Understanding Innovative Immigrant Education

How Do We Meet Needs of America’s Immigrant Student Populations?

Gaining knowledge, trends, historical data and social interactions combined with cultural perceptions become factors in the maze to discovery. Pacific Northwest schools are among the many institutions to feel demographic shifts, yet are they preparing effectively for such enormous changes, given the fact that many minority children today are disproportionately not succeeding in school.

In recent years, the nation has been swept up into a movement to improve students’ education evaluated by strict state and federally mandated standardized tests. Concerned educators, parents and even students argue that education in the U.S. has become too narrowly focused on teaching to these tests. Gaining knowledge, trends, historical data and social interactions combined with cultural perceptions become factors in the maze to discovery.

Conducting surveys which monitor patterns in living and education with real world comparisons of immigrant students and the disenfranchised in our community lead our efforts to understand. Assisting a needy population to connect with community resources and education strengthen abilities in self-sufficiency.

How Do We Meet Needs of America’s Immigrant Student Populations?

Let’s research classrooms that have disadvantaged and underserved immigrant children with high racial/ethnic diversity. Pacific Northwest schools are among the many institutions to feel demographic shifts, yet are they preparing effectively for such enormous changes, given the fact that many minority children today are disproportionately not succeeding in school? According to The Pew Hispanic Center the dropout rate for Hispanic/Latino youth is twice as high as the dropout rate for comparable non-Hispanic whites and these figures are similar for Blacks. Immigration is diversifying Black communities; in Western Washington, over 40% of Blacks non U.S. born and are of Somalia, African, West Indian or Hispanic origin or descent. Their issues and needs vary as well.

These trends represent a mounting challenge for schools to innovate educational programs that understand, appreciate and take advantage of this growing and deepening diversity in their schools toward keeping the children of immigrant families in school, engaged, learning and performing adequately.