Excerpt
SUMMARY: Around the nation, cities that take in refugees face the challenge of how to educate young people who speak little or no English. The NewsHour’s April Brown visits Houston, now the most diverse city in the U.S., where Las Americas Newcomer School teaches both the ABCs and the basics of life in a new country.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): As we mentioned earlier in the program, there’s an ongoing debate over whether the U.S. should accept Syrian refugees following the attacks in Paris.
Many American cities already regularly take in refugees, not just from Syria, but from around the world. One of the major challenges those cities face is how to educate the children, who typically speak little or no English.
April Brown visited one school in Houston, Texas, taking on that challenge.
The report is part of our American Graduate series, a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
APRIL BROWN (NewsHour): This 12-year old boy is one of thousands of children who’ve made the dangerous journey from Latin America in search of a brighter future.
Jose, who asked us not to use his real name, came to Houston with his brother and aunt from El Salvador, a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Can you tell me what happened in your city, why you left?
JOSE, Student: Because there is too much guns, and then they can kill you.
APRIL BROWN: Jose, who spoke no English when he arrived, is just one of a growing number of immigrant and refugee students finding a new home in Houston. The city has become increasingly attractive to foreigners fleeing their homelands.
ALI AL SUDANI, Interfaith Ministries For Greater Houston: The reasons why Houston is a top destination for refugees is affordable cost of living, vibrant economy, welcoming environment, big support from the local communities and from the faith communities.
APRIL BROWN: Ali Al Sudani is head of refugee services at Interfaith Ministries, a resettlement organization that helps newcomers with everything from housing and job training to finding schools for their children.
Al Sudani is a refugee himself who came to the U.S. from Iraq three years ago after serving as a military translator. For immigrant and refugee students, he often recommends the Las Americas Newcomer School, where Jose enrolled in August.
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