However, new reports suggest that the children of unskilled immigrants who come from non-English speaking countries often do very poorly in the New York City public schools – with pathetic graduation rates. Lacking a profession and English proficiency, the parents are often helpless, as they themselves face significant obstacles to participate in their children's education.
The Department of Education (DOE) is not totally lackadaisical of this vital factor: over $7 million in grants have been made to schools to improve instruction for English language learners – which education advocates and experts applaud – but unless parents become intrinsically involved in their child's education, the grant itself would only be a stepping stone to success – not a guarantee of it.
A recent report released by Advocates for Children – a New York City advocacy organization whose mission is to promote access to the best education the city can provide for all students, especially students of color and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds – say that despite 60 percent of children in New York City public schools being immigrants or the children of immigrants, immigrant parents are often shut out of their children's schools and thus, are unable to participate in their children's education effectively. The report, Our Children, Our Schools, in collaboration with immigrant advocates and community groups throughout the city, shows that many immigrant parents remain shut out of school activities and leadership opportunities, despite the DOE's recent efforts to increase parent involvement in schools.
"There is a common misconception that immigrant parents are not interested in getting involved in school activities, but 80 percent of immigrant parents we surveyed said they would like to be more involved in their children's schools," said Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, a staff attorney in the Immigrant Students' Rights Project at Advocates for Children.
Immigrant parents interviewed for the report described being blocked at the door by school security because they do not have official identification, intimidated by school staff who are unresponsive to their needs, and discriminated against because of their background or limited-English abilities.
"I have tried to meet a Math teacher twice at the school where my boy goes to, but the security at the school did not let me in both times," says a parent of Hindu descent, living in Richmond Hills, Queens.
When asked if he had tried to talk to the teacher by phone, he says that the staff at the school became impatient with his accent and limited proficiency in English, and did not schedule an appointment for him. His son, now in eighth grade, has been struggling in several subjects – including Math. The boy, he says, often struggles when doing homework and sulks when reprimanded for his poor grades.
Research shows that family involvement is directly correlated with student success, and immigrant parent involvement can play a critical role in reversing the decline in New York City's English Language Learners (ELL) graduation rates, says the report.
Almost 150,000 New York City school students (14 percent) are in the process of learning English and are classified as ELLs. They constitute a sizable proportion of the student population. These students face huge obstacles in their journey towards academic success: not only must they learn a new language, but they must also adjust to a new country and school system – all the while trying to catch up with other students and meet promotion and graduation standards.
"Parents can be a powerful ally in the education of their children. If we're not letting immigrant families contribute, then New York City is missing out on the skills and resources of a majority of parents, resources sorely needed in these tough economic times," said Wendy Cheung, Youth and Parent Coordinator for the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.
At the core of the issue, says the report, is the inability of parents to get access to the schools in which their children are studying. Since many do not have government issued IDs, parents are nervous and afraid of the people who work in the schools. These feelings often arise previous to any contact with the schools, especially when coupled with an unfriendly reception, discrimination by school staff and fear of retaliation against their children. Hence, schools become an unwelcoming environment for immigrant parents.
In focus groups and interviews, participants explained that fear or apprehension is a major factor that limits immigrant parents' participation in the schools. Participants reported that when immigrant parents attempt to visit their children's schools, they encounter barriers that begin at the front door. As a result, parents often feel they are unable to visit or are discouraged from visiting their children's schools. The presence of security guards at the front door requesting identification creates a physical barrier to parent access, particularly for immigrant parents who may not have official identification.
Immigrant parents also reported facing discrimination in the schools on the basis of language, race and national origin. A parent in a focus group in Manhattan said that there are "certain parents with preference – racism against Hispanic parents and preference for the Americans."
Some Spanish-speaking parents in a focus group in Brooklyn spoke of witnessing discrimination against Chinese parents and said Chinese parents were treated differently from others.
Another parent in Queens said, "When you don't speak English good, they are not very nice to you in the schools." A service provider in the South Asian community said that "schools do not have the time or patience for parents with whom they cannot communicate. That leaves parents offended and schools frustrated."
Participants of the study said that translation and interpretation services are more comprehensive and more commonly provided for Spanish-speaking parents, and that parents who require services in other languages face much larger hurdles. A provider in a community organization working with Arab, North African and South Asian parents said that Bengali and Arabic-speaking parents are still not being served.
A service provider in the South Asian community reported that the parent coordinator is often hard to reach so parents go to their own respective community leaders for help instead.
Another parent explained how her son has been retaliated against because she raised concerns about his math class: "In the beginning of the ninth grade, my son was given very difficult math homework that he could not do. When I spoke to the teacher, he said he couldn't do anything for my son, and although I continued to complain to him and the head of the math department, the teacher assigned even more difficult problems. The teacher now speaks to my son in a mocking tone in class and insults him in front of the other students when he gets an answer wrong."
A service provider in the South Asian community spoke about one school where parents involved themselves in the PTA and tried to voice their concerns. In response, the PTA was completely shut down, and the school now makes major decisions without consulting parents.
Another service provider that works with the same community said that parents in their community are not as involved as parents born in the United States because they come from countries where such involvement is not expected of them. She also noted that PTAs are a very American thing; thus, many parents do not know about the role of the
PTA.
One of the recommendations the report suggests is to have Chancellor Joe Klein emphasize that the New York City school system is a safe zone for immigrant families.
Executive Order 41, signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2003, ensures that immigrants may access city services regardless of immigration status. It also requires city officials to keep information about immigration status confidential unless they are required to disclose it by law.
The report also suggests ways to make written communication more effective.
Participants often complained that notices given to students never reach parents. Some parents suggested mailing home important documents instead of giving them to children to take home. Another parent suggested a correspondence notebook, as is done with elementary school children in Puerto Rico, where children take a correspondence notebook from home to school daily. The notebook is a place for teachers to send notes and notices home, and for parents to write notes to the teachers.
The report highlights successful strategies being used in schools in the City and in other states and offers 48 recommendations on how the DOE and schools can strengthen partnerships with immigrant families: creating a standing citywide advisory committee on family-school-community partnerships; holding an annual immigrant planning summit with community-based organizations, and issuing a statement that the New York City school system is a safe zone for immigrant parents.
The report recommends creating a parent welcoming /multicultural advisory committee, issuing identification cards to parents, using non-written means of communication and collaborating with Community-based Organizations to reach immigrant parents.
The report also recommends strengthening parent leadership and decision-making opportunities in the schools.
"There is a direct correlation between parents who don't understand the school system and students who fare poorly in school," says Benjamin-Gomez.
In New York City, immigrants make up 36 percent of the city's population and 43 percent of its labor force. Therefore, fostering strong family involvement in education in New York City is vital, Benjamin-Gomez points out. And the impact of the Advocates for Children report is obvious when one takes into account that ELL students currently have some of the lowest graduation rates of any student population in the city.
The New York Immigrant Coalition recently lambasted the city and the DOE, citing statistics that show decreasing graduation rates and an alarming achievement gap for students learning English.
Immigrant advocates challenged Bloomberg's and Klein's claim of progress for ELLs in the City's report, 'Diverse Learners on the Road to Success,' released last month: "Despite some significant efforts by the City to address the dropout crisis for immigrant students, the results aren't there," said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of The New York Immigration Coalition.
"Unless the City steps it up, the ELL dropout crisis will remain a huge shadow looming over the legacy of mayoral control. Clearly just as ELL students have to work harder, so does the DOE. It's time for the Mayor and the Chancellor to step up their efforts, invest in quality services for ELLs, and improve outcomes for ELL students," she added
Statistics say that barely a quarter (23 percent) of ELL students graduate high school in four years – less than half the rate ofstudents with English proficiency. This graduation rate demonstrates a three percent decrease from the 2005 four-year ELL graduation rate of 26.5 percent.
Also, only one-tenth of ELLs graduate with a Regents Diploma; in 2007, only 5 percent of ELL students in NYC met 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) standards compared with 43 percent of non-ELL students. This gap has persisted and grown over the past eight years.
ELL enrollment rates swell in 9th and 10th grade due to increases in immigrant student enrollment in those grades; however, by the 11th grade, nearly half of ELLs disappear from school rosters. These students are likely to drop out or are pushed out of school into GED programs.
Groups acknowledge some important progress that has been made with elementary school ELLs and point to the high performance of former ELLs as proof that when provided with the help they need, these students can succeed. They call for growing attention to the needs of middle school and high school students learning English, particularly those who are at the highest risk of dropping out, like students with Interrupted Formal Education and immigrant youth.
"We need to engage in a robust dialogue about how the governance system of our schools will address the needs of all communities, how school reform efforts will include immigrant students, and how immigrant parents will be involved in decisions about the future of their schools." Ana Maria Archila, co-director of Make the Road New York, said.
Klein had announced earlier this year that 110 schools will each receive up to $100,000 in grants to improve instructional services for English Language Learners – a decision welcomed by education experts and officials
"This $7 million in grants for 110 schools will go a long way in helping English language learners grow and thrive in our public schools," City Council Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson had then said.
Chung Wha-Ho agreed enthusiastically, saying that the grants will "get us off to a strong start in improving educational opportunities" for the English language learners in the DOE.
This story was written as part of an education reporting fellowship granted by New York Community Media Alliance.
