Rana steps off the bus on her first day of 6th grade and takes a deep breath. She looks down at the schedule in her hands and starts to worry as her thoughts spiral:
“There are so many classes. What if I get lost and I’m late? What if I forget English and don’t understand what someone says to me? What if I need help?”*
A few weeks earlier, Rana’s dad had expressed similar concerns to a Refugee Hope Partners staff member. “I went to school in Afghanistan, but I don’t understand this school system,”*he said. “My family and I have lived here for three years, and my kids have good English, but I’m still worried about Rana adjusting to middle school. It’s a big change, and I don’t know how to help her.” The staff member assured Rana’s dad that RHP would be there to support Rana and her parents through every step of middle school.
As Rana walks into the building, the first person she sees is her ESL teacher waving hello. She walks past the office and notices another familiar face at the front desk. Just last week, Rana was able to meet her teachers and staff, and take a tour of the school, at a special 6th grade orientation set up by Refugee Hope Partners. She looks up and breathes a sigh of relief when she recognizes where she is. She walks down the hall to her first class.
After school, Rana excitedly walks into Homework Help and tells a volunteer all about her day. Together, they review Rana’s schedule so she knows where to go tomorrow, and the volunteer helps her set up a system in her notebook for keeping track of assignments. Rana leaves Homework Help feeling confident about her 6th grade year.
For many refugees like Rana, entering middle school poses a whole new set of challenges to life in the U.S. Even when parents have educational experience in their home countries, and their children have attended elementary school in America, middle school can still feel completely foreign. Refugee Hope Partners staff work to build strong relationships with schools in order to set up refugee students for success.
As a result of these partnerships, one Wake County middle school now offers a separate 6th grade orientation just for refugee students, where kids can tour the school at a slower pace and have more time to ask questions. Another school sends out schedules several weeks in advance so that ESL learners have longer to familiarize themselves with their new classes. After school each day, Homework Help is open for middle schoolers to receive guidance, and many teachers also attend to provide additional support outside the classroom.
The normal struggles of middle school are often compounded for refugee students. Both those who are newly arrived and those who have lived in the U.S. for several years can struggle with understanding the routines and expectations of middle school. Although many refugee students have strong conversational English, their language skills may not yet keep up with higher-level learning and advanced topics. Friends they made in elementary school – safe and familiar relationships – may be attending different middle school.
Refugee Hope Partners stands in the gap to support students through this important transition. With the encouragement of caring staff, volunteers, and community partners, students like Rana are not only finding their way in middle school—they are building the confidence and hope to thrive far beyond it.