Welcoming immigrant students with a high-quality education

The Internationals Network for Public Schools models a high-quality education for immigrant students and shows how to prepare teachers to support students who are adjusting to the United States.

How immigrants are received in the United States — through economic opportunities, societal attitudes, government policies — shape how immigrants fare in this country (Portes & Rumbaut, 2008).

Schools play a crucial role in helping children and youth from immigrant backgrounds adapt to a new country and prepare them for future opportunities and identities. All educators need opportunities to reflect on what high-quality education for immigrant youth looks like and what it takes to provide one.

The Internationals Network for Public Schools (INPS) has a reputation for engaging in culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy with immigrant youth. The 19 schools in the international school network serve the unique academic and emotional needs of recently arrived immigrant youth who are English language learners. INPS schools are in New York, California, and the Washington, D.C., area. Students in the network come from over 100 countries, speak over 90 languages, have diverse educational backgrounds, and about 90% are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

English literacy skills for INPS high school students range from early elementary to approaching grade level. While many schools struggle to successfully educate immigrant youth from similar backgrounds, schools in the Internationals network have had relative success in providing immigrant youth with schooling that is culturally responsive and academically rigorous. The 15 INPS schools in New York City have a 64% four-year graduation rate, compared to a 37% graduation rate for English learners in other New York City schools; the six-year graduation rate is 74%. In addition to the strong high school graduation rates, the Internationals are known for the high numbers of students who are accepted and enroll in two- and four-year colleges (Jaffe-Walter & Lee, 2011). While the statistics are clearly impressive, the real quality of the education offered by the Internationals is connected to the academic opportunities they provide and the messages they give immigrant youth about who they are and what they can be.

Immigrant youth from low-income backgrounds face an increasingly hostile economy and are at risk for being trapped in low-wage service jobs.

From the Internationals, we can learn what constitutes a high-quality education for immigrant students and how teachers can work together to ensure that immigrant youth have access to high-quality learning.

The elements

Educators and policy makers generally agree that a high school education should prepare graduates for postsecondary education and/or employment, and this is true for immigrant English learners as well. Immigrant youth from low-income backgrounds face an increasingly hostile economy and are at risk for being trapped in low-wage service jobs (Sassen, 2006).

A vast body of research reveals that too many schools engage in subtractive schooling practices, which approach immigrant cultures and languages from deficit perspectives that focus on what students don’t know rather than building on what they do know. Such subtractive schooling produces youth ill-equipped to function in their native cultures or in the mainstream culture (Lee, 2005; Olsen, 1997; Valdes, 1996; Valenzuela, 1999). Instruction often fails to recognize the benefits of bilingualism.

Other research demonstrates that ESL classes generally focus on English acquisition in isolation from academic content, which often translates into vocabulary drills and worksheets. The decision to focus on language in isolation is based on the assumption that students need to be English proficient before they can handle rigorous content (Callahan, 2005; Callahan, Wilkinson, & Muller, 2008). In short, students tracked into ESL are excluded from the academic preparation necessary for college (Callahan, 2005). Thus, deficit approaches marginalize immigrant students, families, and communities and contribute to academic underachievement.

Asset-based approach

The Internationals schools take an asset-based approach to students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Teachers regularly recognize and draw on students’ cultural backgrounds while simultaneously teaching complex academic content. When teaching new words or concepts, for example, teachers might ask students to write the words in their native languages. Teachers regularly encourage students to build on previous knowledge when learning vocabulary. In teaching students the difference between “morning” and “mourning,” for example, one teacher asked students to share examples of how people practice “mourning” in their native countries (Lee & Walsh, 2015). A 12th-grade social studies teacher reflected on her method:

I definitely connect to students’ homelands in the beginnings of lessons wherever possible. Before discussing Article 2 of the Constitution that establishes our executive branch, I’ll ask, ‘What’s the executive like in your country? Do you have a president or a king?’ This helps distinguish the branch of the government that is in charge from the way our presidency operates . . . In general, they teach about this in teacher training programs as activating prior knowledge. It works well for any students, but for our kids it’s especially effective (Jaffe-Walter & Lee, forthcoming).

Classes at the Internationals schools are known for having lively and active class discussions where students exchange cultural knowledge while learning English and academic content. Significantly, the teaching and learning model at the Internationals, in contrast to typical ESL programs, emphasizes teaching language alongside teaching academic content. Students have opportunities to analyze and critique complex social issues while simultaneously developing language.

Classes at the Internationals schools are known for having lively and active class discussions where students exchange cultural knowledge while learning English and academic content.

For example, in response to the plethora of images and sound bytes following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, an Internationals teacher developed a critical media literacy unit to encourage students to examine how various media sources represented the human tragedy inflicted by this natural disaster. The unit was constructed around two viral images: one of white people “finding” and the second of black people “looting” equivalent bags of groceries through chest-high floodwaters. To begin the unit, the teacher presented images of various natural disasters and then asked students to write about and share their experiences with disasters in their own countries of origin. Students shared experiences with earthquakes, floods, and tropical storms; the teacher shared his family’s experience with a devastating hurricane that hit Long Island when he was a teenager. In their stories, some students recounted the ways in which the disasters had a different effect on the rich and the poor.

Representation, fairness, equity

Not only did this unit give students opportunities to authentically practice analyzing media images with their peers, it also allowed for discussion of race and class politics, which included concepts such as representation, fairness, and equity. The students were given a chart that would help them distinguish between the words and concepts of observation and inference.

In addition to language development, the unit equipped students to observe social and natural phenomena and infer meaning from texts, important academic skills that cut across disciplines. In response to this unit, as culminating projects, some students wrote poems and others developed a talk show with victims of the disaster as guests. All wrote an essay expressing their opinions about the government’s response using evidence from newspaper articles and photographs.

Social capital in the form of relationships with teachers and staff also are key to immigrant students’ success (Jaffe-Walter & Lee 2011; Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008). Immigrant youth, particularly those from low-income families, often lack connections to adults who can provide guidance and information about how to navigate schooling and life in the U.S. At the Internationals, a great deal of attention is given to developing connections between educators and students. Students speak in overwhelmingly positive terms about relationships with teachers and other adults at the school.

Said one:

It feels good, actually because this school is different from others because I remember when I came, my parents put me in other school, and we went to visit, but it was so weird. I don’t know like here teachers pay attention to you. They really help you, really have time for each person, each individual, and they give you enough time for you to understand the certain problems that you have, what you know (Jaffe-Walter & Lee, forthcoming).

College-work transition

Teachers in the Internationals work consistently to communicate knowledge about how to negotiate schooling and the transition from high school to college and/or work. The schools assist with each step of the college application process — from identifying schools to filling out financial aid forms. Teachers also tell students what to expect in college and advise them on how to approach being college students (e.g., that they should see their instructors during their office hours in college). The schools help place high school seniors in internships that expose them to a range of career options while building resumes for college (Jaffe-Walter & Lee, 2011).

One of the central functions of schooling for immigrants involves encouraging a civic connection to the larger society.

Finally, one of the central functions of schooling for immigrants involves encouraging a civic connection to the larger society. Public schools historically have been called upon to foster citizenship skills. Typically, that has focused on voting, and, for immigrant youth, it has been linked to Americanization efforts (Callahan & Muller, 2013; Olneck, 1989). But those do not account for the complex identity and experiences of today’s immigrants, and they do not adequately address issues of power and inequality. A sole focus on voting excludes undocumented immigrants from discussions of citizenship, thereby excluding them from civic participation. At the Internationals, ideas of citizenship are not limited to legal status but include a broader sense of belonging that emphasizes the rights of all, including undocumented immigrants, to speak and participate. For example, in one social studies class, a teacher spoke about barriers facing undocumented students who go to college and went on to talk about how immigrants and U.S.-born citizens could work together to support undocumented immigrants through political marches and petitions in support of the DREAM Act. Through class discussions like these, immigrant youths develop a sense of belonging in their new country, which leads to political and civic engagement. More recently, teachers at one network high school started a scholarship fund for undocumented students, demonstrating to all students that undocumented students are members of the larger school community. Furthermore, while typical schools implicitly ask immigrant students to leave their connections to their native lands at the school doors, Internationals teachers value a broader global citizenship that recognizes students’ attachments to both the U.S. and their native countries.

Team-based approach

The high-quality education provided by educators at the Internationals is supported by the collaborative team-based approach (Fine, Stoudt, & Futch, 2005; Jaffe-Walter & Lee, 2011). Instructional teams consist of about six teachers and typically include teachers certified in academic subjects and at least one teacher with an ESL background who assists the others in integrating language development into teaching content. Each team is responsible for about 90 students, and teams meet weekly to plan curriculum and discuss student needs. Teams engage in collaboration and critical reflection on their practice. They share information about students’ learning styles, interests, and home lives in ways that allow teachers to adapt their practice in response to individual students. Importantly, teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators consistently report that they could not do their work without the support of their peers and the structures that foster the collaboration. One group collaborated to create a curriculum that addressed language development, was culturally responsive, and prepared students for the English and American History Regents Exams (Lee & Walsh, 2015). The team-based approach to instruction stands in stark contrast to teachers of English learners who teach in isolation from colleagues and from professional development opportunities and sources of information for working with English learners. Finally, the efforts of the instructional teams are supported by professional development that focuses on English learners (Jaffe-Walter & Lee, 2011; Lee & Walsh, 2012).

Just as teachers need time for professional development and collaboration, immigrant English learners need time to develop their language skills. English learners with some native language education need five to seven years to acquire academic language and English learners with little formal schooling need up to seven to 10 years (Hakuta, Butler & Witt, 2000; Thomas & Collier, 1997). Thus, it is unrealistic to expect all newcomer English learners, particularly those with limited literacy skills in their native languages, to master the academic English necessary to graduate from high school in four years. The Internationals have historically offered students opportunities to continue beyond their fourth year in high school in order to earn high school diplomas. As noted earlier, the six-year graduation rate for students in the Internationals is 74%.

Testing and accountability policies have created barriers for immigrant students and their teachers (Au, 2010; Gándara & Baca, 2008). In New York City, English learners posted lower test scores and graduation rates and higher dropout rates than their native English-speaking peers (Menken, 2008). Most recently, in New York City, teachers have had to become familiar with the Common Core State Standards and their application to English learners, and teacher evaluation legislation. Teachers’ livelihoods and their students’ futures ride on understanding the learning standards, the high-stakes exams aligned to them, and the laws that govern their professional rating. Teachers need support navigating educational policies in order to develop curriculum and pedagogy that is consistent with policies, prepares students for exams, and is culturally responsive. Research demonstrates that principals play a central role in creating contexts that allow teachers to develop the necessary knowledge to negotiate policies. In addition to knowledge about policies and standards, teachers need the space to struggle with the policies. That is, they need opportunities to critically reflect on how to modify their teaching to incorporate new policies and standards (Stillman, 2011).

Conclusion

Immigrant students who are English learners need and deserve access to rigorous academic content, opportunities to develop English language skills, and access to social capital in order to be ready for college and/or family-sustaining work. Additionally, they need and deserve opportunities to develop an inclusive form of citizenship that gives them a sense of belonging in their new nation. Educators must approach immigrant youth from an assets-based perspective that builds on and incorporates students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In coauthor Stacey Lee’s experience working with preservice teachers — most of whom are white women who express a commitment to socially just and culturally responsive teaching — she has heard students worry about how to be culturally responsive in classrooms with students from all over the world. These worries can quickly turn into excuses for the superficial treatment of diversity and/or silence around diversity, but we maintain that it is crucial for teachers to know their immigrant students, their cultural and linguistic backgrounds, their immigration experiences, and their current lives.

If teachers embrace an assets-based perspective regarding immigrant communities and see their students as teachers, then the process of knowing is possible. In order to offer a rich education, teachers need professional development, opportunities to engage in collaborative practices that allow for reflection, and knowledge of how to negotiate educational policies. Finally, teachers and students need time to engage in this complicated and meaningful work. If offered a high-quality education, immigrant youth can become active agents in their own lives and productive citizens of the nation and the globe.

References

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Callahan, R.M. (2005). Tracking and high school English learners: Limiting opportunity to learn. American Educational Research Journal, 42 (2), 305-328.

Callahan, R.M., & Muller, C. (2013). Coming of political age: American schools and the civic development of immigrant youth. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Callahan, R., Wilkinson, L., & Muller, C. (2008). School context and the effect of ESL placement on Mexican origin adolescents’ achievement. Social Science Quarterly, 89 (1), 177-198.

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Gándara, P., & Baca, G. (2008). NCLB and California’s English language learners: The perfect storm. Language Policy, 7 (3), 201-216.

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Jaffe-Walter, R. & Lee, S.J. (2011). To trust in my root and to take that to go forward: Supporting college access for first-generation immigrant youth. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 42 (3), 281-296.

Jaffe-Walter, R. & Lee, S.J. (forthcoming). Reimagining the nation: Cultivating transnational imaginaries in the education of immigrant youth.

Lee, S.J. (2005). Up against whiteness: Race, school, and immigrant youth. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Lee, S.J. & Walsh, D. (2012). Resistance and accommodation: Social justice education for immigrant youth in an era of high stakes testing. Encyclopaideia: Journal of Phenomenology and Education, 34, 15-36.

Lee, S.J. & Walsh, D. (2015) Teaching (in)justice: One teacher’s work with immigrant English learners. Urban Review, 47 (1), 45-66.

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Sassen, S. (2006). The global city. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Stillman, J. (2011). Teacher learning in an era of high-stakes accountability: Productive tension and critical professional practice.  Teachers College Record, 113 (1), 133-180.

Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M., & Todorova, I. (2008). Learning in a new land: Immigrant students in American society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Thomas, W.P. & Collier, V. (1997). School effectiveness for language minority students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

Valdés, G. (1996). Con respeto: Bridging the distances between culturally diverse families and schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Citation: Lee, S.J. & Walsh, D. (2015). Welcoming immigrant students with a high-quality education. Phi Delta Kappan, 97 (4), 46-50.