Settlement Workers in Schools

Systemic Solutions for Refugee Settlement in Schools and Community

Presenter: Meredith Verma

Major Contributors: Dr. Tara Holt, Dr. Pius Ryan, Caroline Lai

English Language Learner Welcome Centre

Outline

• Surrey Schools: Our families

• Universal Design: a policy organizing lens• Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS)

(Information, Orientation and Case Management)

• Vision: what drives the passion? • Program: Bridge and Bridge 2 Success• Findings: Preliminary research• Resources and findings

A Snapshot of Surrey’s Families

Our families arrive from many different countries speaking a variety of language and dialects. The chart below signifies the country of origin which is the most prevalent in the District. However, the list of countries is as varied as the languages below.

Country of Origin in 2012-2013

5,736 - India

3,702 - China

3,466 - Phillipines

3,325 - Canada

1,905 - South Korea

1,390 - Taiwan

1,147 - Vietnam

912 - Pakistan

675 - Syrian Arab Republic

ISS Government Assisted Refugee PercentagesTop Three Communities

Jan-10

Jan-11

Jan-12

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

41%

27%

23%

16%

19%

19%

11%

8%

7%

Vancouver Burnaby Surrey

Languages – Demographics are ChangingTop 10 Primary Languages of our SWIS Clients

2007-2008 School Year 2012-2013 School Year

1 Punjabi (26.1%) Mandarin (20.1%)

2 Vietnamese (19.0%) Punjabi (16.0%)

3 Tagalog (7.4%) Vietnamese (8.9%)

4 Mandarin (6.9%) Korean (8.1%)

5 Spanish (6.3%) Tagalog (7.8%)

6 Farsi (5.4%) Urdu (4.2%)

7 Arabic (4.7%) Arabic (4.2%)

8 Karen (4.1%) Karen (4.2%)

9 Somali (3.3%) Somali (4.1%)

10 Korean (3.2%) Spanish (3.5%)

ELL Welcome Centre

At the Welcome Centre:

Since the fall of 2007, our SWIS have worked with over 33,000 individuals. 6,850 are existing caseloads, and of those, 3,250 are new this school year.

Out of the 30,000 individuals, the top three immigration categories are:

1. Skilled Workers (10,400 – 66%)

2. Family Class (5,390 – 19%)

3. Refugees, including GARS, Non-GARs & refugee claimants (3,330 – 13.6%)

Universal Design Model Strands of Service

UNIVERSAL

• All students and families have access to support• Supports are unique and accessible

TARGETED

• Specific support for family needs• Specific support for students

INTENSIVE

• Individualized support for complex needs

• Viewing the whole family through this lens.

• That the needs of the family are personal and unique.

• This continuum guides us to implement the best strategies for support.

• All programs and support are responses based on need.

A vision: “Why it’s Unique” An overview of program development

Indicators and research on Refugee Integration

(J. Hyndman, 2011)

• Economic Indicators

• Official Languages

• Education

• Housing

• Social/Community

• Legal/Citizenship

• Health

• Age/Gender/Diversity

Research: Thesis: “Taxonomy to Integration”

Integration

Autonomy

Settlement Program

Settlement Ready

Pre-settlement

• Major barriers such as health, education, dental and basic knowledge of urban living which impacts this process

• Pre-settlement is the stage for those families whose basic needs calls into question the readiness of settlement upon landing in an urban community

• A beginning point of the settlement process where refugees arrive under-equipped to engage in settling in their new community

Reference: Holt, Tara, Ph. D. Candidate (2013)

* Students from Refugee Backgrounds BC Ministry of Education (2009)

• Personal business settled

• Uninterrupted education

• Time to prepare

• Often absent of loss and trauma

• Return home a personal choice

• Families often intact

• Arrangements for basics

• Personal business not settled

• Education interrupted/postponed

• Little or no time to prepare

• Loss or trauma

• Return home not an option

• Families often separated

• Basics urgently needed

Immigrants: Most often

Understanding context in a school setting

Refugees: Most often

Increased Services and Supportsin Response to Growth

2009-2010 - Large group of Karen /Iraqi families arrived on mass

No systemic approach to reception, orientation, or needs evaluation

No pro-active training or awareness building for schools

Limited coordination across support organizations

A requirement to have in school support to address a myriad of family needs

The understanding that settled families promotes settled students

The Vision of “Welcome”

• The Vision of a “Welcome Centre” – a hub

where holistic needs assessment and

support could be provided for families and

students new to Surrey, BC.

• Filling a genuine need for settlement

support, access to services, cultural

adjustment support, and educational

information and programming became the

focus lens in developing the “Welcome

Centre”.

• SWIS are active case managers, providing

wrap-around support depending on client

needs.

The ELL Welcome Centre opened its

doors in March 2008 and has quickly

become a lighthouse of support for ELL

students new to the district, their

families and our school personnel.

Over the last year we have supported

over 11,000 students and families with

school registration, settlement supports

and connecting to the community.

ELL (English Language Learner) Welcome Centre

ELL Welcome Centre

At the Welcome Centre:

Upon arrival, our students and families are greeted by our Settlement

Workers (SWIS) and/or Multicultural Workers (MCW).

While the family is completing a needs assessment with a SWIS…

ELL Welcome Centre

Language Assessment

… the student is completing his/her

assessment with our Assessment Teacher,

sometimes in the student’s first language,

which is essential for the school’s ELL

Department to deliver educational

programming.

A more consistent and holistic assessment

of student needs provides for lead time to

prepare for incoming students and to

coordinate school-specific support in an

effective and timely manner.

Settlement Workers in SchoolsThe Settlement Workers in School Program is an essential service in the community and in schools. To date the SWIS have supported over 30,000 parents and students. The Settlement Workers role is to provide accurate, quality, timely support for our new families settling in Surrey. The SWIS provide information and orientation to their new school and community by facilitating informative workshops and sessions. Some of which include:

• cultural connections and understanding

• parenting and family relationships

• educational system• immigrations and legal

understanding

• employment and housing• youth leadership/mentoring• driving and transportation• employment and housing

Since 2008, the SWIS and MCW’s have provided nearly 4000 workshops at the Welcome Centre, in schools and in the community.

Multicultural WorkersMulticultural Workers’ (MCW) are an essential service in schools. They support the cross-cultural understanding of all immigrant students and assist families with registration and information about the school system. To date, the Multicultural Workers have provided a myriad of services and support in the schools such as:

• Provide one on one/group cultural support

• Design and deliver workshops with SWIS

• Provide a safe and supportive space for students experiencing cultural adjustment issues

• Attend meetings to support parents and students and build capacity

• Connect students’ to appropriate cultural activities in school

• Act as a school liaison to outside resources for students

ELL Welcome Centre – Community Connections

• Adult Education English Foundations

• City Tours

• Community Connect 11

• Community Connect through Reading

• My Circle – Leadership

• MY Circle – Peer Support

• Dental Health Education

• Bridge Program

• Bridge 2 Success

Current Programs

Intensive Program Support: Bridge Program

Universal School-wide Instructional Support

TargetedInstructional

Support

Intensive Support: Bridge

Program

Culturally Sensitive Curriculum

Social and Emotional Support

Vocational Support

Student Support

Family Support

Building Collaborative Relationships

• increases settlement support for at-risk/vulnerable immigrant youth.

• increases school and community connectedness.

• eases the students’ transition into the workplace, back into the school system, or to other options.

The Bridge ProgramThe Welcome Centre Bridge Program is a unique program beyond regular support/educational programs currently available at Surrey School District. The program is an intensive 6 to 8 week program which:

• imparts skills and knowledge to the students and empower them to overcome obstacles

• addresses learning and school adjustment issues related to their immigration experience and cultural adjustment process.

What it is: The “Bridge 2 Success” program was developed and implemented by the English Language Learner Welcome Centre, Adult Education and Surrey College.

Goals: The purpose of developing the “Bridge 2 Success” program was out of a distinct need to support the “at-risk” learners in the district who are coming into Canada at 17 to 19 years of age. This is a collaborative district support to guide these students who are ‘at-risk’ and in need of wrap-around support.

Strategic Partnerships: The Welcome Centre, Adult Education and Surrey College to provide adult graduation credits combined with settlement support at the Welcome Centre.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

LiteracyFoundations

EnglishFoundations

LiteracyFoundations

EnglishFoundations

FoundationsMath

Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

Work Experience 12A

Planning 12(Business)

WorkExperience 12A

Planning 12(Business)

Counselling and Career Exploration

The Bridge 2 Success Program

The Bridge 2 Success ProgramFuture research and evaluation

Average Assessment Scores in Reading, Writing, Math

October January0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Reading

Writing

Math

Research and Practice OnImmigrant/Refugee Students…

• Acculturative stress impacts learning and adjustment.

• Features of A.S.: anxiety, stress, isolation, poor performance in school, health problems, confusion and family stress.

• Integrated support is necessary for whole family adjustment.

• Social and emotional counselling and therapeutic support increases a sense of well-being and belonging.

• Empowering parent and student provides an opportunity for open communication and reduces anxiety about school.

• Students require an adjustment period to settle.

• Differentiated learning and support can be adjusted based on level of need.

NASP 2010 “Immigrant Families: Strategies for Support”

In addition to ESL support, these students may require specialized counselling and/or literacy training in their home language(s) to support their academic achievement in English.

Teachers who believe a student is experiencing significant adjustment difficulties beyond those associated with the preceding stages of adjustment …may indicate a need for special educational or other forms of intervention as provided for in school, district, or provincial policy.

BC Ministry Of Education:

ESL Recommendations

Future Considerations Housing:

Balance of Social Housing needed across Surrey The lack of understanding of tenant rights and how to go about renting a home.

Transportation: Many immigrants cannot afford transportation fares and thus miss out on

many opportunities related to employment, education, social and extra-curricular activities.

English Language Development: Most Permanent Resident clients have to learn English and upgrade their

skills in order to find decent employment based on their training and previous work experiences.

There is a lack of English language support and extra-curricular activities, for our clients.

Parent concerns that their high school aged children are not able to graduate in the allotted time and that many high schools will not register students that are turning 18 or older.

Future Considerations Employment:

Many immigrant parents work multiple jobs, in order to pay their bills and in the process their children become neglected.

Clients holding temporary work permits have difficulties staying in the same job. They require assistance in finding new employment, changing their work permit, and understanding their rights as an employee in B.C.

Credential evaluation and recognition and the confusion around upgrading skills.

Cultural Awareness/Sensitivity: Cultural awareness training is needed at all levels of social services – people

in face a lack of awareness by community members. Hiring the diversity representing different populations and settlement patterns

(e.g. Somalia). Not only has the issue come up that there are a lack of culturally sensitive

mental health services for families available, when and if these services are available, the wait lists are extremely long.

Future Considerations

Health/Mental Health Care: At-risk immigrant youth are not being appropriately linked to youth/family

counselling and information about safe schools.

The need for dental health education and the connection to affordable community resources and/or dentists.

Legal Aid: There are very limited legal aid resources, available within our

community, for our clients.

Service Transitions: Many families, who have been receiving assistance from SWIS, and now

their youngest child is graduating, are no longer eligible for SWIS services.

Useful Websites for Working with RefugeesBC - Working with refugee students

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/esl/refugees_teachers_guide.pdfhttp://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/policy/policies/k12_newcomer_refugees.htm

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/policy/policies/refugee.htm

Newcomer Children Information Exchangehttp://www.amssa.org

Alberta - Teaching Refugeeshttp://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6581363/teachingrefugees.pdf

Ontario - ELL - with Limited Prior Schoolinghttp://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/manyroots/ELL_LPS.pdf

Refugee Children with Low Literacy Skills or Interrupted Educationhttp://www.springinstitute.org/Files/refugeechildrenbehavior3.pdf

Thank you and Questions?