict on the children themselves and society as a whole. "By denying these children a basic education," the Court said, "we deny them the ability to live within the structure of our civic institutions, and foreclose any realistic possibility that they will contribute in even the smallest way to the progress of our Nation." The Court also said that holding children accountable for their parents' actions "does not comport with fundamental conceptions of justice."

Did the dissent suggest that undocumented children should be prevented from attending school?

No. To the contrary, the dissent acknowledged that it "is senseless for an enlightened society to deprive any children-including [unauthorized immigrants]-of an elementary education," in part because "the long-range costs of excluding any children from the public schools may well outweigh the costs of educating them." Instead, the dissent argued that the Court should defer to the school district's policy because the Constitution does not officially prevent discrimination against unlawfully present immigrants.

Did the Court say its opinion would change if evidence existed that educating undocumented children reduces the quality of education for other students?

No. The majority noted that the record in the case did not support "the claim that exclusion of undocumented children is likely to improve the overall quality of education in the State." However, the remark was not central to the Court's reasoning or otherwise intended to leave open the question. The Court also said that even if barring one group of children from schools was likely to improve the overall quality of education, the school district would still have to justify applying the prohibition to undocumented children. Thus, there is no basis to believe the Court's decision would have been different-or that a future Court would overrule Plyler -if evidence showed that educating undocumented school children reduces the quality of education for other students.

How have states and localities attempted to circumvent the Plyler decision?

In the three decades since the Plyler ruling was issued, states and localities have passed numerous measures and adopted unofficial policies that violate the spirit if not the letter of the decision. For example:

In 1994, California voters enacted Proposition 187, which prohibited public elementary and secondary schools from admitting any student who was not lawfully present in the United States, and which required schools to notify federal immigration authorities within 45 days of any student reasonably believed to be in violation of federal immigration laws. The measure was subsequently struck down in federal court for violating Plyler.

In 2006, the school district in Elmwood Park, Illinois, denied enrollment to a student who had overstayed the tourist visa on which he had originally entered the country. The district ultimately permitted the student to enroll, however, after the Illinois State Board of Education threatened to withhold funding.

In 2011, the Alabama legislature enacted a measure requiring school administrators to determine the immigration status of all newly enrolling students, and to submit an annual report to the state Board of Education setting forth all data obtained under the requirement. The federal government and numerous private plaintiffs have sought to enjoin this provision as part of a larger challenge to H.B. 56, the omnibus measure in which it was enacted. A federal district court in Alabama declined to enter a preliminary injunction against the provision upon finding that none of the plaintiffs had standing to appeal. However, a federal appellate court subsequently blocked implementation of the provision pending resolution of an appeal. The provision was permanently blocked in October 2013 when Alabama agreed to a settlement in the lawsuit.

In addition to formal measures, local school districts have routinely adopted unofficial policies designed to circumvent Plyler. For example, schools have required immigrant students or parents to submit Social Security numbers or provide other additional documents prior to enrollment. In a "Dear Colleague" letter sent in May 2011, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice reminded school administrators that they may not deny enrollment to students who are unwilling or unable to provide a Social Security number, or who provide a foreign birth certificate at the time of enrollment.

Why should schools be prevented from collecting and reporting information on students' immigration status?

Even if schools permit undocumented children to enroll, collecting and reporting information about their immigration status is bad policy and also likely unconstitutional. Although the stated intent of such measures may be to obtain an accurate count of the number of undocumented schoolchildren, their implementation may dissuade immigrant families from enrolling their children in the first place. According to figures provided by the state of Alabama, for example, more than 13 percent of Latino students in the state withdrew from public schools between September 2011 and February 2012-even though immigrants as a whole constituted less than 0.5 percent of students in Alabama schools. Thus, the apparent effect of such measures is to deter enrollment of children with undocumented parents or other family members, even if the children are themselves U.S. citizens.

In addition to causing higher rates of absenteeism, measures like Alabama's require untrained school administrators to make complicated determinations about immigration status; erode immigrant students' trust of teachers, counselors, and other school employees; create greater potential for racial and ethnic profiling; and can breed conflict amongst students themselves, such as the bullying of students who are (or are perceived to be) foreign-born. Such measures can also lead to potential violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prevents schools from disclosing information in student files without parental consent.

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Public Education for Immigrant Students: Understanding Plyler v. Doe

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This fact sheet provides an overview of the Supreme Court's decision in Plyler v. Doe and subsequent efforts by states and localities to avoid compliance with the decision.

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2021 Immigrant Student Success Toolkit

How do you support foreign-born students and bring immigration into the classroom, particularly during times of crisis? Immigrant and refugee students of all ages have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. Participants learned how to support immigrant students, combat anti-immigrant sentiment and center the immigrant voice across the curriculum in the free online workshop 2021 Immigrant Student Success: Strategies and Tools for K-12 and Adult Educators on July 7 and 8.

From this webinar, The ILC has created a useful toolkit for educators that includes information and resources on how to foster resilience among immigrant and refugee youth, address anti-Asian and anti-immigrant discrimination, and teach about immigration. Click on the thumbnail to the right to download the toolkit.

Hosted by The Immigrant Learning Center's Public Education Institute and featuring experts from across the nation, participants learned from presentations, group chats, interactive activities and discussions with speakers how to:

Integrate immigrant stories, voices, history and culture into curriculum and teaching practices

Incorporate trauma-informed and socio-ecological approaches to teaching

Combat racism, specifically anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiment

Learn what to expect in the post-pandemic classroom

Reflect upon the role of the teacher in the development of immigrant students

This free online workshop was for teachers, librarians, administrators, volunteers, social workers, community leaders and others interested in bringing immigration into the K-12 and adult classroom. This was the ninth annual Immigrant Student Success workshop. Resources and recordings from this year's workshop are available below.

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Educator Webinars > The Immigrant Learning Center

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2021 Immigrant Student Success Toolkit How do you support foreign-born students and bring immigration into the classroom, particularly during times of crisis? Immigrant and refugee students of all ages have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment.

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An Educator’s Guide to the Immigration Debate

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What you need to know to facilitate classroom conversation about this controversial topic.

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Katherine Culliton-González Joanna E. Cuevas Ingram

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Santuarios, Seguridad y Comunidad | Demos

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Debido a las preocupaciones acerca de las crecientes amenazas a las comunidades de inmigrantes respecto a varias posturas políticas migratorias de índole racial promovidas por la administración federal entrante,1 Demos y LatinoJustice PRLDEF presentan este informe preliminar sobre las decisiones qu…

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Nonfiction

Congresswoman Diana DeGette speaking to students about immigration last January at South High School, which she attended. Credit... RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post, via Getty Images

When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.

THE NEWCOMERS
Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom
By Helen Thorpe
396 pp. Scribner. $28.

Steve Bannon, we hear you. Too many white middle-class Americans, victimized by globalization, are struggling. Resources are scarce enough for people who were born right here.
Build the Wall! Build the Wall!
But maybe Americans are not as flinty a race as we appear to be when we're chanting at rallies. While President Trump was campaigning on the wall, Helen Thorpe spent a year inside a "newcomer class" for teenage refugees from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Central America.

Her resulting book, "The Newcomers," is a delicate and heartbreaking mystery story, as Thorpe slowly uncovers the secret catastrophes in the lives of young immigrants at South High School in Denver. They arrive mute, and they gradually gain the words and confidence to describe the journeys that led to the classroom.

Thorpe's parents emigrated from Ireland in 1965, when Thorpe was a year old, and she has written about young Mexican immigrants in America. A discerning chronicler of cultural misunderstanding, she started the book just as nativist resentment became a political movement.

South High School is Denver's designated school for non-English-speaking students whose educations have been disrupted. Here, teenagers uprooted by war, violence and deprivation meet the most generous of Americans. Nice people from churches, synagogues and Goodwill all appear in their lives, brought together by a generously funded public school system and a dedicated English Language Acquisition teacher, Eddie Williams.

A Mexican-American whose own mother hid her roots out of shame and fear, Williams presides over a miniature United Nations of survivors of conflicts across the planet. There's Hsar Htoo, born in a refugee camp in Thailand to a Karen family from Myanmar. For him, everything in Denver is new: "running water, appliances, grocery stores, snow."

Williams worries about Iraqi sisters Jakleen and Mariam, daughters of a Christian father and Muslim mother; their father worked for the Americans, and then disappeared in Baghdad as sectarian violence erupted during the American troop drawdown. With their mother and a third sister, the girls spent six years in a Damascus suburb, missed a year of school because of car bombs and are now barely able to get to school on time.

Methusella and Solomon, teenage boys from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were driven out of Goma with their family. The brothers show up at South High School on time every day, "always nicely dressed," bending over their work with laser focus.

Thorpe gets to know some of the parents, like Methusella and Solomon's father, a dignified man wearing a collared shirt and navy trousers, working as a dishwasher and studying English out of a creased pocket dictionary he bought at Goodwill for a dollar. He speaks four languages including French, and when he sees dents in American houses, he must remind himself they are not caused by bullet holes, like the dents in houses back home.

Thorpe went deep, hiring 14 translators to conduct repeated interviews. Jakleen shares a letter she wrote to her father. Thorpe runs her hands over the Arabic letters on the page, and it's "like reading Braille inversely," because the girl pressed so hard with her pen. Still, some of their sad secrets stay buried. Hsar Htoo asks Thorpe before she interviews him not to ask him about his father's death. She also never really unravels how the unaccompanied Salvadoran children, fleeing one of the hemisphere's most violent nations, survived harrowing cross-border trips and made their way from federal detention facilities to Denver.

A year is a long time in teenage years, and frustration mounts. Some of the students are multilingual, and feel smarter than their lack of English allows. The Iraqi girls are so depressed they barely show up for school in the winter, racking up absences. The school encourages them with success stories. Thorpe's Arabic translator tells the girls that she raised her three children in America, and that they too hated it when they first arrived. Today, one is an engineer, another is a pediatric dentist, and the third is studying medicine.

Thorpe makes fascinating linguistic discoveries. At first, the newcomers can't even communicate with one another. As the weeks pass, they resort to Google Translate, sometimes bypassing English altogether. Watching them translate Swahili to Arabic and Portuguese, Thorpe notices cognates between Arabic and the African languages, remnants of ancient connections between two regions that to many Americans are as unfamiliar as the dark side of the moon.

"As the kids discovered these commonalities, I began to feel as though I were watching something like the living embodiment of a linguistic tree," Thorpe writes. "The classroom and the relationships forming inside of it were an almost perfect map of language proximity around the globe."

Thorpe has an epiphany of sorts when she learns that the word for "book" is "virtually identical" in the African languages and in Arabic. "That was the moment when I first grasped my own arrogance as an English speaker," Thorpe writes. "I mean, the arrogance harbored by someone who knew only European languages, which rendered the well-laced interconnectedness of the rest of the world invisible."

In class, the teenagers are like teenagers everywhere. They are dramatic, they preen, they get depressed, they fall in love. One day, the students teach Thorpe a word - qalb - meaning "heart" in Farsi and Arabic. When Thorpe puts qalb into Google Translate, Arabic to English, something surprising happens. She is given a flood of meanings. "I got heart, center, middle, transformation, conscience, core, marrow, pith, pulp, gist, essence, quintessence, topple, alter, flip, tip, overturn, reversal, overthrow, capsize, whimsical, capricious, convert, change, counterfeit. ... My own concept of heart did not include flip, capsize or reverse." She concludes: "Our two cultures did not have the same idea of what was happening at the core of our beings. ... The idea of heart that these kids possessed appeared to have a lighter, more nimble quality."

But no matter how nimble and light their hearts might be, the students can't help noticing the rising resentment aimed their way. "Xenophobia was not something that was listed formally as a factor that inhibited learning among E.L.A. students," she writes, "but as the weeks slipped by and the cacophony of the presidential election ratcheted up, elevating all kind of sentiments in the voting populace, including a virulent dislike of people from other countries, I came to think of the fear some people in my own country felt toward foreigners as an issue that itself inhibited the newcomers' learning. They were acutely sensitive and could detect when they were misunderstood."

Or hated.

Right after Trump's election, the long commutes to and from school on Denver's public transit system become an obstacle course of shame and fear. People call the students "dirty" and tell them to "go home." A passenger on a bus tells one girl, "We are going to kick your ass out of this country."

The faculty at South High School struggles to help the students grapple with the new social climate, treating it like an emergency akin to a shooting or an outbreak of flu. The principal brings on nine temporary counselors to help, because the number of children seeking counseling "reached levels that nobody had ever seen before." Two students had attempted suicide.

Nevertheless, Thorpe's book is a reminder that in an era of nativism, some Americans are still breaking down walls and nurturing newcomers, the seeds of the great American experiment.

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At a Public School in Denver, Refugee Children Find Hope and Frustration (Published 2018)

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Nonfiction When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. THE NEWCOMERS Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom By Helen Thorpe 396 pp. Scribner. $28. Steve Bannon, we hear you. Too many white middle-class Americans, victimized by globalization, are struggling.

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Saddleback Educational Publishing | Hi-Lo Books™

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Online Digital Platform purchases will allow for up to 20 student licenses + 1 teacher license

Additional licenses may be purchased in sets of 10, separately. Please reach out to our on boarding specialists for customized quotes at contact@sdlback.com

Welcome Newcomers: Topic-Based Books to Help New Immigrants Thrive

ISBN: 9781680214185 | Grades: Teen and YA | Reading Level: 1.6 to 2.5 | Lexile: HL150L to HL290L

Engaging Nonfiction and Fiction Featuring Survival Vocabulary

The Welcome Newcomers library is a unique instructional solution that introduces life in the United States to immigrant teens. As these students learn English and adapt to living in a new country, they must learn to fit in socially and academically. Developed around 14 topics that are critical to success in American schools and communities, Welcome Newcomers gives recent immigrants relevant information supported by full-color photographs of diverse teens in real-world settings. The program includes nonfiction and fiction books, survival vocabulary cards, lesson plans, reproducible activities, and assessments. Each topic is covered by a pair of books, one nonfiction and one fiction. The 64-page nonfiction and 48-page fiction books feature easy-to-read text and engaging photographs. Welcome Newcomers places special emphasis on building vocabulary, because research indicates the importance of vocabulary acquisition for students learning English. Survival words related to each topic are highlighted in the books, with definitions provided in text boxes on the page for easy reference. These same words are featured on the full-color vocabulary cards included in the box. Featuring diverse characters in contemporary settings, the books resonate with newcomers in secondary and adult programs.

KEY PRODUCT FEATURES:

Accessible text with low readability and photographs on every page for comprehension support

Progress monitoring in the form of summative assessments for every topic and a program checklist

Mature, engaging content focused on topics critical to newcomers

Nonfiction and fiction

Extensive teaching support for every book

Focus on vocabulary acquisition

PRINT LIBRARY BOX SET INCLUDES:
84 Topic-Based Books (3 Each of 28 Titles)

14 Nonfiction Books Paired with 14 Fiction Books
Survival Vocabulary Cards

140 Full-Color Vocabulary Cards

10 Survival Words per Topic

Comprehensive Teacher's Guide

Lesson Plans

Vocabulary Instruction

Guided Reading Questions

Reproducible Student Activities

Assessments

*ONLINE DIGITAL PLATFORM:
With the absence of in-person assisted learning, we have developed a simple platform that will enable readers to be both independent and assisted. Our technology supports readers by highlighting the text and reading it aloud at an appropriate pace that is perfect for struggling readers.

*Online Digital Platform is sold separately from print materials, or can be purchase as a combo set above.

Key Features:

Web browser access offering ease-of-use for any device with internet access

Simple design with uncomplicated screens so as not to distract the reader with unnecessary buttons and features. The goal is to get kids reading!

Text-to-speech with word highlighting for enhanced readability. Great for ANY struggling reader.

Product Notes: Teacher's Guide not sold separately. Once an order is placed for the Online Digital Platform materials a digital onboarding specialists will be in contact with you shortly.

Key Words/ Themes: American Culture, Citizenship, Community Services, Finding and Keeping a Job, Food and Meals, Grooming, Health Resources, Managing Money, Money Basics, A New Home, School Basics, School Expectations, Transportation, Weather and Natural Disasters, Full Color, Set, Fiction, Nonfiction, Teen, Young Adult, Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo Books, Hi-Lo Solutions, High-Low Books, Hi-Low Books, ELL, EL, ESL, Struggling Learner, Struggling Reader, Special Education, SPED, Newcomers, Reading, Learning, Education, Educational, Educational Books

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The Welcome Newcomers library is a unique instructional solution that introduces life in the United States to immigrant teens. As these students learn English and adapt to living in a new country, they must learn to fit in socially and academically.

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These booklists for children celebrate a wide range of cultures, languages, and experiences. They are perfect for read-alouds and bedtime stories, as well as for author studies! You can also get to know some of the featured authors in our Meet the Authors section. To see our large selection of titles representing cultural diversity, take a look at the following sections:

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These booklists for children celebrate a wide range of cultures, languages, and experiences. They are perfect for read-alouds and bedtime stories, as well as for author studies! You can also get to know some of the featured authors in our Meet the Authors section.

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Look Beyond Borders: a 4 minute experiment

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America has always been a place for newcomers — and schools are where we lay out the welcome mat. Amid the challenges of political hostility, declining resources, and violent conflicts that fuel mass migration, educators stand at the forefront, opening their classrooms to an increasingly diverse and global population of students — immigrants, undocumented students, English learners, and refugees — from near and far.

In a special series, we look at the strategies and practices that best support these newcomer students and their families, sharing insights that educators and school leaders can use to guide their work.

“Early education settings need to be places where dual-language learners and their families know that they have the ‘right to speak,’ that they will be heard with respect.”

– Paola Uccelli, professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Read more.

“Immigrant students have the determination, grit, perseverance, and problem-solving skills we say we value. So why aren’t their strengths better recognized? ”

– Jessica Lander, high school teacher, advocate for English learners
Read more.

Bilingualism as a Life Experience

We’re learning that speaking two languages can strengthen executive function skills, such as attention control and problem solving.

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America has always been a place for newcomers - and schools are where we lay out the welcome mat. Amid the challenges of political hostility, declining resources, and violent conflicts that fuel mass migration, educators stand at the forefront, opening their classrooms to an increasingly diverse and global population of students - immigrants, undocumented students, English learners, and refugees - from near and far.

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Elementary and Secondary Newcomer Toolkits

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Teacher friendly two page resource that features goals and possible steps for the first days of schools for newcomer students. Also features a note section to write observations of students' strengths, needs, and next steps.

Student & Parent Friendly School Fact Sheets that includes customized school address, phone number, school staff and leadership information, and Teacher name and Room #. Please click to edit.

One page printable communication table of basic phrases that students may need in the classroom setting. Includes picture support.

Six page list of basic survival English Words and Phrases on the classroom/school context with picture support.

Two page document of simple phrases in English/Spanish teachers can use to welcome and introduce classroom routines to new students (classroom setting).

One page table features basic phrases in English, Spanish, Korean, and Tagalog that can be helpful to communicate in the school office setting.

Can be left as resource in the front office and/or handed out to parents.

10. How to Create a Welcoming Environment

One page coloring sheet which you can write a teacher's name, Room #, and Buddy's name. Features English and Spanish.

One page coloring sheet that has blanks to write teacher name, Room #, and Buddy's name.

Printable classroom activities to welcome newcomer students. Gives specific directions for Elementary, Middle School, and High School students.

Includes printable activities titled:

Welcoming Stories

Literature Circles

"Where is our Nation From..."

Where does your Name Come From

Friendship, Music, and Games

Dreaming Together

This comprehensive document is a guide to introduce and implement Community Circles in the classroom. Circles can help to create an open and inclusive environment where students feel validated and heard. Divided into chapters including:

Chapter 1 Introduction to Classroom Circles

Part One: Skills of Circle Keeping

Part Two: Varieties of Circle Formats and Circles for Community Building

Part Three: Teaching Skills and Setting Things Right (includes Lesson plans)

16. Fostering Empathetic Children

This two page article from Talkingislearning.org that shows 6 ways adults can foster empathy in students.

This chapter discusses why and how school contribute to the development of newcomers social emotional well being. Topics include

Relationships between social emotional well being and student success

Culturally appropriate supports for newcomers

Ways to develop their social emotional skills

The role of informal social interactions

Sage learning environments

Adult and student-led supports

Integration of social and academic programs

This is Chapter 4 of Newcomer Toolkit created by the U.S. Department of Education. This chapter describes supports schools provide to create inclusive school communities. Also features what newcomer families need to know about schooling and school systems to support their children's learning.

Three page article that features how to notice signs of adjustment difficulties and/or show signs of trauma. Also features ideas and strategies on how to help students who are struggling at school.

Two page article on how to better create welcoming social and physical environments, engage students. Provides pointers to for school leadership on partnering with families.

This printable resource gives you tips on things teachers can consider for newcomer students, how to pair buddies, and examples of what students can do with buddies.

Printable student-friendly guide teachers can hand to buddies on how to introduce themselves, guide conversations, and ideas on activities they can do with a friend that is new to their school. Also features a Recording Sheet where they can write down concerns or questions buddies may ask.

Printable Ideas on how to create a Newcomer Folder. Includes tips for teachers how to set up the folder and buddies, as well as recording sheets that includes buddy activities on get to know each other, including conversation starters.

One page printable poster that students can write and create to introduce themselves to the classroom community.

In this ten page article, the authors describe some of the social and linguistic issues that face newly arrived ELLs, such as culture shock and the silent period. Suggestions are given for helping newcomers access content in the classroom, establishing connections to parents, and recognizing the assets that newcomers bring.

28. Basic English Phrases and Word Bank with Picture Support

PDF bank of Basic English phrases for students who are newcomers with picture support. Includes:

Document with links to different handwriting practice documents for print

Printable alphabet practice sheets by letter with dot trace on lines as well as identifying letter practice.

Print friendly Sight Words cards with mode sentences on each card

Printable comprehensive list of all Fry and Dolch sight words for practice. Explains the different between Dolch and Fry Sight Words.

33. Kindergarten Readiness Packet

Print friendly comprehensive packet of primary skills including alphabet skills/practice, and letter recognition, color, numbers and more!

34. Sentence Starters - Words and Phrases

1 page checklist/wordbank of sentence frames and vocabulary for different types of thinking and purpose (i.e. sequence, connectors, point of view..etc)

Goal setting is a research proven strategy that facilitates ownership of learning. ( Universal Design for Learning Practices)
One page reflection sheet for students to list strengths, needs, and set and monitor goals.

One page sheet where students/teacher can record essential learnings by class/subject.

This allows students to "check-in" with their teacher to monitor learning, reflect, and set goals. Research has shown that students benefit from timely goal setting and reflection.

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Teacher friendly two page resource that features goals and possible steps for the first days of schools for newcomer students. Also features a note section to write observations of students' strengths, needs, and next steps. Student & Parent Friendly School Fact Sheets that includes customized school address, phone number, school staff and leadership information, and Teacher name and Room #.

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Teacher friendly two page resource that features goals and possible steps for the first days of schools for newcomer students. Also features a note section to write observations of students' strengths, needs, and next steps.

Student & Parent Friendly School Fact Sheets that includes customized school address, phone number, school staff and leadership information, and Teacher name and Room #. Please click to edit.

One page printable communication table of basic phrases that students may need in the classroom setting. Includes picture support.

Six page list of basic survival English Words and Phrases on the classroom/school context with picture support.

Two page document of simple phrases in English/Spanish teachers can use to welcome and introduce classroom routines to new students (classroom setting).

One page table features basic phrases in English, Spanish, Korean, and Tagalog that can be helpful to communicate in the school office setting.

Can be left as resource in the front office and/or handed out to parents.

10. How to Create a Welcoming Environment

One page coloring sheet which you can write a teacher's name, Room #, and Buddy's name. Features English and Spanish.

One page coloring sheet that has blanks to write teacher name, Room #, and Buddy's name.

Printable classroom activities to welcome newcomer students. Gives specific directions for Elementary, Middle School, and High School students.

Includes printable activities titled:

Welcoming Stories

Literature Circles

"Where is our Nation From..."

Where does your Name Come From

Friendship, Music, and Games

Dreaming Together

This comprehensive document is a guide to introduce and implement Community Circles in the classroom. Circles can help to create an open and inclusive environment where students feel validated and heard. Divided into chapters including:

Chapter 1 Introduction to Classroom Circles

Part One: Skills of Circle Keeping

Part Two: Varieties of Circle Formats and Circles for Community Building

Part Three: Teaching Skills and Setting Things Right (includes Lesson plans)

16. Fostering Empathetic Children

This two page article from Talkingislearning.org that shows 6 ways adults can foster empathy in students.

This chapter discusses why and how school contribute to the development of newcomers social emotional well being. Topics include

Relationships between social emotional well being and student success

Culturally appropriate supports for newcomers

Ways to develop their social emotional skills

The role of informal social interactions

Sage learning environments

Adult and student-led supports

Integration of social and academic programs

This is Chapter 4 of Newcomer Toolkit created by the U.S. Department of Education. This chapter describes supports schools provide to create inclusive school communities. Also features what newcomer families need to know about schooling and school systems to support their children's learning.

Three page article that features how to notice signs of adjustment difficulties and/or show signs of trauma. Also features ideas and strategies on how to help students who are struggling at school.

Two page article on how to better create welcoming social and physical environments, engage students. Provides pointers to for school leadership on partnering with families.

This printable resource gives you tips on things teachers can consider for newcomer students, how to pair buddies, and examples of what students can do with buddies.

Printable student-friendly guide teachers can hand to buddies on how to introduce themselves, guide conversations, and ideas on activities they can do with a friend that is new to their school. Also features a Recording Sheet where they can write down concerns or questions buddies may ask.

Printable Ideas on how to create a Newcomer Folder. Includes tips for teachers how to set up the folder and buddies, as well as recording sheets that includes buddy activities on get to know each other, including conversation starters.

One page printable poster that students can write and create to introduce themselves to the classroom community.

In this ten page article, the authors describe some of the social and linguistic issues that face newly arrived ELLs, such as culture shock and the silent period. Suggestions are given for helping newcomers access content in the classroom, establishing connections to parents, and recognizing the assets that newcomers bring.

28. Basic English Phrases and Word Bank with Picture Support

PDF bank of Basic English phrases for students who are newcomers with picture support. Includes:

Document with links to different handwriting practice documents for print

Printable alphabet practice sheets by letter with dot trace on lines as well as identifying letter practice.

Print friendly Sight Words cards with mode sentences on each card

Printable comprehensive list of all Fry and Dolch sight words for practice. Explains the different between Dolch and Fry Sight Words.

33. Kindergarten Readiness Packet

Print friendly comprehensive packet of primary skills including alphabet skills/practice, and letter recognition, color, numbers and more!

34. Sentence Starters - Words and Phrases

1 page checklist/wordbank of sentence frames and vocabulary for different types of thinking and purpose (i.e. sequence, connectors, point of view..etc)

Goal setting is a research proven strategy that facilitates ownership of learning. ( Universal Design for Learning Practices)
One page reflection sheet for students to list strengths, needs, and set and monitor goals.

One page sheet where students/teacher can record essential learnings by class/subject.

This allows students to "check-in" with their teacher to monitor learning, reflect, and set goals. Research has shown that students benefit from timely goal setting and reflection.

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Teacher friendly two page resource that features goals and possible steps for the first days of schools for newcomer students. Also features a note section to write observations of students' strengths, needs, and next steps. Student & Parent Friendly School Fact Sheets that includes customized school address, phone number, school staff and leadership information, and Teacher name and Room #.

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Every September, families at Oakhurst Elementary gather on campus for a casual cookout. As kids devour hamburgers, moms and dads new to the community get a chance to chat with longtime residents. "It's a really good time," says Beth Thompson, PTA copresident at the Decatur, Ga., school. "I think it goes a long way to get parents to mingle."

Holding a casual back-to-school event is a great way to connect with parents. It establishes your group as fun and family-friendly. And it gives you, as a leader, a chance to connect in a personal way with people who are new to the school. Those newcomers can be a terrific source of volunteers, but first impressions are key.

General Outreach

You'll have the most success if you reach out to newcomers as soon as they arrive. That's when they will be most in need of information and school connections. Frame all of your contact in terms of what you can offer them, not what they can do for your group. You'll have plenty of time for that later, and if you lay the groundwork, you'll have a much more receptive audience.

Provide information about your parent group in the welcome packet for new families. A single sheet with contact information, some key dates, and a short list of your accomplishments will do. Be sure to state clearly that your group is friendly and welcoming to everyone. And don't include fundraising on your list of accomplishments; say "purchased six computers for the computer lab" rather than "raised $12,000."

Establish a welcome committee. A simple phone call to newcomers offering information about the school and community can make a big impression. Don't try to sell the person on getting involved; simply let her know that you're calling from the PTO and give her contact information in case she has any questions. Give this task to someone who is naturally friendly and outgoing.

Reach out to new families as soon as they appear on your radar screen, whether it's at the pool over the summer or at the pediatrician's office. Consider carrying business cards with your group's contact information. Tell people to use them "if there's anything we can do to help."

Become a source of information about the school, such as pickup and drop-off points, paying for school lunches, and any other information new parents need. Make good information the first thing you offer new parents.

Touch base with new families as the school year progresses to see whether they have questions or concerns that you can help with. Even if the questions are more teacher- or administration-related, you can steer them in the right direction to find answers.

Remind your kids to make an extra effort to reach out to new students. Encourage them to invite new classmates to your home, which gives you an inside track to get to know their parents.

Don't assume that your school is welcoming just because you are a close-knit community. Sometimes it can be harder for a new family to feel comfortable in a small school family than a big school that gets flooded with newcomers. Make an extra effort to assure families that your parent group is open to everyone.

Around School

How a school building looks, the procedures for visitors, and the attitude toward visitors can all have a strong effect on newcomers. That initial impression can determine whether a parent feels comfortable enough to return or decides to avoid the school whenever possible.

Make your foyer as warm and welcoming as possible by painting a mural, hanging a sign, or brightening the area with plants.

Post signs to show newcomers how to get to the office to sign in.

Wear a nametag every time you're in the building to identify yourself as a parent volunteer. Encourage all parent group members to wear nametags.

Stop what you're doing and introduce yourself when you see a new face.

Offer a nametag when a visitor signs in.

On the first day of school and at registration, staff the school with parent volunteers to help new parents find their children's classrooms.

Post notices about parent group meetings and events around the school where parents are most likely to see them, and on your group's social media pages.

Be blunt -hang a sign on the first day of school that reads "we welcome our new families."

Events and Activities

Family events represent the first level of involvement. People who come to your events and enjoy themselves are your most likely prospects to take the next step and volunteer. It's important to hold family events to help parents get connected to the school, and it's especially helpful to hold one or two activities specifically for new parents.

Organize a get-together for parents of incoming kindergartners the spring before. Give out information about the school and PTO, and provide a casual setting where they can get to know each other and PTO members.

Hold a casual welcome event just before school starts. Make it a family event so the first introduction people have to your group isn't about fundraising.

Sponsor an event for kindergarten parents on the first day of school, such as a boohoo/yahoo breakfast. This is an emotional time, and giving parents a place to gather and chat can help reduce the anxiety. If your school has half-day kindergarten, include parents of 1st graders who are attending for a full day for the first time.

Stay on top of development within your school zone. If a new apartment complex or subdivision opens, host a meet-and-greet in the new community's clubhouse for parents.

Appoint someone to be a greeter at all events, to say hello to new faces and make sure everyone is participating and having a good time. This should be a specific job; the people organizing and running the event are going to be too busy managing the details to worry about welcoming individuals.

Call new parents prior to a significant event and invite them personally. Tell them what to expect, especially if the event is a big tradition at your school.

Staff a booth at events to provide information and an opportunity to volunteer with your parent group. Keep it low pressure, and emphasize the ways your group helps the school.

Meetings

A parent who attends a meeting for the first time is showing real interest in your group. Unfortunately, meetings are probably the least interesting thing you do-especially to outsiders. Meetings can also feel very clique-like. It's important to make sure new people feel included rather than left out.

Have a greeter who helps new people know what to expect, meet others, and feel comfortable. Never let anyone come and go from a meeting without being spoken to.

Ask everyone to wear a nametag at meetings. The old-timers know each other, but new people often feel excluded because they don't know any names. This simple device makes it much easier for newcomers to fit in.

Have speakers state their name when they speak at meetings. It may feel awkward at first, but it will seem natural after a few times.

Avoid insider talk such as acronyms or shorthand references that will only be understood by people who have been highly involved. Explain issues for newcomers.

Encourage input from new people by asking how they handled issues or events at their previous school.

Avoid turnoff language like "We tried that. It doesn't work." Instead say, "That's a good idea. We tried it like this and got this result. I wonder if there's a better way to try it." It's OK to say no, but the key is to listen and not be dismissive or offhand.

Pair up a new PTO member with a veteran whose children are close in age with her kids. Allow this informal relationship to blossom naturally. Don't force it.

Pep them up! Try some ideas for better meetings, and new people will be more likely to attend them.

Let new members know about volunteer opportunities, but don't heap responsibilities on them at first. Give them time to find their niche, and do what you can to make volunteering easier on new helpers.

Being a new kid at school is tough, but being a new parent can be difficult, as well. No matter how great your school's reputation for test scores, you want it to have an equally great reputation for parent involvement. Your efforts to welcome families will be directly reflected in your success at building involvement. By focusing on creating a welcoming atmosphere, you can make sure your school is one where new families feel comfortable and want to participate.

Welcoming New Families: Advice From Leaders

Here's what leaders in our PTO and PTA Leaders & Volunteers Facebook group had to say about welcoming new families.

Our school has buddy families. Each new family is matched with a family (ideally with a family that has a child in the same grade). -Alicia P.

We [hold a] new parent coffee. We serve coffee and pastries; PTO board is there to welcome families, and principal, too. -Britt H.

We are doing a new parent meeting during our August meeting. -Kelly M.

[We] pair them with a willing mentor family. We do it on a Sunday at a park the week before school starts. -Heather V.

We are doing a "meet and greet" at the PTL pizza party...so we can get to know one another and welcome new members. -Valerie B.

We had a "popsicles on the playground" event the Saturday before school started. -Heather S.

We are hosting a welcome to school event for them with school tour, meet principal, etc. -Tracy B.

Give all new students a welcome bag [with] pencils with our school name, a $5 gift card for apparel, membership and directory info, list of upcoming events. -Megan I.
Originally posted in 2008 and updated regularly
The best PTO advice, ideas, and inspiration delivered weekly. Don't miss it!

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Make New Families Feel Welcome - PTO Today

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Every September, families at Oakhurst Elementary gather on campus for a casual cookout. As kids devour hamburgers, moms and dads new to the community get a chance to chat with longtime residents. "It's a really good time," says Beth Thompson, PTA copresident at the Decatur, Ga., school.

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The little girl and her mother were standing in the office when I arrived. I had been called out of my class to help enroll a Spanish-speaking student in our elementary school. I was new to the school and not very familiar with the registration process.

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English Learner Toolkit of Strategies - The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association advocates on behalf of K-12 and early childhood education at state and federal levels, and in partnership with state agencies. It provides the organizational mechanism for the 58 county sup…

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The Newcomer Tool Kit is designed to help U.S. educators; elementary and secondary teachers, principals, and other school staff who work directly with immigrant students-including asylees and refugees-and their families.

The Newcomer Tool Kit has 5 chapters, and contains an overview, sample tools, and resources.

Updated Download the entire Newcomer Tool Kit (PDF, 4 MB)

Newcomer Toolkit - Chapters:

1. Who are our Newcomers?

2. Welcoming Newcomers to a Safe and Thriving School Environment

3. Supporting Newcomers' Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs

4. Providing High-Quality Instruction for Newcomers

5. Establishing Partnerships with Families

To request the tool kit in an alternate format as a reasonable accommodation, i.e. large print, CD Rom or audio, please contact Melissa Escalante by phone, 202-401-1407 or email at: Melissa.Escalante@ed.gov.

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bilingual education; school reform; language proficiency; english (second language); multicultural education;

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The Newcomer Tool Kit is designed to help U.S. educators; elementary and secondary teachers, principals, and other school staff who work directly with immigrant students--including asylees and refugees--and their families.

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Newcomer First Days Support Guide for School Staff (PDF)Guide for school staff when welcoming an ELL newcomer student

I Speak Statements (PDF)Utilize this tool in forty-nine (49) languages to help determine a family's native language

Newcomer Student and Family Survey
Determine a students' background, educational history, and academic needs.

Newcomer Student Writing and Numeracy Diagnostic Tools
Determine initial student academic strengths and needs

CCSD Newcomer High School Program Options
Global Community High School provides relevant education to English Language Learners

Transcript Review Process - High School only (Word)
Assists in proper placement of students based on foreign student transcript review

School Meals Application in 49 languages
Free and reduced school meal applications available in forty-nine (49) languages

Google Translate
Free multilingual translation service

Welcome to Our School Presentation
Samples for schools to adapt to introduce new students and families to your school. To modify the presentation, you must download a copy and edit accordingly.
Adaptable Visual Daily Schedule for Student CCSD Refugee Support (PDF)

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Newcomer First Days Support Guide for School Staff (PDF) Guide for school staff when welcoming an ELL newcomer student I Speak Statements (PDF) Utilize this tool in forty-nine (49) languages to help determine a family's native language Newcomer Student and Family Survey Determine a students' background, educational history, and academic needs.