Immigration and

Education
Meeting the Needs of Immigrant Students

“Everywhere, immigrants have enriched and strengthened the

fabric of American life”
—John F. Kennedy
 Master Schedule
Presenter: Heather Haddox
Teacher Workshop: Immigration and Education
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
________________________________________________________
8:45-9:00 Welcome and Registration
________________________________________________________
(Have Coffee, Tea, Juice, Breakfast Bars, and Fruit available)

• Have everyone introduce themselves, grade they teach and school they
teach in.

• Read Quote from the Statue of Liberty (Engraved on a bronze plaque in 1903)

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus (inscribed on the Statue of Liberty)

• Go over Workshop Schedule and Program

Workshop Objective: Participants will actively engage and apply the information
of this workshop to their everyday classroom and develop strategies to improve
their teaching practices with immigrant students.

________________________________________________________
9:00-9:30 Opening Activity (Erutluc)
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will experience the difficulties of learning the rules
of a new game.

Activity: Erutluc (culture spelled backwards)

Rationale of Activity: When a migrant enters the receiving county, they

are forced to learn the rules of the new culture. Migrants bring the rules
they have learned with them from their sending country. The quickly learn,
their rules don’t apply to the new culture. This can cause culture shock.
This card game emulates this experience (although simplified) and gives
participants a taste of what a new migrant is experiencing.

Materials: 4-5 decks of cards, one for each table.

Directions:

4-5 groups of 4 people each.

Each table group has a 3 “nationals” and one “migrant”.

Each table group receives the rules for their table (see below) and plays one
game. Then the facilitator chooses one person from each table to be the
“migrant” and they have to change tables and play the new game without
receiving the rules.

No talking is allowed, only communication via hand signals or pictures.

Rotate migrants as many times as the time allows for.

After the rotation, debrief groups about the experience. Link the experience
to migrant children.

Erutluc Table Instructions

Table Group Three
Table Group Two
Objective: Collect the most cards.
Objective: Get rid of all your cards
Each player gets 12 cards face down,
Each
players player getspermitted
are not 10 cards to and holds
look them
at their
and
cards. looks at them.
At the same Thetime,tallest
playersperson starts
flip over
the
the game.
top card and place it in the center of the
table. Whoever slaps an even number first,
Each player lays down a card in the middle
wins the round. Play until all 12 cards have
of the table during their turn. If the
been played. At the end, each player
number on the card is even, play continues
counts their cards to see who has the most.
to the left. If the card is odd or a face card,
Table Group One
play continues to the right. If someone
plays out of turn, they must pick up the
Objective: Win the most rounds.
whole pile and add it to their hand. Play
restarts
Each with the player to the left. First
Tableplayer
Group gets
Four7 cards. Choose someone
to start the game then rotate clockwise.
Objective:
Each playerGet laysthe most
down onespades.
card in the
center of the table during their turn. The
Each
playerplayer gets
with the 7 cardsred
highest and holds
wins thethem
round.in
their handare
If no reds andplayed,
looks at them.
the lowest The shortest
black wins.
player begins the round, play continues to
the
Afterleft. During a
all players turn,
lay down each player
their cardsplaces
in thea
card
middle in the person
middle whoof thewontable. Be sure not
the round
to let your
collects thecard
cards touch
and anyone
starts the else’s
newcard in
round.
the
Keep middle.
track ofIf your card touches
how many rounds you another
won.
card,
Countboth cards are
the rounds removed
at the end offrom play and
the game to
disqualified
see who won. from the round. The highest
spade wins. If no spades are played, the
highest card wins. Play until all cards are
________________________________________________________
9:30-9:45 Brief Overview of Immigration in
Washoe County
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will be able to identify the growing need for new
programs for immigrants by analyzing the data of WCSD ELL population and
testing.

1986 LEP students in WCSD was 770

Current LEP students in WCSD is 11,546

• Washoe County has seen a 431% increase in immigrants since 1990.

• 17% of the students are LEP. 39.2% Latino. That leaves 60% with
linguistic needs other than Spanish.

• 1 ESL teacher for every 84 students, 134 certified ESL teachers in

WCSD for 11,546 students.

• 10 elementary schools don’t even have ESL teachers.

• Even after you test out of ESL, immigrants still have needs.

• Language isn’t the only issue for immigrants, culture, education,

belonging are all important aspects of immigrant education.
 2006 CRT Scores

• LEP students aren’t achieving well, scores actually drop in 8th grade.

• One newcomer program for 6 weeks at Glenn Duncan Elementary

School 1-6th grade

• Newcomer program only available for foreign born, nothing in place for
2nd generation immigrants.

• ESL program is pull out or push in

• Two way immersion programs just starting up at Jesse Beck and Mount
Rose.
 ________________________________________________________
9:45:10:00 Truth or Myth Activity
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will compare their preconceptions about
immigration with the realties.

Have participants take Myth test, see which they thought were myths and
which weren’t. Have them share in table groups.

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.
Hand out the “Myth Busters” and have them share in table groups and have
them compare their test with the realities.

Have 3-4 people share their findings as a whole group.

Myth Busters
 All immigrants migrate for economic reasons.

Immigrants migrate for economic reasons but also family

unification, to
escape persecution for political or religious reasons, or to
escape war. Portes & Rumbaut (2006), Chapter 2.

 Most immigrants are here illegally.

According to Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco (2001),

undocumented immigrants make up only about 10% of the
total foreign born (immigrant) population. (p.31).

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

Although there is a huge wave of immigration that has hit

the U.S. since the 90’s, the early 1900’s represents the
largest wave of migration to date. In 1910, 16% of the
population was foreign born, In 2003, only 11% of the
population was foreign born. Castles and Miller, (2003),
Chapter 3; Larsen, (2004); Suárez-Orozco & Suárez Orozco,
(2001) p. 32.

 Most of the undocumented immigrants are Mexicans.

Only about 1/3 of the migrants are Mexican. ½ pass through

the southern border (via other countries like Guatemala, El
Salvador, etc…), many undocumented immigrants are visa
over-stayers and the 4th largest group of undocumented
immigrants are Canadians. Suárez-Orozco & Suárez- Orozco,
(2001) p. 32.

 Most immigrants have little education.

 As a whole, immigrants are more highly educated than
native born. 1/3 of Nobel prize winners from the U.S. are
immigrants, they are overrepresented in graduate and
doctoral programs in the U.S. Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-
Orozco, (2001) p.56. Portes & Rumbaut, (2006) Table 8, p.
74.

 Most immigrants are poor.

Although certain migrant groups have higher poverty levels

than native born, other migrant groups have lower poverty
levels and average incomes actually exceed native born
populations. According to Portes & Rumbaut, (2006), Table
13, p. 88, in 1999 the poverty rate for immigrants was 20%
compared with 15% native born. Most (80%) of immigrants
live above the national poverty level.

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

Economists agree that immigration actually creates jobs.

Many immigrants come and begin businesses, creating new
jobs, plus their spending in society creates greater demand
creating new jobs. Further, the jobs many migrants are
filling are undesirable to native born. Suárez-Orozco &
Suárez Orozco, (2001) Chapter 2.

 Immigrants cost the tax payers a lot of money.

Almost unanimously economists agree that immigrants

contribute to the economy rather than take away. Castles &
Miller (2006), Chapter 8. The national research council
suggests that, “immigration produces a net gain of
somewhere between $1 billion to $10 billion a year. Suárez-
Orozco & Suárez Orozco, (2001) Chapter 2.

 Most immigrants live on welfare.

Immigrants tend to be healthier than native born, use less

 social services than native born, and see the doctor less. In
research suggests that as a whole, immigrants pay more into
the health system than they use. (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez
Orozco, (2001), Chapter 2.

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

According to Suárez-Orozco and Suárez-Orozco, Chapter 5,

and Portes and Rumbaut (p. 251, Table 17 p. 260), parents
have high expectations for their children and many expect
them to graduate from college.

 Immigrant don’t want to learn English.

A study based on 1990 census data reported that ¾ of all

immigrants reported that they spoke English fluently after
being in the U.S. for 10 years. Enrollments in ESL courses
are increasing. The demand for ESL classes far outweighs
the supply. (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez Orozco, 2001) p. 52-54.

 Immigrant children will do better if they assimilate quicker.

Children who retain their culture and language while

assimilating to the new culture report lower levels of anxiety,
higher academic achievement and a greater well being.
(Abad, N.S. & Sheldon, K.M. (2008); Suárez-Orozco & Suárez
Orozco, 2001, Akiba, D. (2007).

 Immigrant children who end up speaking mainly English do

better in school.

In almost all immigrant groups, bilingual children who retain

their native languages have higher graduation rates and
educational attainment than English monolingual immigrants
(Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001, Portes and Rumbaut,
Rong and Preissle, 1998).

 Once immigrants learn English, there is no more need for

special programs.

Although English is an important aspect of the educational

success of the immigrant, it isn’t the only need immigrant
students have. Culture, social class, race, ethnicity,
nationality are all factors that affect education achievement.
In fact, once students are transferred out of their “special
programs” such as ESL, they are more likely to drop out as a
result of the lack of support. (Rong and Preissle, 1998).
________________________________________________________
10:00-10:15 Break
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
10:15-10:45 Intercultural communication
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will reflect on their own communication style and
predict what kinds of conflicts could occur with immigrant students and
parents.

Focus Question: What steps can teachers take to improve their

intercultural communication?

Intercultural communication refers to the communication between two or

more people who are different from each other on important aspects such
as: values, preferred style of communication, role expectations, and/or
perceived rules of social relationships (NWREL).

Overt cultural components:

Religion

Language

Values

Gender Roles

Covert Cultural components:

Concept of time

Some cultures don’t have the concept of “being late” or having to be

somewhere else.

Nonverbal communication

Some cultures, it is rude to look an authority in the eyes. Smiling may

indicate not

understanding something , fear or nervousness.

Low-context vs. High context communication style

High-context communication refers to shared understanding of cultural

norms and nonverbal cues, Low context relies on the meaning of
specific words. For example, in some Arab cultures saying “I like your
painting” can be interpreted as “you should give that to me”. In some
Asian cultures it’s rude to say no when you’re offered something, in
other countries, when offered something you should say no several
times before agreeing or it may appear presumptuous.

Activity: Participants spend 5 minutes reflecting on their own

Scenario One:
communication style based on the Overt and Covert cultural components
above. teacher conferences, one of your student’s parents
During
shows up5an
After the hourreflection,
minute late andgive
wants
each totable
talkgroup
with one
youofabout their
the following
child’s progress.
scenarios, There
have them areatother
discuss their parents who
table groups forare
10 on timethe types
minutes
of misunderstandings
and have been waiting.that could
Theyoccur.
assure you they aren’t late
because they are there.
Scenario Two:

In your classroom, you desire all students to participate. One

of your immigrant students never raises her hand or talks in
class. She won’t even talk when you place them in small
groups. She does her work well and seems to be
understanding. When you talk to her about it, she only
Scenario Three:

You want all your parents to advocate for their children. This
means volunteering for some event during the year, whether
PTA or field trips, or as a classroom volunteer. One of the
parents of an immigrant student has never volunteered nor
do they respond to your requests.
Scenario Four:

You notice that one of your students hasn’t been eating lunch
all week. You are worried about him so you offer him a
granola bar when he gets back to class. He politely refuses,
but you urge him again. He begins to cry. You send a note
home to the parents letting them know that their son isn’t
eating.
After they are finished discussing at their table groups, have one person
from each group share their findings about the scenario they discussed.

________________________________________________________
10:45-11:15 Learning Styles
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will analyze the different learning styles and apply
the analysis to the students in their own classroom.

Focus Question: How can teachers adjust their classroom expectations to

include different learning styles?

Immigrant student may have no prior schooling experience or a strong

foundation. They may be academically behind or academically ahead.
Learning styles of immigrants vary based on culture and educational
experience. Learning styles in the U.S. may be confusing to newly arrived
students.

Emotional Style: May immigrant students report feeling uncomfortable

with the loud, noisy, informal and competitive classrooms in the U.S. Being
rewarded for good behavior in front of the entire class may embarrass some
immigrant students. Many immigrants are accustomed to highly strict and
structured classroom environments. They may misread a teacher’s
friendliness and be reluctant to offer opinions that differ from the teacher.

Sociological Style: While many classrooms in the U.S. may focus on the
individual with a focus on critical thinking skills, verbal participation,
inductive reasoning and problem solving skills. Many immigrants may be
accustomed to more structured ways of learning and more demanding
workloads. They may be accustomed to learning through observation and
listening, instead of verbal participation. They may be accustomed to
performing a task with the help of an “expert” rather than performing an
experiment on their own. They may be accustomed to “saving face” rather
than providing the correct answer (because they don’t want to stand out).

Activity: Think, pair, share, switch…In view of the Emotional and

Sociological learning styles of different cultures. Participants will reflect on
the following questions and then share in their partner groups. The
facilitator will tell participants when to switch (apx 5 minutes each pair,
share), then they will find a new partner and continue the discussion in light
of the information gained.
Think: In light of the different Emotional and Sociological learning styles,
think of a immigrant student you’ve had in the past or currently have (no
names) and describe his/her possible Emotional and Sociological learning
style.

Pair, Share: Participants will discuss the “think” with their partner, together
participants will develop one strategy each that could give support to the
student’s Emotional or Sociological style.

Switch: Facilitator will call for participants to switch to a new partner,

discuss the same Pair, Share topic and develop a different strategy than the
one previously discussed. By the time participants have rotated 3 times,
they will have 3 strategies to help with that student.

________________________________________________________
11:15-11:30 Break
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
11:30-12:00 Identity
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will distinguish the different types of identities and
factors which form them.

Activity: Have people fill out the web of identities in their programs for
themselves. Have them discuss in groups about the differences and how
that affects their individual identities.

Focus Question- How can teachers influence these three realms of identity
for immigrants?

“Immigrant Identity is not the same, we can’t lump them all

into ELL programs and think that we’re helping them, while
treating them all the same.”

• Social Mirror- “Who do I say I am, who do others say I am.”

o Identity is partly shaped by the recognition, lack of recognition or
 misrecognition of others, which can cause serious harm to
immigrant children. (Suárez-Orozco and Suárez Orozco, 2001).

o Negative Social Mirror: Low expectations, thinking immigrants

are lazy, communicating the myths.

o Positive Social Mirror: The opposite of negative social mirroring,

thinking students are extra smart (i.e. Asians are good at math).

• Ethnic Identity
o “Ethnic Identity refers to a feeling shared by individuals in a
given group and based on a sense of common origin, common
beliefs and values, common goals, and shared destiny. “ Suárez
and Orozco (2001).

o Ethnic Flight- immigrants who more strongly identify with the

mainstream culture than their natal culture. They will mimic the
dominate culture in an attempt to belong.

o Adversarial- immigrants who believe that identifying with the

dominant group means giving up their own ethnic identity,
“acting white”. School is viewed as a dominant institution, so
children who have adversarial identities are more likely to do
poorly in school.

o Bucultural- immigrants who identify with both the mainstream

and native cultures. They create hybrid identities, will be
bilingual, have friends and networks in both culture groups.
These students are the healthiest and most successful in school.

• Academic Identity
Children form identities based on how they see themselves combined
with what their families expect from them, combined with how their
friends, teachers and communities see them. Positive Academic
Identities form when they see themselves as part of the group of
students who can be successful, oppositional academic identities form
when they view school success as part of the dominant culture and not
their own. Students may say of other’s who are doing well in school,
“they’re acting white”.

There are more than these three types of identifications, but for the
sake of time and applicability to school, we will focus on just these
three.
Identity Factor Web

Age Language
Ethnicity

E
My culture

Country Race
of Birth

Name

Gender
Family

My groups
Religion

Work Social
Class

How do others see me?

 

 
 ________________________________________________________
12:00-12:15 Self-Assessment
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will reflect on their own classroom in view of
workshop information on immigration.
Checklist for measuring the immigrant-friendliness of your classroom.
Always Usually Rarely Never

Am I familiar with the values, traditions, and customs of students

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

students to better communicate with them?

Do I encourage immigrant parents to help their children maintain

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

appropriate instruction before referring an immigrant student to remedial classes?

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

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

represented in my classroom?
________________________________________________________
12:15-12:30 Debriefing and Closing
________________________________________________________
Objective: Participants will identify characteristics of immigrant responsive
education and make a plan to implement some of the characteristics.

Focus Question: Why not give teachers strategies to work with

immigrants?

 Because no strategies can apply to all immigrants. Immigrant

responsive education requires a unique approach for every
immigrant because they are incredibly diverse (ethnically,
historically, socially, linguistically, etc…). This workshop aimed
at giving participants the knowledge and questions to ask in
order to develop strategies that will work within their own
classroom.

Activity: In their programs have them write down 3 new things they learned today
that they could implement in their classrooms.

Closing: Have everyone read Quote from 1917 immigration act and decipher
where it comes from.

People excluded from entering the United States include:

... "all idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons; persons
who have had one or more attacks of insanity at any time previously; persons of
constitutional psychopathic inferiority; persons with chronic alcoholism; paupers;
professional beggars; vagrants; persons afflicted with tuberculosis in any form or
with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease; persons not comprehended
within any of the foregoing excluded classes who are found to be and are certified
by the examining surgeon as being mentally or physically defective, such physical
defect being of a nature which may affect the ability of such alien to earn a living;
persons who have been convicted of or admit having committed a felony or other
crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; polygamists, or persons who
practice polygamy or believe in or advocate the practice of polygamy; anarchists, or
persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the
Government of the United States."

• Different from the quote on the Statue of Liberty which was engraved
on a gold plaque in 1903

Thank You
 References
Abad, N.S. & Sheldon, K.M. (2008). Parental autonomy support and ethnic culture

identification

among second-generation immigrants. Journal of Family Psychology. 22 (3),

652-657.

Akiba, D. (2007). Ethnic retention as a predictor of academic success: lessons from

the children

of immigrant families and black children. Clearing House. 80 (5), 223-225.

Beutle, M.E., Briggs, M., Hornibrook-Hehr,D.,& Warren-Sams, B. (2001). Improving

education for

immigrant students. Northwest Regional Educational Library. Retrieved April

20, 2009, from

http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/booklets/immigration/

Castles, S., & Miller, M. (2003). The age of migration. New York: The Gilford Press.

Larsen, L.J. (2004). The foreign-born population in the united states. 2003. Current

Population Reports,

pp. 20-551, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, D.C. Retrieved April 20, 2009,

from

http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-551.pdf

Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. (2006). Immigrant america a portrait. Berkley, CA:

University of

California Press.

Rong, X.L., & Preissle, J. (1998). Educating immigrant students. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Corwin Press, Inc.

Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M.M. (2001). Children of immigration.

Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.