The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), in collaboration with Education Northwest, hosted a webinar where panelists discussed best practices and resources for facilitating refugee and immigrant students’ transition into U.S. schools, including scheduling considerations, academic evaluations, and options for registering newcomer students who arrive without academic credentials or who do not meet state academic requirements. The panelists also discussed models of academic background review and assessment that can be used during newcomer immigrant registration and enrollment to set students on a success trajectory and pathway to graduation. This important conversation featured Manuel Vazquez Cano and Jason Greenberg Motamedi, Ph.D. of Education Northwest.
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Webinar Agenda
- 05:00 – Background Data and Policy – Supreet Anand
- 11:55 – Best Practices for Refugee and Immigrant Student Registration and Enrollment – Jason Greenberg Motamedi
- 25:26 – Woodburn School District Supports for Newcomers Transitioning to U.S. Schools – Chrissy Chapman
- 33:30 – Louisville, KY Resettlement Agency Services to Help Register Newcomers in Schools – Layne Sanders
- 40:50 – Approaches to Intaking Prior Academic Experience – Manuel Vazquez Cano
- 56:08 – Highline Public School District Approaches to Awarding Credit for Prior Schooling Experiences – Bernard Koontz
- 1:02:41 – Louisville, KY Resettlement Agency Supports with Documentation for School Registration – Adrienne Eisenmenger
- 1:10:44 – Oregon Department of Education Equitable Approaches to Registering Newcomers – Mary Martinez-Wenzl
- 1:17:02 – Q & A
- 1:26:24 – Resources, Certificate of Completion
General Resources
- Policy Guidance: Equal Rights to Public Education – includes joint Dear Colleague Letter, Q & A, and Fact Sheet (Departments of Justice and Education, 2014)
- Toolkit: Welcoming, Registering, and Supporting Newcomer Students (IES REL Northwest at Education Northwest, 2021)
- Infographic: Helping Newcomer Immigrant and Refugee Students Register for Secondary School (IES REL Northwest at Education Northwest, 2021)
- Toolkit: Starting School in the United States: A Guide for Newcomer Students’ Families – available in Arabic, English, Somali, Spanish (IES REL Northwest at Education Northwest, 2020)
- Toolkit: Getting It Right: Reference Guides for Registering Students with Non-English Names (IES REL Northwest at Education Northwest, 2017)
- Report: State Assessments in Languages Other Than English (Midwest Comprehensive Center at AIR, 2018)
- Table: Compulsory School Attendance Laws, Minimum and Maximum Age Limits for Required Free Education, by State (IES NCES, 2017)
- World Education News + Reviews (WES)
Referenced State and District Resources
- Evaluating Foreign Transcripts: The A-Z Manual (New York City Department of Education)
- Transcript Evaluation Worksheet (Seattle Public Schools, 2016)
- International Transcripts Policy Bulletin (Los Angeles Unified School District, 2015)
- Family University (FAMU) Model and 2016 News Feature on FAMU (Woodburn School District)
- Handbook for Secondary Counselors, Administrators, and Teachers Working with ELLs (Jefferson County Schools, 2014)
- ASSIST Course Transfer Website (California’s Public Colleges and Universities)
Additional State and District Resources
- Enrolling and Graduating ELs (Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, 2018)
- Evaluating Foreign Transcripts: A Resource Guide for School Districts (Rhode Island Department of Education, 2012)
- Working with Refugee Students in Secondary Schools: A Counselor’s Companion (Minnesota Department of Education, 2010)
- Resources for Students with Interrupted/Inconsistent Formal Education (SIFE) (New York State Education Department)