Children of the world arriving at our school doors

ESL Students

Photos courtesy of Immigrant Services Society of B.C. Publication “Faces of Refugees”

Key Role of School DistrictsKey Role of School Districts

To help immigrant and refugee students develop the fundamental skills and knowledge required to be productive and participating citizens

School Boards that serve the large majority of immigrant children and youth face a wide range of issues

1. Changing Demographics1. Changing Demographics

15 years ago, most of immigrant children came from Hong Kong, Philippines or Taiwan

Most of these learners had previous schooling prior to their arrival in Canada

In last 10 years, the mix and countries of origin are very different

Less English skills, little or no formal schooling, older arriving students, refugee claimants

2. School Readiness2. School Readiness Families need support in preparing their

children to start school Children in immigrant families have little

exposure to English in the home Children born in Canada, but will have little or no

English language skills when they enter Kindergarten Families do not have experience with any education

system Don’t know their children should be in school

3. Refugees3. Refugees Mainly in large urban districts

Coming from refugee camps, where they may have lived for years

Little or no schooling in home language

Special education needs and often, a multiplicity of learning challenges

Marked increase in # of students with autism, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy or other behavioural or medical conditions

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

4. Older Age Students4. Older Age Students Students who are 16 years of age or older at time of arrival

Many have very low entry-level English language skills – below grade 3

Students believe that major emphasis on English language development is unnecessary or insurmountable

Those hoping to head for post-secondary face major challenges in acquiring the academic language skills required

5. Settlement Services5. Settlement Services Significant issues that school districts have to respond to that are not within the

parameters of education funding

School Districts have not been recognized in public policy as one of the key ‘front-line settlement service providers’

The school is the most readily-accessible social agency as they encounter challenges in adapting to life in Canada

Turn to the school for assistance and support

6. Teacher Training6. Teacher Training Teacher training programs with no courses specifically focused

on ESL

New or experienced teachers struggling to respond effectively to level of diversity and varied language proficiency

Teaching English as an additional language, not a second language requires a new pedagogy for student success

British Columbia (BCSTA)British Columbia (BCSTA)PROVINCE METRO

Total student population

655,704 256,424

39.1%

Home Language

not English

140,503 106,641

75.89%

ESL 63,727 46,308

72.66%

Aboriginal 60,982 9055

14.85%

Special Needs 58,576 25,056

42.77%

BCSTA ESL FORUMBCSTA ESL FORUM 182 delegates representing over 40 school

districts from around the province

School trustees, district staff, school based administrators, teachers, parents, government officials and elected officials

Presentations by experts, practitioners and youth, as well as discussion groups

BCSTA ESL FORUM cont . . .BCSTA ESL FORUM cont . . .

GOALS OF THE FORUM: To develop a consensus on the nature and

extent of ESL issues

To strengthen the public school system’s role in and capacity for integrating new immigrant and refugee students into Canadian society

To increase the understanding and importance of ESL

BCSTA ESL FORUM cont . . .BCSTA ESL FORUM cont . . .

Direct credit for ESL course work

Create a unique coding system for refugee students to enable ‘targeted’ funding

More flexible time limit for ESL support or school departure

Ensure pre-service and in-service ESL training for all teachers

Explicit recognition by provincial and federal governments of ESL as an important issue for schools and school districts

Media Awareness Media Awareness

BCSTA AGM MOTIONSBCSTA AGM MOTIONS That BCSTA urge the Ministry of

Education to provide immediate funding (from the date of their arrival at the school district) for refugees and refugee claimant students that recognizes their multi-entry dates into the provincial public school system, and enables school districts to effectively support their complex learning needs.

BCSTA AGM MOTIONSBCSTA AGM MOTIONS That BCSTA urge the federal

government to allocate to school districts sufficient settlement funding to provide for the delivery of appropriate English or French language courses and related services to immigrant and refugee adults following their arrival in Canada.

BCSTA AGM MOTIONSBCSTA AGM MOTIONS That BCSTA request the Ministry of

Education to develop a standardized test for ESL students to provide an efficient and objective assessment tool to measure English language proficiency.

Settlement Workers in SchoolsSettlement Workers in Schools

11 districts with the most ESL students

Settlement needs assessment

Provide newcomer families with settlement orientation, information and referrals to agencies

Participate in the school reception and orientation process for newcomer students and their families

Orient staff about settlement related issues

Refugee Settlement in GVRDRefugee Settlement in GVRD

Afghanistan 440 Cameroon 3 Cuba 3 Indonesia 45 Rwanda 12 Togo 3

Angola 2 China 1 Eritrea 40 Iran 94 Sierra Leone 28 Uganda 9

Azerbaijan 4 Columbia 37 Ethiopia 54 Iraq 11 Somalia 36 Uzbekistan 8

Burundi 20 Congo 26 Guyana 3 Liberia 61 Sudan 114 Zambia 3

September 2006 Primary Language in the home

Languages spoken by more than 200 students

Burnaby School District

JAPANESE AFGHAN

CROATIAN MACEDONIAN

POLISH SWAHELI

PASHTU / DARI AFRIKAANS

ROMANIAN SLOVAK

SERBO-CROATIAN TELUGU

OTHER AFRICAN TUTCHONE

GUJARATI CREOLE

PORTUGUESE ICELANDIC

ITALIAN FARSAI

ALBANIAN GITKSAN

URDU CAMBODIAN

FRENCH SIGNING

TAMIL CREE

HUNGARIAN DUTCH

KURDISH NORWEGIAN

BENGALI PAKISTANI

GREEK INDO IRANIAN

OTHER LANGUAGES MALAYALAM

YUGOSLAVIAN NEPALI

GERMAN SWEDISH

MALAY-BAHASA MARHATHI

BULGARIAN BOSNIEN

TURKISH FINNISH

ETHIOPIAN / AMARTIC HEBREW

OTHER ASIATIC IRISH

FAEROESE KACHI

THAI KONKAN

UKRAINIAN KWAKW'ALA

SINHALESE LITHUANIAN

DANISH OTHER ATHPASKAN

PERSIAN / FARSAI OTHER GERMANIC

CZECH SLOVENIAN

ARMENIAN LAOTIAN

Other Languages:

Parent & Family Literacy CentresParent & Family Literacy Centres

First Burnaby centre opened in November ‘04

Provide early literacy skills to pre-school children as well as their parent/caregiver

Centres are effective because they enhance the children’s readiness to learn while improving their English-language skills and social skills

Help the adults adjust to English, the community and the school system

Refugee classesRefugee classes Small number of students (8-10) Use elementary level trained teachers ‘pre’ ESL levels Very basic level numeracy skills Job readiness skills Work experience opportunities

Youth in TransitionYouth in Transition Funding by Canucks Family Education Centre Five sessions, 2½ hours For entire family – adults, teens, children Activities, conversation (translators), dinner

Continued Challenges/IssuesContinued Challenges/Issues

Funding – Federal equity for Immigrants

Quebec $3,800Ontario $3,400B.C. $1,006

– Provincial funding upon arrival for refugee students

Adult language classes accessibility

Resource InformationResource Information Photos provided on title page and

refugee information courtesy of Immigrant Services Society of B.C. Publication ‘Faces of Refugees’ www.issbc.org

Presenter Diana Mumford, Director of BCSTA, Trustee SD#41 Burnaby diana.mumford@sd41.bc.ca