A Faculty Reflection and Invitation
When I taught in New Haven, CT, our school held several roles: the place where everyone wanted to perform because our auditorium and stage were gorgeous; a community health center with a fantastic nurse named Tammy; a meeting space for the community; classrooms for adult ESL and other topics run by Junta for Progressive Action. In addition to all of this, we had a bilingual program, working with students and families from all over Latin America, some with legal status and others perhaps not. And, our school was the Newcomer School for asylum seekers and asylees, New Americans who moved into the city from all over the world. No matter where in the city they lived, or what grade they were in (as long as it fell in the preK-8 range), they were welcomed in full force into our school community.
My time in Philadelphia was equally warm. A community grounded in generations of Puerto Rican families moving into what had once been an Italian neighborhood, the connections within the neighborhood were strong. Through my time there, we welcomed more and more families from Central America. I remember one student who I met the first day he came to school: how angry he was to be away from home; how protective he was of his little sister; how his sister looked up to him with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen; how scared his mom was of being sent back. He was a great soccer player and a dedicated student, even if he wouldn’t admit it, and by the time he was in 4th grade he would run up and hug me every time I saw him in the hall. I remember having to say goodbye to them when I moved to the Upper Valley, and wonder how they are doing now.
Through the eyes and lives of our families and students I witnessed the joys and wealth of knowledge that grow from such multilingual and multicultural environments, the dreams our students and their families held, and the lengths our communities would go to help them get there. I also learned about their fears: how students as young as 6 knew when a blanket of danger fell upon the neighborhood; how 8th grade girls would jump at a book falling off a desk. I saw the work our community partner, IRIS, put in to ensure our asylum seeker and asylee families had stable housing with heat, and a backpack for their kids to bring to school.
In order for students to thrive, schools should be places of joyful, equitable, deeper learning where students are invited to show up as their whole authentic selves.
At UVEI, our mission is to partner with school communities to engage, inspire, and challenge educators, developing their ability to make classrooms and schools places where all people belong and thrive. Our Core Values, including equity and justice, integrity, relationships, and voice, ground our practices, animate our work as faculty and staff, and outline what we value in education communities and organizations more broadly. To that end, we know that family to school connections are a critical support for student learning and school effectiveness. Moreover, public schools are responsible for providing a welcoming and caring education for all students. In order for students to thrive, schools should be places of joyful, equitable, deeper learning where students are invited to show up as their whole authentic selves.
Earlier this year, I was in a zoom meeting with a teacher I coach when one of her young students walked in. She smiled brightly as they were talking, and when they had finished she said to the student, “Ms. Monica speaks Spanish!” The student turned to me with wide eyes as I introduced myself. We chatted for a bit, and they ended up telling me all about their town in Ecuador, concluding that I MUST go visit.
Over the past couple of months, this teacher and many others have shared that they have seen fewer of their immigrant and asylee students at schools or walking down our main streets. They see the fear running through immigrant and asylee communities, and they have questions about what they can and should do to support them. We know that involving schools in policies that break up loving families and cause fear will almost certainly undermine trust and school effectiveness. So how do we create schools where students and their families feel safe?
In response to these real and current needs, I worked with educators and educational leaders from around the state to develop and co-facilitate a training on supporting immigrant students and families. I hope you’ll join me.
Invitation from the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont:
Supporting Immigrant Students and Families: Resources and Tools for School Workers (register here)
Monday, March 3, 2025
3:30 PM-5:00 PM
Join us to create sanctuary schools for all students and communities in Vermont!
What: This training will function as both a “train-the-trainers” event as well as a general Know Your Rights overview for school workers and community advocates. Participants will learn about the key legal foundations that guarantee education to all students, regardless of immigration status, the legal foundation and best practices that schools and educators should use while interacting with ICE, and how to ensure that students, staff, and community members all understand the rights of immigrants without legal status in the United States. Panelists include educators working in both Vermont and New Hampshire, the superintendent of the Winooski School District, and a lawyer from the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, who will all be available to answer questions as they arise.
Everyone will leave with practical tools, a variety of resources, and action steps to educate and empower immigrants in their communities, ensuring they have the information and support needed to navigate legal and social challenges.
When: Monday, March 3rd with from 3:30-5:00 EST
Where: This is an online training and the Zoom will be emailed to you after you register.
Sliding Scale Ticket to Fund VAAP (Vermont Asylum Assistance Project): Right now VAAP is doing critical work to support immigrants and may lose federal funding. A VAAP immigration lawyer will be at this event to answer questions (not give legal advice). All funds will be given as an honorarium to support this work. AND anyone is also welcome to come for free!
I (Monica) am an organizer and participant in the Ed Justice Coalition and contributed to the resources we are offering in this workshop. Want to learn more about Ed Justice Coalition’s work? Visit their website at https://edjcoalitionvt.org/. Can’t make it to the workshop but want some of the resources? Here is Ed Justice Coalition’s resource bank of immediate actions districts, schools and educators can take to support immigrant students and families. Some districts are working on new policies, and you can find a model policy here. You can also contact me anytime at mnachemja-bunton@uvei.org if you have questions.
Monica Nachemja-Bunton is a faculty member in UVEI’s teaching, literacy, and leadership programs, and has also written reflections on serving multilingual learners in Vermont and teacher leadership in culturally responsive instruction.
