Immigration and

Education
Meeting the Needs of Immigrant Students

“Everywhere, immigrants have enriched and strengthened the

fabric of American life”
—John F. Kennedy
 Workshop Schedule
8:45 a.m.— 12:30 p.m.

8:45-9:00 Welcome and Registration

9:00-9:30 Opening Activity (Erutluc)

9:30-9:45 Brief Overview of Immigration in

Washoe County

9:45-10:00 Truth or Myth Activity

10:00-10:15 Break

10:15-10:45 Intercultural Communication

10:45-11:15 Learning Styles

11:15-11:30 Break

11:30-12:00 Identity

12:00-12:15 Self-Assessment

12:15-12:30 Debriefing and Closing

 Immigration in WCSD

LEP population increase in Nevada

1986 LEP students in WCSD was 770

Current LEP students in WCSD is 11,546

Source: NV Department of Education 2006-2007

Notes:
 Immigration WCSD
2006 CRT Scores

Notes:
 Truth or Myth...

Check all that are true

All immigrants migrate for economic reasons.

Most immigrants are here illegally.

The U.S. has more immigration now than in the past.

Most of the undocumented immigrants are Mexicans.

Most immigrants have little education.

Most immigrants are poor.

Immigrants take jobs away from U.S. native born.

Immigrants cost the tax payers a lot of money.

Most immigrants live on welfare.

Immigrant parents don’t care about their kids’ education.

Immigrants don't’ want to learn English.

Immigrant children will do better if they assimilate

quicker.

Immigrant children who end up speaking mainly English

do better in school.

Once immigrants learn English, there is no more need for

special programs.
 Intercultural Communication

Notes:

Focus Question: What steps can teachers take to improve their

intercultural communication?
 Learning Styles
Notes:

Focus Question: How can teachers adjust their classroom

expectations to include different learning styles?

Activity

Think: In light of the different Emotional and Sociological learning

styles, think of an immigrant student you’ve had in the past or cur-
rently have (no names) and describe his/her possible Emotional and
Sociological learning style.
 Identity

Notes:

Focus Question- How can teachers influence the identity of

immigrants students?
 Identity
Identity Factor Web

Age Language

Ethnicity
My culture

Country Race
of Birth

Name

Gender
Family

My groups
Religion

Work Social
Class

How do others see me?

 Self-Assessment
Checklist for measuring the immigrant-friendliness of your classroom.
Always Usually Rarely Never

Am I familiar with the values, traditions, and customs of stu-

dents in my classroom?

Am I knowledgeable about the immigration experience of my

students’ families?

Do I visit at home with the families of immigrant students in

my classroom to gain insight into the students’ lives and support systems?

Do I learn some vocabulary in the native language of my stu-

dents to better communicate with them?

Do I encourage immigrant parents to help their children main-

tain their native language at home while learning English at school?

Do I base my academic expectations on the individual ability of

each student rather than on broad or stereotypical assumptions?

Do I understand the English and native-language skills of each

student so I can develop individually appropriate classroom and homework assignments?

Do I seek additional, culture-specific assistance to provide ap-

propriate instruction before referring an immigrant student to remedial classes?

Do I use peer teaching, where limited-English-proficient stu-

dents can participate and practice English-language skills in small groups?

Do I allow students to develop their English-language skills in

class without feeling embarrassed or intimidated?

Are all students actively involved in classroom instruction and

other classroom activities?

Are classroom seating arrangements balanced by ethnicity as

well as by gender?

Are reading materials provided in the native languages repre-

sented in my classroom?

Checklist reproduced with permission from The Equity Center

 Resources
Washoe County School District ESL Department is located at 535 East Plumb Lane
(between Yori and Virginia Street), Reno, telephone 333-6090. Registration hours
are 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Teacher Resources:

NWREL: Improving Education for Immigrant Students in the northwest region of

the U.S. http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/booklets/immigration/

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) applies research information about lan-
guage and culture to educational, cultural, and social concerns. 1118 22nd St.
N.W., Washington, DC 20037-1214, (202) 429-9292. Internet: http://www.cal.org.

Educational Experiences of Newcomer Students is a page on the National

Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Website. It has links to further references on
educational issues immigrant students often face. Internet: http://
www.ncbe.gwu.edu/pathways/immigration/

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a site that addresses the
issues facing refugees. Provides profiles of countries, among other information.
Internet: http://www.unhcr.ch/

Migration Information Source is a site that addresses the issues facing immi-
grants. Provides profiles of countries, statistics, educationally important links and
articles. http://www.migrationinformation.org/

Workshop Facilitator: Heather Haddox has been

involved in diverse educational settings since 1997.
As a public school teacher in Dallas Independent
School District, Heather was the co-chair for the
Language Proficiency Assessment Committee.
While serving in DISD, she implemented a bilingual
education program PK-6th grade and served as the
Bilingual Chair on the Campus Instructional Leader-
ship Team. She spent three years living overseas
working as the Educational Specialist for an all girl’s
orphanage, where she helped start a new school to
better serve the unique needs of the girls. She also was the director of the Eng-
lish Academy in Guatemala, a bilingual school serving Guatemalan, Korean, and
North American students PK-1st grade. She is a graduate student at the Univer-
sity of Reno. She will be graduating with her Masters in Elementary Education
with a focus in Multicultural Education and TESOL in August 2009.