Saturday, September 04, 2010
Foreign families get school system guide
Parents and students benefit greatly from a Catholic nonprofit.
Photos by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
Tina Moore, student liaison with Refugee and Immigration Services, talks with parents about acceptable footwear during Wednesday's orientation session for students from foreign countries at Virginia Heights Elementary School.
Sadichehha Sharma, a new student in the Roanoke school system this fall, listens during an orientation meeting for students from foreign countries.
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For an hour, Tina Moore stood in front of the roomful of parents, listing the forms they would have to complete.
One form states you will pay for the computer if your child breaks it. The next one involves any prior behavior problems. Another gives the school nurse permission to treat your child.
And on, and on.
For most parents, it's a dizzying routine. For the families Moore helps, it is literally a foreign language.
"The first week of school is crazy," Moore explained.
Hundreds of refugees are sent to Roanoke every year, and a Catholic nonprofit called Refugee and Immigration Services helps them settle here.
It's the job of Moore and her colleague Vivian Sanchez Jones to help these recently arrived parents understand how the American system works.
Their jobs are as much a help to parents as they are to teachers and counselors, so Roanoke and Roanoke County schools help pay their salaries. Additionally, Refugee and Immigration Services hosts an annual fundraiser walk, which is on Labor Day.
"They form a bond with these families and can bring in an interpreter if necessary and let the family know that things are going to be different, but they're going to be OK," said Barbara Carper, director of the Language Learners' Program for Roanoke schools. "Otherwise, the school would have to hire someone to do what they do."
Parents who had a high level of education in their home countries learn the system quickly, Moore said. But others who couldn't read and write even in their native language (for instance, Nepalese who have lived in refugee camps) need help with many things, such as finding a doctor or filling out school forms for more than a year.
Moore assisted parents from Iran, Iraq and Nepal during a meeting at Virginia Heights Elementary School on Thursday by showing them how to fill out the forms for themselves.
At the end of the meeting, Moore organized the dozen elementary schoolers for a photo and gave them bags filled with pencils, colored pencils and notebooks. Each year, she personally collects donations so she can give the students -- her students -- school supplies.
"I'm very passionate about my kids," she said.
