Willmar Schools’ cultural liaisons help kids and their families adjust, get involved

Lakeland Elementary School cultural liaison Sary “Miny” Miley greets kindergartener Brissia Mejia Dubon upon her departure from the school bus bright and early on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 22. Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

BY LINDA VANDERWERF | West Central Tribune

WILLMAR — The bilingual cultural liaisons employed by Willmar Public Schools are there to help immigrant or refugee students make their way through school in a new language and new country.

But there’s more to it than that.

The liaisons’ work reaches beyond the schools to help the whole community.

Most school buildings in the district have a Spanish-speaking and a Somali-speaking liaison on staff. Several more are assigned to the school district office, including one who speaks Karen. Willmar has a growing population of Karen people, an ethnic group from Myanmar.

Some current liaisons were kids who needed liaisons’ help when they moved to Willmar.

Abdullahi Ibrahim, 26, a liaison at Willmar Senior High School, said his family moved to the United States when he was in fourth grade. After several months in Dallas, the family moved to Willmar.

He had learned some English in school in Kenya, but everything else was new, he said.

For Ifrah Sabri, 27, a cultural liaison who spoke the same language as she did helped her understand, at the age of 12, that people speaking English around her were not talking about her or laughing at her.

Sabri said she is happy to be helping other children now as a liaison at Lakeland Elementary School.

Newcomer children can feel as though they’ve walked into a dark room, “and we are the light,” she said. Another part of a liaison’s job is to help children’s families understand the school system in their new country. They translate for conferences and translate notes to be sent home.

“It starts with ‘all children must go to school,’” said Sary “Miny” Miley, a liaison at Lakeland Elementary. Not all countries have that requirement, she said.

“We try to connect them with the community,” she added. Miley, 55, was one of the original liaisons in the mid-2000s. She is from Mexico and moved to the United States in her 20s.

You need to be there for them and listen to them. They’re thrown here in a school with a language they don’t know. — Giovanna Martinez

Liaisons can help kids and families learn how to use public transportation, get vaccinations for children and find other things they need.

“They get the rules to survive,” Miley said. Giovanna Martinez, 29, a liaison at Willmar Middle School, was born in Willmar to Spanish-speaking parents. Her first language was Spanish. She was placed in English Language Learner classes at first and became a fluent English speaker through her school years.

Karen Douglass, who works as the assistant director of teaching and learning, left, Lakeland Elementary School cultural liaison Sary “Miny” Miley, center, and Giovanna Martinez, cultural liaison from Willmar Middle School, speak about their role in helping students adapt to Willmar Public Schools on Friday, Sept. 16.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

While some might hesitate to work with kids in grades 6-8, Martinez said she likes the Willmar Middle School kids.

“They get close to you and tell you why they came, how they came,” she said. “You can build a bond.”

Lately, there have been many newcomers from Nicaragua. Some of the kids have family members who are still in their home country, and some have come to live with a parent or relative they may not have seen for years.

“You need to be there for them and listen to them,” she said. “They’re thrown here in a school with a language they don’t know.”

Lakeland Elementary School cultural liaison Ifrah Sabri helps first-grade student Harper Kells feel more comfortable in her classroom at the start of the school day on Thursday, Sept. 22.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Ibrahim said, he, too, enjoys the age group he’s working with. When they are at the 9-12 Senior High School, they know they’re “not going to be spoiled,” he said. They are more serious, working hard and focusing on the need to earn credits and graduate.

He tries to give them encouragement and talk to them about what they’ll do after graduation, he said. The high school liaisons run an after-school study hall for homework help.

He and the others recommend that students get involved in sports and activities.

Willmar Senior High School cultural liaison Abdullahi Ibrahim speaks about his work with high school students on Friday, Sept. 16.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Sabri said she tells parents the physical activity can be tied to brain/academic fitness for their kids.

Lots of kids tend to gravitate toward them, the liaisons said.

“When students see you helping, you look more approachable,” Martinez said.

Miley and Sabri greet students getting off the bus in the morning and make sure they get safely into the building. They will check on students in their classrooms, and contact parents when needed.

“If you see a kid having a hard time, give them a hug, make sure they are safe,” Sabri said.

Lakeland Elementary School cultural liaison Ifrah Sabri greets Naima Hussein as she arrives at school at the start of the day on Thursday, Sept. 22.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

It’s not only the kids they work with who are drawn to them.

Miley said she can be holding the hand of a newcomer child on the way to the playground, and a child she doesn’t know will take her other hand.

“Kids feel safe when we are there,” she said.

All the advice they give students and send to parents spreads into the community, too.

“It’s definitely a chain, from us to students to siblings to families,” she said. She has seen kids she’s worked with translating for their families in stores.

“We view the liaisons as our link between the school and the community,” said Karen Douglass, the district’s assistant director of teaching and learning. “We want success for all the children.”