Refugee Education Program

The Pennsylvania Department of Education aims to integrate and assimilate refugee students into the public school system. Pennsylvania's Refugee Education Program offers advocacy for a special population of students and parents who otherwise may not have supports. The Department provides technical assistance and facilitates districts' capacity to:

• Connect to the appropriate refugee resettlement agency in the surrounding areas
• Identify refugee students at enrollment
• Record the achievement of refugee students so that they may contribute to increasing the overall achievement of the district
• Provide a free and appropriate education for refugee students in the least restrictive environment
• Facilitate policy, requirements, procedures and activities by providing translators and interpreters in the native languages for refugee families
• Link refugee students to supportive programs within the district to help them achieve academic and social-emotional integration
• Work with community-based organizations to support refugee youth
• Encourage refugee parents to engage in the education of their children
• Value and use the diversity that exists within the refugee community to prepare all students for global service and leadership

Resources

• PDE's Standards Aligned System (SAS)
• Refugee Resettlement in Pennsylvania
• Office of Refugee Resettlement (federal)
  • The Refugee Act of 1980
  • Chapter 420 Refugee Act (PDF)
• Refugee Admissions Report to Congress, Published annually.
• Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services (BRYCS)
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society​
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
• Administration for Children and Families - Funding Opportunities
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
• Center for Applied Linguistics​
• Refugee "Welcome to the United States Guide"
  

Resources for Teachers

• Asian Society, Partnership for Global Learning
• Immigrant Parents and Early Childhood Programs
• Immigration and Refugee Services of America (IRSA)
• Public Welfare Foundation
• Refugees International – USA
• U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR)

On the Health/Mental Health of Refugee Children

• Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, Inc. (ASTT)
• Life Transitions Center, Inc.

On Social Skills Programs

• Responsive Classroom
• Truancy Kit
• Bullying Prevention Kit
  

On Refugee Children Teaching Materials

• Cultural Orientation Resource, Center for Applied Linguistics
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Children's Books

• From Far Away, Robert Munsch
• One day we had to run: Refugee children tell their stories in words and paintings, Sybella Wilkes
• Refugees: A resource book for primary schools, Jill Rutter
• The other side of the truth, Beverly Naidoo
• Who belongs here? An American story, Mary Burns Knight
• Who belongs here? Teacher's guide, Mary Burns Knight and Thomas V. Chan
• Why do they have to fight? Refugee children's stories from Bosnia, Kurdistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka, Jill Rutter and Mano Candappa
• Enrique's Journey, Sonia Nazario

Contact

Joseph J. Eye, M.Ed. | Refugee School Impact State Coordinator
PA Department of Education |Bureau of School Support |Division of Student Services
717-783-3755 | jeye@pa.gov