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Schools

It is estimated that 34% of all refugees resettled by the United States are school-aged children between the ages of 5 and 18 years. The need to provide services to this population is tremendous as many face significant challenges adapting to American schools, whether academically, culturally, or psychosocially.  Refugee students may arrive with minimal previous formal education, interrupted schooling, and/or limited English.  In addition, refugee students need time to adjust to American culture, to make friends, and develop a sense of belonging in their new school, community, and country.  Refugee parents support their children to the best of their ability, but cultural, linguistic, and other barriers may prevent them from being involved in their children’s education in the way that teachers expect them to be.

The individual experiences of refugee families, as well as the characteristics and infrastructure of the receiving communities, affect how well refugee children adapt to their new schools.  Teachers and school personnel do their best to accommodate refugee students, but often without much preparation as refugees are typically resettled with little advance notice.  BRYCS supports teachers and other school personnel working with refugee children and families by providing consultations, training, and other kinds of technical assistance.  Whether you are new to working with refugee students or a veteran, the following resources are a good place to start your search for information.

Schools Resources

Online Trainings

BRYCS Online Training Modules are a free and convenient way for you to participate in valuable training that will assist you in serving refugee and immigrant children, youth, and their families. They are also a great way to connect with other service providers around the world doing similar work.

Refugee and Immigrant Family and Community Engagement in the Schools

Created for schools and refugee services staff, this module reviews the Parent-Teacher Association's (PTA) six National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and provides recommendations on implementing each of the standards with refugee and immigrant students and their families.  Promising practices for each of the standards are discussed, and additional resources provided.

Discrimination and Bullying of Refugee Youth

Bullying and discrimination is on the rise and affects refugee youth and families in unique ways. This module will share statistics and stories on bullying and discrimination among diverse refugee youth. These stories will be contextualized within a wider discussion on psychological and sociological concerns that this population may experience. This module will provide best practices and recommendations for individuals, families, schools, and the wider community in meeting these challenges.

Toolkits

The following toolkits pull together articles, resources, and program descriptions in one location on particular topics.

Refugee Children in U.S. Schools: A Toolkit for Teachers and School Personnel

The topics of the tools in this toolkit were developed in response to common questions posed by Refugee School Impact Grantees (RSIG) and other groups working with refugee children in the schools. It aims to facilitate information-sharing among school personnel and others working with refugee children in the schools on a national level, provide information on frequently asked questions in the form of brief "tools" that may be used in the professional development of teachers and other school personnel, and raise awareness of the needs of refugee children in the schools. Topics include grade placement, bullying, interpretation and translation, school enrollment and more!

Webinars

Unable to attend a live event? BRYCS’ archives all webinars for your convenience.