Who We Are and Our Why ↓

The Seek Common Ground Immigration is American Collaboration Network (IACN) is a network of 15 organizations that came together in the spring of 2023 to collaborate and share learnings about how to best support immigrant and refugee students and their families navigating PreK - 12 public education. All 15 organizations work directly to support over 25,000 immigrant and refugee families and students in 10 states and nationally who are navigating the PreK - 12 education system in the United States (in addition to providing other support). With the increase of migrant youth and families coming to the U.S. over recent years, there is growing demand for the expertise community-based organizations have in supporting newcomer students, particularly adolescents who age out of the education system quickly, with limited time to see what options are available that will provide sustainable, long-term avenues to thrive. The IACN is a network of organizations whose leaders are uniquely positioned to bring together best practices, cultural competency, lived experience, and tried initiatives on how to effectively support immigrant/refugee students and their families in their educational journey in this country.

The IACN came together as a network to create this toolkit because we know there are thousands of similar organizations across the country who are committed to culturally and linguistically relevant strategies and practices but are stretched thin, do not necessarily have access to a network of peers, and want to meaningfully serve immigrant and refugee students and families in their education journey. Through this toolkit, we aim to support peer organizations and community partners, as well as educators and districts, serving immigrant and refugee families and their children as they navigate the U.S. education system, including postsecondary pathways. Please note, many of the examples from the field in this toolkit can be used directly with immigrant and refugee families and students and will be labeled accordingly.

If you have any questions, comments, or would like to learn more about the information in the Toolkit, please reach out to info@seekcommonground.org.

Participating Organizations ↓

• Avance
• Families in Schools
• Portland Empowered
• Re:Source
• ISSA
• Building Skills Partnership
• Hartville Migrant Ministry
• Minnesota Education Equity Partnership
• Buffaolo Immigrant Leadership Team
• African Leadership Group
• National Center for Families Learning
• Latino Policy Forum
• IEL
• Conexión Américas
• Culturingua

Making This Resource Yours ↓

This resource contains strategies and examples for engaging immigrant and refugee students and families and how to broach future ready topics with them. Please note that sections in this toolkit also build off of each other. We encourage you to use, customize, adapt, and translate as needed. As you adapt this information, consider the literacy, including digital literacy, and comfort levels of families and students. For example, if you identify that families you are working with have low literacy levels,even in their native language, translating materials may be less impactful than having one-on-one or group conversations with a live translator. Inversely, if the families you are working with are literate and their home language is English, engage that way. Similarly with digital resources, ensure the immigrant/refugee families you are working with have access to digital devices and training before sending emails, QR codes/links to download apps, etc.

★ Remember: Not all children of immigrants are multilingual learners and not all multilingual learners are children of immigrants. The first step is to have a better understanding of your unique community by asking what supports they need and what they bring to the community.

“Refugee and immigrant students face significant and diverse challenges as they navigate life as newcomers in the United States. In addition to learning the English language, which can take up most of the discussion’s educators have as it relates to immigrant youth (Martin and Suárez- Orozco 2018), there are also other significant challenges refugee and immigrant youth experience."

Phase 1: Logistics and Planning ↓

From the onset, planning for an event should incorporate requests and feedback from families and students around their needs and desires for the event. Event budgets should allow for inclusive programming and be sure to anticipate these logistical details:

• Location: Consider locations that are easy for families to access such as local community-based organizations, spaces used by faith communities, or a communal center at an apartment building. If possible, go where families already congregate and also coordinate with community leaders to ensure those spaces are being respected. The setting alone can shift the mood for mixed status families and parents who have not felt welcome in schools in the past.
• Transportation: Transportation is a critical consideration for families attending meetings. If budget allows, consider providing public transportation passes.
• Virtual Offerings: Provide a virtual option for participants to join without the hassle of transportation and child care. Have a facilitator that will keep conversations engaging for those joining online so people can follow along and have meaningful virtual experiences as well.
• Scheduling: Offer several meeting options for families to attend; day time, afternoon, and weekend options allow more flexibility for families. Be thoughtful about religious and cultural holidays and observations.
• Child care/involvement: When hosting a meeting, consider what students will be doing while not with their parents/families. Offering childcare helps with parent participation, Partnerships with local universities, particularly those with education and teaching programs, can be useful for finding childcare staff. Similarly, look into education pathways (career and technical education programs) utilized in local high schools. Additionally, incorporating children into the meeting itself can be game-changing. Oneeasy way to plan for this is to ask, “What is the child doing while parents participate inthe meeting?” This is considered a 2Gen Approach, which emphasizes the importance and value of families and students learning side by side.
• Food: Food and light beverages help boost attendance and show families that you care about making them feel welcome and comfortable. Consider partnering with small business restaurants that represent the immigrant/refugee community and offer food that represents their culture. Further, consider asking local grocery stores or wholesale providers to donate to your meeting to keep overall costs low.
• Interpretation: Prioritize translation services for all meetings given that languagecontinues to be a significant barrier for families. Review best practices for working with interpreters and individuals who provide language support (check out the toolkit on this topic here from the National Educators Association). Consider looking in your own community– there may be bilingual community members who are actively involved and already have connections in the community who can serve more deeply as community brokers.
• Long term budgeting: If there is an opportunity for longer term budgeting, we recommend establishing a community navigator to support and lead in all aspects of meeting planning.
• Traditional and Electronic Outreach: Deliver information about your event through multiple avenues, including digital and paper media, text messages, and phone calls. For paper media, drop off flyers at community centers, post on bulletin boards, or drop one in the students’ backpack in the family's language. Collaborate with local groups when disseminating information about an event or even co-host meetings with a local community-based organization or places of worship so you can both spread the word. Plan to have online materials that are easy for parents to access, read, download, and use at a later time. Add audio/radio announcements where possible depending on the size of the event as this can address literacy barriers.

Phase 2: Meeting Agenda and Content Delivery ↓

After getting families and caregivers to your meeting, it is important to have an intentional and focused strategy for engaging parents with the information. Consider the following strategies:

• Begin by finding common ground: Always start by finding common ground with parenting adults: the academic and life success of the student. Begin with an ice breaker that taps into parents’ own experience, which allows participants to connect and build trust. Let families know the direct impact their participation will have on their child’s success.
• Cultural awareness and knowledge: Prioritize learning about participants’ cultural backgrounds to build relationships and understand additional identities.
• Present straightforward information: Remember, not all public education systems are the same in all countries. Information presented to families and caregivers needs to be described clearly and in plain language. Families coming from other countries may have different experiences with schools and schooling and may not be sure how to communicate with teachers and school staff, especially if it is a new environment; do not assume things that may be obvious about the education system here are obvious for all families. To help immigrant families and caregivers feel more comfortable there should be a clear strategy for involving them, providing straightforward information about program options for their child, emphasizing the importance of supporting learning at home. It is also crucial to create an environment where parents can weigh in on decisions about their child’s education. If you are sharing background material, explain why you created this background material. Put things in context for families and have parent-friendly entry points for understanding that material. And remember that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Similarly, plan on sessions that cover useful information such as "know your rights” and also “navigating the school system.” Check out example videos here.
• Phrase positively: Ensure the language in the material used by the presenter is not deficit-focused. For example, instead of saying “We know this is the first time you’re hearing this information and it may be overwhelming,” consider, “Let’s work together to bring what you know about your child to this conversation and work together to ensure his or her future success.”
• Scaffold information: Ensure that materials can be shared with parents with varying literacy levels. One of the ways to accomplish this goal is to “scaffold” the material. Check out this resource using games co-created between UnidosUS and Conexión Américas, another IACN member. Here are some tips: (1) Read aloud with parents and have them underline key words. (2) Include activities where parents work together. (3) Include visuals, even if materials are translated into home language(s).
• Focus on essential knowledge: Plan your meeting with these two guiding questions: What do I want parents to know? And, what do I want parents to be able to do? These questions can help meeting organizers clarify essential knowledge and prioritize what information to cover. Remember that all parents have capacity for knowledge,understanding, and advocating for their child, but sometimes it is necessary to forgo weedy details or technical terms and acronyms without explanation. For example, if referencing a civil rights protection under IDEA, you can say, “there are federal protections under the law” instead of saying “IDEA”.

Phase 3: Planning for After the Event ↓

After the event, it is important to provide parents with additional points of communication. Consider the following:

• Leave behinds: Create a “question & answer” document in multiple languages to keep parents engaged after the event. If you have video or audio files, have stickers or images of QR codes that parents can grab to listen to on their way home.
• Gathering feedback: Allow for post-event feedback or questions from participants that perhaps they did not have time to ask or were not comfortable doing so in a public format. This can look like a follow-up call, text, survey, and/or email.
• The Next Engagement Opportunity: Even if you are not planning to host another in-person meeting for some time, families will want to stay in touch. This could include sharing contact information related to the topic at hand (e.g. school counselors, translators, community organization leaders, etc.).

Follow-up ↓

Continuing to stay in touch with families is critical for ongoing engagement. Follow up allows participants to feel seen and believe in the work of the organizations. It shows that everyone is invested in supporting them and their student’s educational journey. Consider creating a Facebook group, email list-serve, or WhatsApp group where families can receive information on a regular basis.

Recognizing and Valuing Families: Caregivers are Children’s First Teachers. ↓

From an early age, messages parents share about learning are critical. The more families understand they have agency and influence on cultivating things like nurturing love of reading for their child, the better off they will be. Other ways families can impact their child’s learning at home is by creating space and time for learning, active listening, and teaching self-advocacy. For example, parents can help their child build communication skills by asking questions and actively listen to their responses and encouraging their child to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas.

Academics are critically important for a students’ success in school and beyond, but their social emotional well-being is also important for the development of a healthy, thriving person. Social and emotional learning(SEL) is a process that helps children develop the skills and knowledge to manage their emotions, build relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL is an important aspect of the educational experience that fosters academic learning.

Not only are families and caregivers a child’s first teachers, they are also the best equipped to relay the child’s personality as well as the lived experiences of the family, including their journey to this country. They are afountain of knowledge about the student and their lived experiences. Immigrant and refugee parents may have no formal education (for students,the term used is SLIFE: students with limited or interrupted formal education) or they may have PhDs and have served in key leadership roles in their country of origin. It is best for educators and school systems not to assume either way and work on getting to know the family respectfully, the lived experiences they are comfortable sharing, and the assets they bring with them.

Supporting and Empowering Families and Caregivers as Advocates: ↓

As families better understand the American education system, they can better support the child at home while the educators support at school. Partof the educator/parent partnership requires that both sides understand their areas of expertise and agency. Many community-based organizations provide parent advocacy programs to support families in understanding the system and advocating for their child. There are also AVID programs where districts make use of parent universities/academies to provide targeted capacity building.

Information is Power: ↓

In addition to engaging families and making them feel welcome, it is important that immigrant and refugee families and parents understand data, assessments, benchmarks, etc. Word of mouth is still critical in this digital age, which is why community navigators or liaisons, or people who help students and families connect with resources and services in their community, are particularly helpful in getting information to immigrant and refugee families and building culturally and linguistically relevant relationships as they are getting their bearings on the system here. It is particularly important as it relates to English as a Second Language procedures and making sure students are receiving the services to which they are entitled.

Check out this ELL assessment parent guide by the Migration Policy Institute.

Taking Steps Towards Connecting Families and Caregivers with Existing Structures: ↓

There may already be family engagement structures in schools (e.g. School Site Councils, Parent Advisory Committees, Parent Teacher Association or other parent meetings), and making sure immigrant and refugee families have access to these is also important. Ensuring immigrant families have access to these spaces will build immigrant and refugee families’ knowledge about the education journey for their child and also help build relationships across families at a school.

It Takes a Village: ↓

At the end of the day, the child whose parents and caregivers chose to immigrate to this country is trying to navigate so many things while also trying to learn. Knowing that their child's teachers and caregivers are on the same team makes a big difference. Additional resources like public libraries, museums, community recreation centers, sports leagues, after school activities, and, of course, community-based organizations can also have a big impact in helping immigrant and refugee students succeed. All of these efforts are what help to build a sense of identity for the child and family as members of their new community. “In many communities such as the Afghan community in San Antonio, Texas, Culturingua has learned how important it is to have reliable childcare for its Sewing for Success participants. Similar to having a community navigator, identifying possible connections among clients and participants like the apartment they live at can help to build practical connections. For example, maybe 5 different families live in the same apartment complex and can carpool places or even watch each other's children. When you establish a community, trust is built, and the parents and caretakers become available for families that need childcare.” -Analyssa Garcia, Culturingua and participating member of the IACN

Benefits of Family Engagement for Immigrant and Refugee Families and Caregivers ↓

Family engagement is beneficial for everyone: youth, families, educators, and school staff. Decades of research shows that each of these groups benefit from the development of robust family engagement systems and practices within a K-12 space. In a K-12 system that prioritizes family engagement, youth are more likely to graduate from high school and earn higher GPAs and test scores. Schools are also more likely to see a reduction in behavioral referrals as well as increased attendance of students, too.

Families who are consistently engaged as partners in their child’s educationgain knowledge as well as confidence in supporting their child during their K-12 journey. This support is tremendously important for all families; however, it is especially important for the families of refugee and immigrantyouth who may be unfamiliar with the norms of the American school system. It is important to remind immigrant and refugee families and parents why their engagement is useful and beneficial because family engagement norms or past schooling experiences may look very different in families’ country of origin. Some parents may even feel it is not respectful to speak so directly with educators or feel they are inadequate to engage in those types of conversations with limited language skills. Telling parents it is their right to be engaged and that they are not being disrespectful to give feedback to schools and teachers and that their continued engagement is for the benefit of their child is important.

Family engagement systems also have a positive impact on educators and school staff. Several studies have shown that teacher retention increases when staff develop positive partnerships with families. Additionally, strong family engagement systems can lead to positive shifts in attitudes and mindsets about families.

Videos for Educators ↓

• Communicating with Newcomer Families Watch.
• Family Involvement at School
• Newcomer Students and the Law
• The Newcomer Experience
• Trauma-Informed Approach in Classrooms
• Welcoming Newcomers

Videos for Families & Caretakers ↓

• Academic Assessment & Evaluation: Avail, in ENG, SPAN, UKR
• Academic Calendar: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Accessing Support Services: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• College and Career Readiness: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Communicating with Schools: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Educational Rights for Newcomer Families: Avail in ENG, NEPALI, SPAN, UKR
• Family Involvement at School: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Learning English at School: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Observing Cultural Customs at School: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Safety at School: Avail in ENG, DARI, NEPALI, SPAN, UKR
• School Processes and Procedures: Avail in ENG, DARI, NEPALI, SPAN, UKR
• Supporting Your Student's Education: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR
• Who's Who at School: Avail in ENG, DARI, SPAN, UKR

Building Trust and Respectful Bi-Directional Relationships: ↓

Establishing trust is the foundation for meaningful youth engagement. Youth should feel that their opinions are respected and valued. This involves open communication, active listening, and mutual respect between adults and youth. Trust is built over time through consistent, supportive interactions, where youth feel their contributions are genuinely considered in decision-making processes.

Valuing Youth Feedback and Integrating It into Practice: ↓

Actively seek and value the feedback of youth by incorporating their perspectives into program designs, policies, and decision-making processes. Ensure that youth see the tangible impact of their contributions, which reinforces their engagement and trust in the process. Feedback should not just be collected but also acted upon, demonstrating a commitment to youth voice.

Ensuring an Optimal Student-Adult Ratio in Co-Leadership Spaces: ↓

When creating spaces for youth to co-lead, it’s crucial to maintain a balanced student-to-adult ratio. This balance allows for effective collaboration, where youth voices are not overshadowed by adults, and adults can provide appropriate guidance without dominating the conversation.

Providing Multiple Leadership Opportunities: ↓

Create various platforms for students to take on leadership roles, such as organizing events, conducting surveys, and solving school or community challenges. These opportunities should be diverse and accessible to cater to different interestsand strengths, allowing all youth to find a leadership role that resonates with them.

Building Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions for Leadership: ↓

Equip youth with the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to lead effectively. This includes providing training in areas such as public speaking, advocacy, teamwork, and problem-solving. Additionally, fostering a leadership mindset that emphasizes responsibility, empathy, and ethical decision-making is key to their success as leaders.

Creating Multiple Avenues for Student Voice: ↓

Offer various channels for youth to express their opinions and ideas, such as surveys, focus groups,town halls, and meetings. This ensures that all students, regardless of their preferred communication style, can contribute. These channels should be designed to be accessible and inclusive, encouraging participation from a broad spectrum of students.

Eliminating Barriers to Participation: ↓

Identify and remove barriers that may prevent students from participating, such as providing stipends, transportation, translation services, and ensuring that GPA or other restrictive requirements do not exclude willing participants.

Help Students—and their Families— Make Decisions ↓

In a college landscape study conducted by the Latino Policy Forum, findings revealed that Latino students’ decision making about college often involves the entire family. The Latino cultural value of “familismo” prioritizes family needs over individual needs, and students weigh their responsibilities to family members carefully when making decisions related to college enrollment and persistence. Families are sources of social, emotional and economic support during college as well. iii When parents are engaged in the process, it helps students—and their families—understand, for example, the value of building college and career readiness while in high school through various forms including certification programs, internships, Career and Technical Education (CTE), dual enrollment, etc.

Support Families in Understanding Career Pathways ↓

Family support is also critical during career exploration. Many times, immigrant/refugee families do not yet have the social networks to support college or career guidance, but setting expectations to pursue careers can impact a child of immigrants’ trajectory. Family expectations can feel overwhelming and create pressure for students. Some immigrant/refugee families may be pressuring the child to a limited set of careers like becoming a doctor, lawyer, or engineer but on the flip side, some families may want the child to start working as soon as possible to help provide financial support to the family, sometimes inhibiting their opportunities for a sustainable career. Supporting student’s hopes and dreams and exposing students to a myriad of opportunities for college and career opportunities, can broaden the horizons of students and identify promising pathways to success. This is why culturally responsive counseling, or bilingual and bicultural staff supporting multilingual learners and their families as they navigate the higher education system, can be incredibly helpful with processes like college applications that involve GPA requirements, letters of recommendation, fees, and deadlines.

Academic Preparation Matters ↓

Many, but not all, students of immigrant and refugee families do not speak English when they enroll in the American public school system. Additionally, American-born students might also not speak English fluently when they enter the school system. This is why learning English is a key part of the journey for a student from an immigrant/refugee family. Federal law requires that states and schools identify and assess and reclassify English Learners; provide EL-specific services and move them into general education; have exit criteria and a timeline for ELs to reach proficiency and use assessments, reporting, and standards that feed into an accountability system. Yet, different states have different policies around how to enter and test out of English as a Second Language programs, and it is important to keep this in mind in supporting students on their pathway to postsecondary success. For example, a student who does not speak, read, and write English fluently when they graduate from high school will have more limited opportunities in accessing college and career opportunities. A student might have the grades to get into an institution of higher education and yet be placed into remediation classes that they now must pay for and do not count towards their credits, causing a student to be more likely to drop out. Part of the process of supporting a student from an immigrant or refugee family is ensuring they are on track to learn English, ideally while maintaining their home language, allowing them to keep their fullest identity and having additional, valuable skills in the workforce. Many community-based organizations offer English classes that can support the parents of these students as well, providing a multi-generational approach to supporting college and career readiness.

On Data ↓

There is not currently a systematic way of tracking student demographic data based on immigration status, which would be illegal, so most of the data that is collected and available is based on race and ethnicity. Although it is critical to disaggregate data, it is also important to recognize that a student identified as Hispanic/Latino, non-white, for example, does not automatically mean they are immigrants themselves, or even that their parents were. Additionally, there are some identities that are not disaggregated at all like students who have roots from the Middle East or North Africa region. Students with roots from this region are often mis-labeled as either White or Asian, which can be misleading and misrepresenting.

Data disaggregation across the seven race and ethnicity categories is not only important for research like this, but for schools and school districts to appropriately measure and publish accurate academic success and performance as well. For more context, a specific case in Texas is instructive: The statewide standard testing which dictates a large percentage of a school’s academic performance in the state of Texas is the STAAR test. In many school districts, you would find that the Asian student testing scores are significantly higher than their Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, and even White, counterparts. However, if reviewing a more specific example, a school in San Antonio, which has a large Afghan population, compared to a school in Dallas, where the majority of their Asian students are of Chinese, Indian, or other Asian descent, the results would be misleading. The STAAR test results for the Asian students in San Antonio, Texas are drastically lower compared to the STAAR test results for the Asian students in Dallas, Texas. This is because the Asian students that are from Afghanistan, have experienced trauma and forced displacement as refugees and evacuees, which disrupts their education and learning compared to other Asian students that do not have the same experience. The school’s academic performance would suggest that the school is doing poorly compared to other schools, when in reality, the school is dealing with a population that requires additional support and resources. Data is important but as the above example offered by Culturingua shows, it can also be misleading and additional context and information is critical.

1. Language supports within career programs: ↓

For long-term multilingual learners (LTELs), or a student who has been in an English learner program for over five years and is not yet proficient in English, building language skills with vocational training can better prepare them for in-demand careers. For example, IACN member Building Skills Partnership offers English classes as well to increase the career opportunities of parents of immigrant families as they seek upward mobility in janitorial and airport jobs.

2. Establishing supportive networks: ↓

Connecting multilingual learners to established professionals in their field of interests provides valuable mentorship and access to social capital helping bridge the gap for those who may not have those connections due to their family's recent migration to the country. For example, IACN members International Student Services Association (ISSA) and Portland Empowered make sure to reach out to local leaders and professionals that come from immigrant backgrounds to speak to the students so they can feel more comfortable asking questions about school and careers and see people who look like them succeeding.

3. Understanding market trends: ↓

Given the recent multi-million-dollar investment to help expand the Registered Apprenticeship system, many states have already received funding to expand career and technical training programs to enter in-demand occupations (i.e. K-12 education, clean energy, IT and cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, supply chain, hospitality, care economy and public-sector occupations) and careers that offer family-supporting wages. v This investment sets precedent for the growing demand of participants. Check in demand careers in your state here: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20240711-0#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Biden%2DHarris%20administration,system%20in%20growing%20U.S.%20industries.