Puzzles to Solve Welcoming refugee students to Dublin

This spring, Musa Hussaini sat outside a classroom and reviewed flashcards with two English Learner (EL) students at Wright Elementary. As an Afghan Family Liaison at Dublin City Schools, Musa spends his days interpreting and translating for students experiencing challenges he understands far too well.

Less than two years ago, Hussaini and his family were among thousands evacuating Afghanistan after President Biden enacted Operation Allies Welcome. Led by the Department of Homeland Security, Operation Allies Welcome is an ongoing effort to resettle vulnerable Afghan allies who worked for the United States in Afghanistan the past two decades. Since the fall of 2021, 76,000 Afghan refugees have come to the U.S. as humanitarian parolees, a temporary immigration status that allows refugees to live and work in America, but does not guarantee permanent residency. Over 1,700 of those refugees have settled in central Ohio.

Hussaini, who is fluent in both English and Dari, was an interpreter for the U.S. government. Fearing prosecution or suffering due to his alliance, Hussaini, his wife and children fled Afghanistan through the evacuation process in Kabul. After arriving at a port of entry, the Hussaini family was processed and vetted through a U.S. military facility before being connected with US Together, a resettlement agency that provides refugee and immigrant integration programs around Ohio. Aided by US Together, the family settled in Columbus with limited resources and belongings, but a lot of hope.

With some knowledge of American culture and the English language, Hussaini quickly found a calling in helping other Afghan families with their transition to the U.S.

“There are many Afghan families here who do not speak any English, so I began helping them with paying bills, going to doctor’s appointments, applying for jobs, and enrolling in public school,” Hussaini says. “They have nothing, no knowledge of the language, the foods or the culture, and so I try to help with what I know.”

It was through this volunteer work with neighbors and local Afghan communities that Hussaini discovered an opportunity to use his experience to help others.

Taking Responsibility

As the number of Afghan families settling in central Ohio has risen, so, too, has the number of Afghan students in local schools, with Dublin City Schools being no exception. The district enrolled numerous Afghan refugees as students for the 2022-2023 school year, but did not have staff fluent in Afghanistan’s Dari and Pashto languages to provide sufficient academic support to students. The district’s EL team partnered with the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (ESCCO) to create two positions for Afghan Family Liaisons who could assist teachers in reviewing and reinforcing lessons to Afghan students with limited English proficiency. In January, Dublin City Schools hired Hussaini, who works with students in grades K-5, and his counterpart, Ayoub Hotak, who focuses on students in grades 6-12. Hotak and his family arrived from Afghanistan and settled in Ohio a decade ago. He uses his experiences from working at the Islamic Cultural Center to connect with students and help them learn about American culture, the laws, the communication, and even the body language.

“While some of our refugee students have had schooling and know some English, others who lived in more rural areas of Afghanistan arrived with emerging reading and writing skills, even in their native language. So these positions, Musa and Ayoub, they are invaluable,” says Teresa Troyer, an EL lead for the district.

Teresa has also been instrumental in assisting the district with transitioning Afghan students and their families. She designed a self-paced, online course called, “Welcoming New Arrivals,” that helps staff understand the immigration and resettlement process. The course covers the major cultural differences for specific populations, as well as best practices for working with refugees, including how to properly welcome and incorporate them into the classroom. Additionally, Troyer has led in-person professional development with buildings that have large groups of refugee families, such as Wright Elementary.

When a new Afghan family arrives in the area, resettlement agencies, including US Together and Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS), contact Troyer or Erica Stone, the district’s EL coordinator. The first step for the family is to properly enroll their students in the district, a complex process with several required forms.

“We help communicate about vaccinations and the copies of documents they need to be at school,” Hotak says.

Then, Stone and Troyer work with their team to connect the family to related services and also provide each student with a backpack filled with the school supplies they will need (thanks in large part to local donors, including NBC4’s Stuff the Backpack program and One Dublin’s school supplies drive).

Always Growing

Once enrolled, the true educational journey begins.

“It starts there, and then we help with academic needs. We attend parent-teacher conferences, help teachers adapt lessons, and help students understand this new world. School is very different here compared to Afghanistan. Some schools there are desks in rows in a tent and are crowded, with many, many kids. And in some places, girls do not go to school there because the Taliban will not allow it. So for our students coming to U.S. schools, it is very different,” Hotak says.

Currently, Hussaini and Hotak serve 85 refugee students from 28 households. Their positions are funded by the Refugee School Impact Program through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They spend each day working in small groups with Afghan students, helping them to grow literacy skills in reading, writing, and comprehension. But, most importantly, they provide the support of a loving adult who understands the challenges young Afghan refugees have experienced.

“This cultural adjustment comes in continual waves. It is not a one-time adjustment, but a journey. These kids have been through a lot, seen a lot. They might be part of a family of nine living in an apartment with things that have all been donated. That isn’t what their life was like. Three years ago, they weren’t thinking about being on a plane on their way to another country. But they are here and we are ready to prepare them for success like we are for every other student,” Troyer says.

Better Together

While welcoming students from other countries can be challenging, the elite learning community at Dublin City Schools is celebrating the growth they have experienced as a result of welcoming diverse students. The district, whose student body represents 100 countries and speaks more than 80 different languages, has the sixth highest number of English Learners in Ohio.

“Having students who are not native to the U.S. provides us a real opportunity to reflect on our teaching and communications practices. We look at inclusivity and we strive to not see barriers, but to see what we can do to get families connected to what they need so they can thrive. We want our teachers to use our family liaisons as a resource to support their own learning and professional growth so they are also making connections with new student experiences and cultures,” Troyer says.

In fact, the Dublin City Schools staff have gone above and beyond in connecting and collaborating with EL families by forming a welcome team through CRIS. A group of staff from the Academic and Student Services Department volunteered to welcome a family and spent six months helping them furnish and decorate their apartment. They also helped raise one month’s rent for the family, took the children shopping, hosted the family at a hockey game, and helped the parents visit the Dublin Food Pantry and One Dublin. The district is also a site for both school day and afterschool programs through Columbus Literacy Council (CLC) and US Together. These programs support new arrival students with small group coaching, job shadowing, goal setting, college visits, study habits, managing stress and more. Hussaini and Hotak help with the after school groups, elevating their impact on refugee students.

Looking ahead, Troyer says the district does not know how many more refugee students they may welcome in the future. But the EL team does have goals to continue to grow hospitality and support for students.

“There are certainly more puzzles to solve. When students come from experiences that match your own, there isn’t an uncomfortableness, but when students and their experiences are so different, that’s the real opportunity,” she says. “People know when you’re trying, even when it’s hard.”

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