Schools prepare for immigrant and refugee children

SALT LAKE CITY — School districts across the country are preparing for over 37,000 unaccompanied immigrant children to start taking class this fall.

The amount of unaccompanied minor children coming into Utah is relatively low. Utah State Office of Education Spokesman Mark Peterson says we’re only expecting around 85.

“It’s not like California, where they have nearly 4,000 of them coming in,” he says.

Educators in Texas are expecting over 5,200, while New York could see over 4,200.

Under federal law, immigrant children are entitled to education, no matter their legal status. Peterson says they’ve been able to handle an increasing number of immigrant and refugee children coming into the state.

He says, “It’s not an unknown quality like it was years ago. We do have some experience with this.”

A large number of unaccompanied minors in Utah are refugees from war-torn countries. It’s up to their host family to have their immunizations up to date, but the school districts are in charge of making sure the child adapts to life in Utah.

Granite School District Spokesman Ben Horsley says they have a program to teach the child things like how recess works, how to open a locker and how to get help from the teacher.

Horsley says, “It gives them a chance, both the students and the parents, to get enculturated with the education system and the resources that are available to them and help them understand what’s available to help their child succeed academically.”

The workshop lasts between two to three weeks, depending on the student and how long it takes that child to understand the culture in Utah.

Horsley says, “What it also does is provide the school staff with the opportunity to do assessments and actually identify what skill sets the child already has.”