Ensuring Success for Newcomer Students
By Alaynah Garibay and Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, Latino Policy Forum
This article is the first of a two-part series that explores ways schools can support newcomer students. Newcomers is an umbrella term for newly arrived foreign-born students. These students typically do not have mastery of the English language and their families may be unfamiliar with the U.S. school system. This article provides an overview of terminology along with suggestions for initial ways in which schools can support these students. The second article, to appear in the January/February 2024 issue of the Illinois School Board Journal, highlights “voices from the field” where various district leaders throughout Illinois share the ways they are meeting the needs of newcomer students.
Throughout American history, there have been waves of immigration. Whether families come to Illinois for political or economic reasons, these newcomer students share some common characteristics. Once they enroll in school many will qualify as English Learners and will need customized instruction to achieve academic success. In addition, they have more social and emotional needs than the typical English Learner. With appropriate supports, as explored in this article, these students can thrive.
Understanding the Population
Some key terms are helpful for school leaders to understand when newcomers enroll in the school district. Often the students and their families are sponsored by churches or nonprofit organizations.
- Newcomer: A school-aged child who was born abroad and immigrates to the United States. Often the immigration experience is prompted by a political situation, but it can also be for economic reasons.
- Refugee: A student who, because of conflict and war, is displaced from their home country. Typically they spend time in a temporary refugee camp where they apply for protection before immigrating to the United States.
- Asylee: A student who applies for asylum protection after immigrating to the United States due to political circumstances in their home country, where, if they were to return, they could face persecution.
- Intermittent schooling: A student’s formal education has been disrupted for political or economic reasons. There may be gaps in their academic skills as well as a limited ability to communicate in English.
Newcomers to the United States come from diverse backgrounds. For some students, the family decided to immigrate to the United States in hopes for a better life. Others are undergoing strife and stress in the home country and may have been stationed in a refugee camp for a time. No matter the circumstances, the educational environment in the United States may seem foreign and even frightening for some students and their families. The emotional stress experienced by students can begin to create barriers to learning.
Newcomers typically have deep social and emotional needs for a sense of safety and security. Depending on the student’s unique situation of migration to the United States, there may be factors within the home or school system that present barriers to the student being available to new information and learning. When an individual feels unsafe, the tendency is to shut down. Academics can suffer until the student is able to acclimate in a healthy manner. Specific experiences often impede learning for students new to the United States and ideas for implementation to support students, including the following.
Overcoming Social-Emotional Stressors
Sense of grief or loss. In situations where a student was quickly moved out of their home country without having been consulted, they may enter a stage of grief over the loss of familiar surroundings, foods, sounds, and language. Finding ways to allow the student to express feelings of loss can be beneficial. This is often done through acculturation classes, cultural presentations, oral retellings, or in writing assignments. Having a caring adult listen to the student’s sense of loss provides the first step toward developing a sense of security. Teachers, social workers, or community volunteers who speak the student’s home language are crucial to this process.
Feeling overwhelmed. The new school environment can present challenges to a newcomer who might come from poverty and/or a refugee camp. The sheer size of the building, the cafeteria, and the amount of noise and stimulation can be taxing on students who have not developed a sense of security. Help comes by creating a plan for the first three-to-six months of acculturation, and integration is a sound way to support students and to minimize the extra load on teachers. Considerations for the plan:
- Providing a space within the school where a newcomer is able to make the fewest number of transitions within a school day.
- Consider a smaller space for breakfast and lunch.
- Assign helpful adults or student ambassadors who are consistently available to maximize support for the newcomer.
Lack of resources. Many families immigrating to the United States may lack financial resources and support in navigating life in this country. Affordable housing, utilities, and food are necessary for students to have their basic needs met at home. Parents who do not have mastery of the English language may lack the support necessary to secure resources in the community. When stress exists at home, students can show up at school with a sense of anxiety.
- Collaborate with local community or church organizations who are knowledgeable about community services for housing, food, and medical support. Develop a resource guide with the information in multiple languages.
- Assign specific staff to assist families. Some districts have social workers, parent liaisons, or community volunteers who can become part of the trusted support network.
- Explore whether the student qualifies as homeless and can receive resources under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
Overcoming Academic Barriers
Academic Assessment of Skills. Younger students entering school within the preschool to second grade span may have an easier time integrating into the school setting. The curriculum in the early grades is concrete and has lots of visual support. Most young children given social and emotional support will be able to adapt to a setting where instruction is in their home language. Students who enter the U.S. school system after second grade are more likely to have disparities in their academic skills. Some may be advanced in mathematics or literacy when presented with tasks in their home language. Others may have experienced intermittent schooling or extended time in a refugee camp, thereby experiencing gaps in learning.
- Consider developing an academic assessment in the home language for students entering as newcomers after second grade. The assessment should include mathematics, oral retellings, and gathering of writing samples.
- Use the results of the assessment to form a six-month plan to accelerate learning where needed.
- Acceleration may involve extended-day learning, summer school, and/or tutoring for newcomers. Along with local dollars, these expenses are eligible for Federal Title I and III funding.
Home Language Instruction. Studies have shown that English learners benefit from instruction in their home language. This is especially true for newcomers who must overcome socio-emotional barriers, progress academically, and master the new language of English. Educators must consider ways that instruction in core content areas can be made available to the newcomers.
- Bilingual Education Teachers are a critical component of a well-designed instructional program for newcomers.
- Paraprofessionals who speak the students’ home language can provide an extra layer of academic support.
- Native language tutors recruited from the community can also serve to provide explanations in the home language, this can be an especially useful strategy to support newcomers who speak low-incidence languages.
Accelerated Survival ESL and Acculturation Classes. In the first few weeks of a program, newcomers will need to develop survival English. They will need to understand some of the re-occurring language used in the school setting, e.g. “Where is the bathroom?” “Is it time for lunch?” “I don’t feel well.” Daily English as a Second Language classes are a key component of a six-month plan. In addition, culture is an entry point to personalizing learning for a student. Students are curious about aspects of American culture they experience at school and in the community.
- Ensure that qualified teachers are offering daily ESL classes.
- Focus on developing receptive language and oral language first. Give simple one-step directions that incorporate a lot of visuals and develop conversational skills.
- Supplement with quality ESL software programs that allow for individual students to practice listening and speaking.
- Allow for an instructional time where students have an opportunity to inquire about local culture and process their experiences. Examples of this might be holidays and celebrations, school dances, sporting events, or extracurricular opportunities.
- Build oral presentation skills where students can discuss their home culture and country.
School leaders are in the unique position of lending support to newcomers who arrive in the community. It is important to ask the administration about the social and emotional support and academic programs available in the district.
In Diego’s case, there were many ways in which the school district contributed to his lasting success. The Welcome Center Program was the beginning of his journey where he was met by qualified and caring teachers. The social worker supported him and his family by connecting them to resources available in the local community. His academic program was carefully planned to ensure his success in subject matter and English. When his initial phase was well underway, plans began to acclimate him to the middle school he would attend. He went on some short school visits and was introduced to his future teachers. When he later transitioned to the school, he displayed confidence in himself and a newfound resilience that extended into other areas of his life.
As school leaders in your own community, it is important to consider ways to ensure newcomer success. These students arrive with important cultural assets and strengths. With the proper support, these students can thrive and become important contributors to school life and the broader community. <
Alaynah Garibay, M.Ed., is a Senior Consultant for the Latino Policy Forum. She has more than 35 years’ experience working with English Learners and newcomers in various Illinois school districts and at the Illinois State Board of Education. She recently co-authored the “Illinois English Learner Handbook” and provides technical assistance to various stakeholders on practices and policies to support the academic achievement of linguistically and culturally diverse students. Of her many accomplishments, she is proud to be the school leader who launched the newcomer program in West Chicago SD 33
Rebecca Vonderlack-Navarro, Ph.D., is the Director of Education Policy and Research at the Latino Policy Forum. The vision of the education department is that Latinos and English Learners from early childhood through college receive equitable educational opportunities leading to economic prosperity. To accomplish this, Vonderlack-Navarro leads a team that concentrates its efforts on promoting quality bilingual education programming, equitable access to early childhood programming that is responsive to language and cultural difference, quality parent engagement, and promoting Latino college access and completion. Resources for this article can be accessed via www.iasb.com/journal.