What It Takes: Promising Practices for Immigrant Origin Adolescent Newcomers

Abstract

Using a multiple case study approach across seven schools in the United States and Sweden that serve newcomer students exceptionally well, we identified the strategies they implemented across sites that served to meet the educational needs of these students. We found that these schools provided a comprehensive approach to support the socioemotional and academic needs of their newcomer students, identifying many common practices for improving outcomes for newcomer students.

Acknowledgments

This article includes case studies conducted as part of the Children of Immigrants in Schools Project with the Social Science Research Council and funded by a National Science Foundation PIRE grant. We acknowledge our coresearchers Mikael Alexandersson, Lori Tomni Dance, and Johannes Lunneblad, our coresearchers in the CIS Project, as well as Pedro Noguera, Edward Fergus, and our research teams on dual language and bilingual schools at the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University.

Additional Resources

• 1. I Learn America (2017). Documentary film. http://ilearnamerica.com/educational/

A joint effort between Facing History Facing Ourselves, Teaching Tolerance, and the International Network for public schools, this documentary tracks the daily lives of five immigrant teens attending an International High School in New York City. It comes with parent and teacher guides and activities to gain a better understanding of the students’ schooling experiences and forging identities in the US.

• 2. Resources for Building Community Partnerships. Edutopia (2016). Website. https://www.edutopia.org/article/community-business-partnerships-resources

Although this website is produced by Edutopia and does not focus specifically on immigrant students, it provides links to valuable resources on how to create effective community partnerships. It includes links to articles, videos, and other websites where schools can find practical strategies and tips on a variety of community and business partnerships, as well as examples of successful partnerships.

• 3. The Syrian Oral History Project (2015). Website. http://www.sitesofconscience.org/en/what-we-do/connecting/special-projects/syrian-oral-history-project/

This unique work was created by The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha. It provides first person interviews with 50 Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, and Syria. They share their stories behind illustrations depicting their experiences. This is a great resource for educators to learn more about the refugee experience prior to their arrival to the United States, as well as for discussions with high school students. The website also offers resources on how to facilitate difficult dialogues about human rights issues.

Additional information

Funding

Part of this work was supported by the National Science Foundation.