IMMIGRANTS - Lesson From Canada

I love the U.S., but I also know that we are not perfect.  There is always room for improvement.

"What the U.S. could learn from Canada about integrating immigrant students" PBS NewsHour 4/3/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In Canadian public schools, the children of new immigrants do as well as native-born children within three years of arriving.  There kids don't just get language and academic support; their home cultures are celebrated as they are integrated into classes.  And strong social services and healthy education funding help too.  Special correspondent Kavitha Cardoza of Education Week reports.

Judy Woodruff (NewsHour):  The United States a Canada have a lot in common.  But when it comes to education outcomes, the two are very different.

Unlike the U.S., Canada is one of the top performing education systems in the world.  It does a good job educating its English-language learners.  Within three years of arriving in Canada’s public schools, children of new immigrants do as well as native-born children.
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Kavitha Cardoza, Education Week:  Three-fourths of the 500 students at Islington Junior Middle School speak a language other than English at home, including Somali, Korean, and Russian.

It mirrors the diversity of Toronto, where almost half the population was born in a different country.  Every afternoon, all English learners join regular classes.  This intentional integration is meant to help them feel part of the larger school.