Groups seek help for newcomer students

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This article was published 29/07/2020 (1611 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A coalition of advocates for newcomers is calling for a back-to-school plan that takes into account the unique disruptions immigrant youth, refugee students and other learners who rely on language support have experienced during the pandemic.

In anticipation of Sept. 8, the Newcomer Education Coalition and Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations have created newcomer-specific recommendations for recovery learning.

The recommendations, which have been sent to stakeholders including Manitoba Education, call for an approach that will require more educational assistants and counsellors equipped with cultural humility training in schools this fall, as well as increased training for school staff that is both trauma-informed and anti-racist.

“For war-affected youth and others who have experienced trauma, there are psychosocial needs which are challenging to support remotely,” the document states. “The pandemic has potentially been a triggering experience.”

It also urges leaders to consider how interrupted schooling is linked to disengagement from school and increased engagement with “risky behaviours.”

“Instead of rushing to September and having youth fall through cracks, we have to start planning right now,” said Kathleen Vyrauen of the Newcomer Education Coalition.

Following the COVID-19 learning disruptions in mid-March, the more than 200,000 K-12 students in Manitoba were tasked with both learning how to learn at home and learning the end-of-year curriculum.

Many newcomer students faced these challenges head-on, in busy households with distracting siblings, alongside balancing child-care responsibilities and pressures to take on paid work, and with virtual, if any, language support.

Phone and video calls replaced hands-on support, while after-school programs for newcomers reported fewer students accessing their services without drop-in options.

Manitoba’s back-to-school plan, which is expected before Aug. 1, will indicate whether pre-COVID-19 language tutoring can resume in classrooms.

The advocates’ document recommends school leaders involve ethno-cultural leaders and newcomer service providers in their planning so schools can best support families and translate key documents.

“You can’t take blanketed approaches to student learning; I do hope that there is that focus on the individual needs of each student and each community,” Vyrauen said.

At the Winnipeg School Division, trustee Jennifer Chen said she is trying to organize a board meeting at the end of August so officials can discuss the province’s directives for the year, and how best to support all students, immigrant and refugee learners included.

Although soon-to-be Grade 10 student Joyce Gladys said she managed distance learning with help from the resources her teacher sent her, the Mozambican student said she hopes regular classes will resume soon.

Gladys, 14, will start Tec Voc High School in September, a little more than two years after she moved to Winnipeg from Portugal.

When asked about what she misses most about school, the 14-year-old said, “my friends.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie