Answering Immigrant Students’ Questions: Resources for Schools

Gathering as a Team

Work with colleagues and administrators, including family liaisons, to:

• Identify ways to let all students and families know they are welcome, valued members of your community
• Prevent and address any bullying of ELLs and immigrant students
• Tap into the skills of staff trained to support the social and emotional well-being of students (i.e. social workers, school counselors, school nurses, etc.)
• Create and strengthen procedures for supporting students' emotions, such as steps to take when a student is upset, identifying whom students should speak with, and providing resources for emotional support
• Ensure ELLs are included in daily social and emotional learning (SEL) activities and routines

In the Classroom

Some students, including younger children, may have personal concerns related to immigration. These may manifest in many ways, such as being very quiet, being disruptive, feeling sick, and more.

• Continuously support students to feel safe, welcome and supported in your classroom.
• Consider spending time with students one-on-one and in small groups.
• When students express concern about an uncertain future, acknowledge the difficulty of uncertainty, offer coping strategies, and consult with school counselors, psychologists, or other support staff for additional guidance. It's also helpful to involve the school team to develop a coordinated approach to support students.

Looking Ahead

As a school community, create a team to:

• Identify resources for families, such as information about community organizations that can answer their questions
• Offer training to help the school community effectively communicate with multilingual families with immigrant students and families
• Ensure that families are easily able to update emergency contact information
• Learn more about making a plan to care for children whose parent may be unavailable

Finally, keep in mind that immigrant families' concerns can impact their sense of safety and well-being; these concerns can also impact student attendance and enrollment in school programs and services. Yet the stronger your relationships with multilingual students and families, the more effectively you can address questions as they arise. Strengthening our relationships and communication with students and their families is key to proactively promoting safety and fostering a sense of belonging.

Related Resources

• How to Support Immigrant Students and Families: Strategies for Schools and Early Childhood Programs
• Making Students and Families Feel Welcome
• 8 Tips to Protect ELLs from Bullying in Your Classroom and School
• Navigating Tough Topics in the Classroom: Tips for ELL Educators
• Building Community in the Classroom
• 10 Strategies for Supporting SEL for ELLs: "Grow As You Go"
• Child Parent Institute: Coping with Immigration & the Family (also available in Spanish)
• Lessons from Postville: How an Immigration Raid Changed a Small Town and Its Schools

News Headlines

• Mass deportation could separate millions of families, leaving schools to pick up the pieces (Chalkbeat)
• Teachers toss their lesson plans, give students the floor to grapple with election results (Chalkbeat)

Special thanks to Colorín Colorado advisors Susan Lafond and Dr. Debbie Zacarian for their contributions to this article.