Spotlight On: REFORMA’S Children in Crisis Project

-- Contributed by Hannah Ehrlich, LEE & LOW BOOKS

For this piece, we are highlighting an inspiring project we read about on the LEE & LOW Blog that focuses on delivering books for immigrant children held in detention centers. This special project was implemented by the Children in Crisis Project from REFORMA, the National Association To Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos. Their project underscores the power of books to create a space for empathy, understanding, and hope. To read the original blog post, please click here.

Preparing books for donation (image from REFORMA website)

Last year, over 70,000 unaccompanied children crossed the Southern border into the United States. This is a true humanitarian challenge, with many of these children ending up in detention centers, awaiting immigration processing or deportation. They have few or no personal belongings, don’t know English, and have been separated from their families with no sense of if or when they will be reunited.

Oralia Garza de Cortes, Lucía Gonzalez, and Patrick Sullivan are three longtime members of REFORMA who were moved to help. They implemented the Children in Crisis project to solicit donations, purchase, and deliver books and backpacks to the children in detention centers. In the first phase of the drive, they raised enough funds and donations to deliver 300 books to children in the McAllen Texas Centralized Processing Center, and they have since delivered several hundred more. Currently they are coordinating donations of backpacks that will contain books as well as paper, pencils, erasers, crayons and a writing journal for children to use in their journey toward their destination.

The project is a moving illustration of how librarians essentially serve as caretakers of their communities, bridging the gap between resources and the people who need them. “As the immigrant child that I was, I remember that first librarian taking me to the Spanish section with three or four Spanish books. I hope every child will find that librarian, like an oasis in a desert,” said Lucía Gonzalez.

When asked why they felt that librarians should have a role in outreach to these children, Oralia Garza de Cortes said, “We reached out as a humanitarian cause, just something so overwhelming that we really had to come together to do something.”

Patrick Sullivan added, “It’s also a counterbalance to some of those xenophobic Americans. The initial reception that some of these people received . . . was depressing and doesn’t show how we are as Americans. Librarians reach out to their communities every day and this was something we had to respond to. ”

The process for getting the books into children’s hands was a challenging one, given detention centers’ heavy regulation and policing. The group made contact with the border patrol, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and even contractors in order to find a way to deliver the books. “The books were welcome, but the problem was getting in touch with the right people,” said Sullivan. They were prohibited from entering the detention facilities themselves to deliver the books.

Delivering books to a shelter. (image from REFORMA website)

Although it would be an added effort, the group decided to include bookplates in each donated book, an idea that came from longtime REFORMA member Sandra Valderrama.  “It was cumbersome, but to have the message in the book saying, ‘This is your book, and you’re free to take it wherever you want and it will give you light and be your companion,’ it was a very powerful message,” said Garza de Cortes.

Said Gonzalez, “For many of them this is the first book they own and it is a very unique experience.”

The group hopes the donated books will serve as the beginning, not the end, of children’s relationship with their libraries. “What we’d like to do is interject ourselves to those kids who will eventually end up in the United States,” said Sullivan. “There are contacts that can happen that go beyond just the books. We’re trying to convey the idea that libraries are these free open places with lots of information.”

“The families need guidance,” said Gonzalez. “If they don’t have a place like the public library, where are they going to go? How are they going to get this information?”

Garza de Cortes, Gonzalez, and Sullivan were named 2015 Movers & Shakers by School Library Journal for their work. You can learn more about ways to help here.

This piece was written by Hannah Ehrlich, Marketing & Publicity Director at LEE & LOW BOOKS an independent children’s book publisher specializing in diversity. It is the company’s goal to meet the need for stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy. LEE & LOW makes a special effort to work with artists of color, and takes pride in nurturing many authors and illustrators who are new to the world of children’s book publishing.

Additional Resources:

•  Central American Children’s Testimony Humanizes Debate Around Unaccompanied Minors (American Immigration Council) – Excerpts from testimony given by three children to Congress, who were once unaccompanied minors from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, about the violence they experienced which hastened their journeys to the U.S. 

 

•  At the Crossroads for Unaccompanied Migrant Children (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services) – This report highlights the challenges and vulnerabilities facing unaccompanied children before and after they arrive in the U.S. Based on the policy, practice, and protection wisdom, the LIRS developed a set of child protection principles to guide governmental and non-governmental work with unaccompanied children. A condensed version of the report by the American Immigration Council and a moving story from migration counselor, Elvis Garcia, can be found here.

We offer free lesson plans, resources, book/film reviews, and grants to #teachimmigration. Stay connected! Follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration.

How Immigrant Students Strengthen American Schools

-- Contributed by Eileen Gale Kugler

Photo by WoodleyWonderWorks

A high school chemistry teacher engaged his students in a discussion of the relationship of science and society, which quickly evolved into safety testing and animal rights. A student in the back shyly raised his hand. “What are ‘animal rights’?” he asked. Recently emigrating from an African country to escape starvation, his deep connection to animals was based in their vital role of providing food and clothing. The rest of the class thoughtfully quieted. Many had never considered what it might be like if they didn’t come home to a well-stocked refrigerator, complete with vegetarian options. The teacher knew this was a moment of awareness that he couldn’t have taught alone. His students were thinking critically beyond their own frame of reference, inspired by a peer.

A kindergartener told a visitor that her friend would not be in class that day. Her classmate was visiting his grandparents in Korea. This young student could even show you where Korea is on the map in the front of the room. Her world view, at five, was that her friends might have family who were not born in the same place as hers, who ate different foods, who sometimes used words she didn’t understand. She couldn’t wait for her friend to come back to see what new things he would bring for show-and-tell from far-away Korea.

A young mother worried that her son would be teased at school. In first grade, he wore a baseball cap to cover his bald head, the result of the disease alopecia areata. But his head became itchy and he soon took the cap off. What happened that year and the rest of his time at this school? Nothing. Because at this school, there was no such thing as being “different” – some students sang songs in Spanish, some had freckles that came out when they played in the sun, some wound their long hair in turbans, and some had no hair. That’s just life.

Yes, this is life in schools with immigrant students. There are enrichments on so many levels because of the diversity of experiences and background knowledge. A middle school world history teacher put the academic enhancements this way: “I know I have to be extra prepared for what I teach every day because the students bring such a range of perspectives and insights to discussions,” adding, “That’s why I love teaching in this school.”

The many contributions of immigrant students go largely unnoticed. Our society values schools based on their high average test scores or the predominance of middle-class students (strongly linked together), ignoring the unique benefits of schools rich with immigrant students of every economic level. Many American-born parents with the luxury of choosing a school seek places where there are others with backgrounds like their own child, rather than seeing the value – academic as well as social – in schools with immigrant students.

Immigrant students and their families contribute to the learning of every one who is a part of that school. I know this first-hand from the experiences of my family as our children went to one of the most ethnically and economically diverse public high schools in the country, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. They are now well-educated broad-minded adults, engaged in the world around them. And my husband and I learned so much from the immigrant families, like resilience and commitment, all the while enjoying the opportunity to share in family celebrations from a quinceañera, a joyous coming-of-age for a 15-year old Latina, to a Seik wedding with the groom riding in on a white horse.

And I know the benefits that immigrants bring to a school from my work strengthening school culture around the world over the past decade. With diverse perspectives and insights, classroom discussions become more dynamic. Students learn to question more, to think more deeply, and to collaborate effectively with those who are different from themselves. They become better problem-solvers, understanding that there is more than one "right” perspective. 

Stereotypes break down and evaporate in these schools. At a high school basketball game, a mother wondered out loud why the star player was a little off. Her daughter rolled her eyes, saying, “Mom, don’t you know it is Ramadan and she fasted all day?”

But this enriched learning environment doesn’t take place in every multicultural school. Only when immigrant students feel truly connected to school will they engage in their learning and share their own wisdom. It takes hard work from the school leadership and the entire school community to create a culture of equity where every student, and every family, feels authentically welcomed and valued. As one experienced principal said to me, “When we saw an influx of immigrant students to our school, we thought all we had to do was welcome them with open arms. But we soon learned that is not enough.”

Instead of focusing on test-taking skills and fact drills to diminish the achievement gap, schools need to first pay attention to building a culture that says every student of every background has value. It requires some challenging introspection about how the school and the classrooms operate, beyond the curriculum and instructional methods.

Tough questions need to be asked. Do the “traditions” of the school mean we do it the way it has always been done and newcomers must just fit in? Are English Language Learners isolated in a corner of the school with little integration into school life? Are immigrants viewed as people who need simply to be taught the American way, with no one listening to the lessons that they can teach the rest? Are well-meaning teachers lowering expectations for immigrant students out of pity because they focus on what they may lack?

Creating a culture of equity is important to American society because of the inherent unfairness of providing some students a meaningful education and some not. But it is more than that. It is about valuing the innate ability of every child, recognizing their strengths, and helping them thrive and contribute in school and in society at large. This benefits each of us, and the future of American society depends upon it.

Parents like me, whose children were part of strong multicultural schools, know that our families were given a gift. Yet we still fight the image that a multicultural school is not academically challenging, not a good place for every student.

“How can we get parents beyond these school walls to understand how special these schools are?” asked a parent at a community dialogue I led. By sharing the truth, I replied.

Let’s break down the myths and hail the values that immigrant students bring to our schools every day. We all need the lessons that they can teach us.

***

Eileen Gale Kugler helps schools develop positive high-achieving culture that values every student and family. She is author of the award-winning “Debunking the Middle-class Myth: Why Diverse Schools are Good for All Kids” and Executive Editor of the global resource, Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities. She can be reached at EKugler@EmbraceDiverseSchools. Follow her on Twitter at @embracediversiT

Want to read more? Click here to purchase Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities and read our book review of this important resource. 

Join our free summer book club! Combat summer reading loss and learn about immigration with high school students, parents, and administrators with our guidance. Click here for details to sign up by Friday, June 5, 2015.

Stay connected with us via our education blog and our website for related resources and lessons to #teachimmigration. Follow us on Twitter at @ThnkImmigration.

Building Diverse and Inclusive School Communities

Told in a series of well-researched, first-person narratives, Eileen Gale Kugler’s book, Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities, stands out for its honest and multi-layered approach to building diverse and inclusive school communities.

Reading these essays, one is truly inspired by what schools, and all those who learn, teach, and work in them, can accomplish when diversity is treated as an asset – something not just to be explored or discussed on occasion, but engaged in every day. Because the voices of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community organizers speak side-by-side, chapter by chapter, as a reader, you begin to see how none of them improve the climate for welcoming immigrant students and families in isolation. Indeed, individuals and groups invested in cultivating a pluralistic school environment are highly interdependent.  

Innovative Voices in Education implicitly calls on education stakeholders from teachers to administrators to reflect upon their norms and rituals and ask – how am I really meeting the needs of everyone in my class? In my school? And then it doesn’t just leave you wondering as so many other books do. It offers many examples of how powerful it is when individuals authentically reach out to understand someone from another culture they may have misunderstood and it extends best practices for meeting the needs of diverse schools in order to ensure that voices are not just heard but appreciated.  If the goal is to help every child succeed, this book helps practitioners move one step closer to it. 

We’ve selected a few excerpts to demonstrate the wide-range of speakers found in this comprehensive read. The insights offered by these authors strike a balance between inspiration and practicality. 

• “At times, we did not reach out to faculty who might have helped us. But teachers themselves often gave us that extra little push or the occasional ‘How are you doing?’ ‘Great job’ or the interested questions about our culture and families. That made all the difference in terms of being able to talk about our problems or cope with them. Just the simple fact that these teachers were sensitive and sympathetic to what went behind the façade of a smiling and cheerful countenance, and that they did not make assumptions about immigrant students, in general, was sometimes enough.” – Waliha Gani and Shriya Adhikary, former high school students, “A Foot in Two Worlds”

• “Asking questions is an important way to learn and we too often fear offending someone rather than asking the source. I have found a respectful question is usually very much appreciated.  It beats an assumption every time. A key is not to ask a question from your own perspective, but rather look to learning from theirs.” – Eileen Gale Kugler, editor, speaker and consultant, “Valuing the Individual by Breaking Through Assumptions”

• “Immigrant families have different stories. They may have come to the United States with a stronger financial or educational background, or with a larger family already in the country; and with support and appropriate training, they are able to engage more in their children’s school. Some immigrant parents are able to become leaders within their communities or advocates for their families. They all require the support of schools, districts, and communities to assist them as they navigate American schools and to build their capacity as family and school leaders” – Young-chan Han, Family Involvement Specialist, Maryland Department of Education, “From Survivors to Leaders: Stages of Immigrant Parent Involvement in Schools” 

• “Despite the message our culture sends us, it is not true that you are either a ‘girly girl’ or a ‘tomboy.’ If you are biracial, you do not have to choose between your black and white self. You do not have to be identified solely as an immigrant or completely shed your cultural and family heritage. Within each of us are multiple identities and truths. This was a complex concept for my elementary school students, who continued to struggle with this idea.  They either wanted the rules to be true or for there to be no rules at all.” – Sara Kugler, Teacher, “Addressing Silences: Creating a Space for Classroom Conversations That Matter to Students”

For more information about the book and Kugler’s work, please visit her author website here. 

A special 20% discount for the book is available from the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, for a limited time until June 30^th, 2015. Use the promo code RLEGEN15 when ordering either by phone at 1-800-462-6420 or directly from the publisher website. 

We invite book reviews written by teachers or students and we offer free lesson plans, resources, and grants to #teachimmigration. Stay connected! Follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration and sign up to receive our newsletter.