Recognizing that schools serve a key role in the integration of refugee students and their families into American society, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) created the Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG) in 1998. The purpose of the grant is to provide support to local school systems that are affected by significant numbers of refugee children. BRYCS and ORR are closely collaborating to support programs funded by this grant, and in October 2008, BRYCS began providing technical assistance to RSIG programs throughout the country. The following Spotlight article provides an overview of the grant, the kinds of RSIG programs operating at the local level, and the types of technical assistance being provided to these programs. Promising practices and highlighted resources are included.
