Sife student handbook

Jump to navigation. S tudents with interrupted formal education, also known by the acronym SIFE, are a relatively small proportion of recently arrived English language learners ELLs , probably somewhere between 10 and 20 percent.

Also, many tend to arrive unaccompanied as teenagers, making their need to catch up academically even more urgent. Educators and other professionals who have the responsibility and privilege of getting to know these students, and who will be helping them to reach their full potential, need to have an understanding of where these students have been and why they may have certain gaps in their academic knowledge.

Such an understanding will build empathy for these students, and it can also help classroom teachers discover the most effective methodologies and materials that will bridge the gap between what SIFE already know and can do, and what they will be expected to be able to do in their new academic setting. Since most ELLs spend the majority of their school day in mainstream classrooms, we hope that all teachers will see the value in knowing more about the background of their students and how their previous educational experiences or lack thereof impact their ability to perform on a daily basis.

Refugee children make up the second highest number, with students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Other smaller groups are composed of immigrant children from countries where schools were poorly equipped, teachers were inadequately trained, or school was not accessible due to geography, economics, or religion.

One list created by researchers 2 states that these students:. The final bullet point, the higher dropout rate of SIFE, is especially disturbing. Richard Fry, of the Pew Research Center, estimates that about 70 percent of immigrants with interrupted schooling drop out of high school! One strong possibility is that the support these students are currently receiving is not adequate to meet their needs.

In addition to the dropout rate, there is another possibility that many of these young people never bother to enroll in school at all. Kibler, Kristin W. Available In. DOI: Current Special Offers. No Current Special Offers. Abstract This chapter reviews the academic literature on late-entering students with interrupted formal education SIFE , many of whom are refugees or asylum seekers, in order to gain a better understanding of how to serve these students and support their teachers.

The literature suggests that school personnel who are serving late-entering SIFE i. The purpose of this chapter is to provide recommendations for district-wide professional learning based upon the challenges and promising practices that emerged in the literature review.

Although this chapter focuses on the educational context in the United States, the recommendations may apply elsewhere. Students may be facing complex identity issues, culture shock, and a sense of loss of having left their home behind, particularly if they didn't want to move to a new country p.

Newcomer centers and programs are very effective when a district needs to meet the needs of many SIFEs. A newcomer center may provide numerous services included in the newcomer program, such as academic support, language instruction, an introduction to basic school activities and skills, and community resources for immigrant families p. Enrollment in a newcomer program, which is often transitional, allows the student time to adjust to the U.

Even as SIFEs learn the basics such as the alphabet or how to hold a pencil, they can also begin developing academic content concepts and language through bilingual or sheltered instruction content courses. When SIFEs leave an effective program at a newcomer center after years and transition to a mainstream educational environment, they will be much better prepared to participate successfully.

Create collaboration models across high school academic departments to support simultaneous linguistic and academic development p. A collaborative instructional model reinforces student learning and accelerates SIFEs' academic progress. For elementary-level teachers this may come more easily since classroom teachers are responsible for more than one subject, and they often work collaboratively in grade-level teams.

Schools that are prepared to meet the needs of students with interrupted formal education do not require classroom teachers or individual resource teachers to take on these responsibilities alone. Instead, administrators, counselors, classroom teachers and resource teachers need to work together to ensure that the students and their families have the necessary information needed to provide school supplies, documentation for meal programs, and other requisites for assimilation.

Working together to create a climate of acceptance and accountability ensures that the student's academic success is secured on many levels. For example, if students are learning about aquatic life in science, the math teacher can teach mathematical examples that reinforce the scientific concepts while applying math skills, and the language arts teacher can review the language structures and vocabulary used in the math problems and science lessons being taught. Teachers who collaborate have the opportunity to be intentional about the academic language and skills they want students to learn and practice, and they will begin to make connections across content areas to reinforce learning.

A flexible schedule allows students with interrupted schooling the opportunity to balance home and school responsibilities, a chance to spend extra time in school to accelerate learning, and the opportunity to keep working while attending school. Without an education or fluency in English, students may not have a lot of choice as to what kind of job they find or the hours they work.

It is common for SIFEs to have to work very late hours or two jobs, and this becomes a barrier to education due to fatigue and conflict with the school schedule. If there comes a point in which the students cannot both work and attend school, they may choose to drop out of school in favor of working without realizing that "the educational sacrifices made for short-term financial gain tend to lead to limited long-term financial success.

Schools that can offer "non-traditional" school hours, such as afternoon, evening, or Saturday schedules, will help more SIFEs have access to education. Also, schools that offer longer school hours and a year-round school calendar ensure that there are many opportunities for students to make up for lost time p. Sheltered instruction is English-language instruction that is modified so that subject matter is more comprehensible to students with limited vocabularies American Federation of Teachers, Even though state-wide standards in their original format may be too advanced for SIFEs, it is possible to adapt standards-based lessons so that they cover the most important information in a way that is accessible, culturally relevant, and age-appropriate.

Instead of giving a 2nd-grade book to a year-old immigrant from Ghana who reads at a 2nd-grade level, a teacher might work, for example, with the social studies instructor and provide the student with ESL materials on U. Among some of the most important recommendations include explicit instruction in an age-appropriate manner of the five components of reading - phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension p. SIFEs may also benefit from increased time in language development or ESL courses, particularly if the class sizes are small.

Teach students learning strategies that they can use in the future. These strategies may include how to recognize cognates, looking for the heading of a chapter in pre-reading exercises, using a dictionary, or how to take effective notes p. Remember that SIFEs haven't learned the basic skills that many students have learned at a young age, and may have no background knowledge in the areas that you expect them to have learned.

Build partnerships with local businesses, higher education and adult education programs p. It can be very helpful for schools to make a partnership with local businesses, adult basic education, or higher education programs in order to provide a seamless transition for SIFEs who will need more than four years to graduate or are older and will "age-out" before completing high school graduation requirements.

Students are allowed to attend high school until the age of 21, and if a connection exists with the adult basic education or local higher education institution, SIFEs are much more likely to continue their education and complete a high school degree. A connection with a local business may also boost students' confidence and provide opportunities that might not have been available.

Community resources can be a very powerful tool in meeting the needs of SIFEs. The saying, "It takes a whole village to raise a child" became popular for a reason - it's true. Isolation and discouragement can be two negative and powerful influences on a SIFE student's education.

The more SIFEs feel connected and supported, the more likely they will be to rebound from health, economic, or cultural challenges. A Newcomer Center is often well-connected with such community resources and likely offers community organization services on-site to the students. SIFEs will flourish in an educational environment that is reflective of their academic and cultural needs, with an emphasis on intentional instruction to enrich their knowledge.

Even if you or your school can't implement some of the bigger measures mentioned above, there are many things you can do in your classroom:. Activate prior knowledge. Once you know what prior information your students have, then you want to link the new information to what they already understand. All sections have been produced by literacy experts, writers, and editors who are native speakers of the above languages.

This curriculum is intended to meet the needs of SIFE who are at 3rd grade level or below in home language literacy in secondary middle and high school where the instructional gap tends to be the greatest. The curriculum offers a rigorous and accelerated framework aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards CCLS for providing students with the content, language, and literacy necessary for achieving academic progress and success. The manual was created for educators across New York State who are looking for guidance and best practices around intake, programming, instruction and assessment for SIFE.

The guidance provided in this manual can help schools and districts reflect on ways to strengthen the services and instruction they provide these students. McNamara, S. The International High School is a New York City public school dedicated to serving newly arrived immigrant teenagers, with more than students speaking two-dozen languages from 50 countries. For more information about how you can view the film and host a screening at your school, visit the I Learn America website.