"Most people are going to come here for one reason: education.
Through education...that is how they will change their life."
- a Congolese student
(Netsch, Terrell, Mayorga, Al Awadh, & Kulia, 2017).
30%The population of English learners in the Perry Township system has grown significantly in the past decade. By the start of the 2017-2018 school year, 30% of Perry Township students are English learners (Nesch, Terrell, & Mayorga, 2017). Seventy-three languages are spoken in the homes of our Perry Township students (Kim, 2016). Those students are new immigrants with no English proficiency, level 5 program graduates, and every possible level in between. While language is the most obvious need to be addressed, it is important that we address the cultural differences, as well...and learning about these students is a first step.
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Growing Populations
Clearly our largest international population is that of the Burmese refugees. When we welcomed the first students from Burma/Myanmar, we had a lot to learn in order better understand their culture. As we approach the United Nations limit for refugees from Burma/Myanmar, we are seeing an uptick in refugees from other cultures and we face similar cultural challenges (Refugee, 2017).
The goal of these pages is to provide a primer as we start to get acquainted with students from our next three largest refugee populations: Congolese, Somali, and Syrian students (Refugee, 2017).
Click the link below to have a look at the process that our refugee students go through in order to get here, and then continue to look at a cultural overview for each group. Please complete the reflection survey at the end.
<Next - Refugee Process>
The goal of these pages is to provide a primer as we start to get acquainted with students from our next three largest refugee populations: Congolese, Somali, and Syrian students (Refugee, 2017).
Click the link below to have a look at the process that our refugee students go through in order to get here, and then continue to look at a cultural overview for each group. Please complete the reflection survey at the end.
<Next - Refugee Process>
Works Cited
Kim, S. (2016, October 26). Perry English learners. Lecture presented at PMHS cluster development in Perry Meridian High School,
Indianapolis.
Netsch, L., Terrell, H., Mayorga, G., Al Awadh, H., & Kulia, G. (2017, June 20). The cultures of Perry Township. Lecture presented at Perry
Township Professional Development in Southport Middle School, Indianapolis.
Netsch, L. Terrell, H., & Mayorga, G. (2017, June 23). 99 content ideas for SIOP 2017. Lecture presented at Perry Township
Professional Development in Perry Township Education Center, Indianapolis.
Refugee facts & figures. (2017.). Retrieved from https://www.exodusrefugee.org/about-us/who-we-serve/facts-figures/
State report overview: 2016-2017. (2016, September). Retrieved from https://compass.doe.in.gov/dashboard/statereports.aspx?
type=corp&id=5340