Newcomer & Immigrant Supports
Building welcoming, inclusive school spaces where immigrant students feel seen and supported.
You’re seeing more newcomer students in your schools —each with their own stories, strengths, and challenges – and you want them to succeed.
You may have some supports in place, but you know there’s more to be done. Teachers are asking for help. But with already-stretched staff, full PD calendars, and so many competing priorities, it’s hard to know where to start.
And while language development matters, you know that for newcomer students to truly learn and thrive, they also need social-emotional support and help connecting to a new community.
That’s where we come in.
We help schools and districts move from piecemeal efforts to coherent strategies that support newcomer students academically, socially, and emotionally. Together, we create practical structures and shared understanding so staff feel more confident, students feel more connected, and families feel genuinely welcomed.
Our work leaves teams with stronger systems, more aligned practices, and real momentum — not just for newcomers, but for the entire school community.
We’ve walked alongside students, families, educators, and district leaders in the work of welcoming newcomers. With lived experience as multilingual learners and decades in classrooms and communities, we bring research-backed, practice-shaped insight—training teachers, coaching leaders, advising on strategy, and sharing our learning through publications on immigrant youth and inclusive schools.
Heartwise Presents
NEW Workshop Series:
Newcomer Teacher Professional Development
Newcomers – immigrants in their first years of U.S. schooling – are growing in schools. Despite their increasing numbers, many educators struggle to support these language learners.
Join a community of peers committed to helping newcomer students succeed in and beyond the classroom.
Learn More ➜
“I enjoyed the environment you created and the safe space for conversations”
– Newcomer Teacher
Staff Professional Development
Supporting newcomer students takes all of us — and with the right tools and shared learning, every adult can help them thrive.
We provide targeted professional development for educators and staff to build a shared foundation of understanding of the strengths and needs of your newest learners – and what they need from us to succeed.
Sample topics for professional learning sessions or workshops include:
Understanding the social context of newcomer students locally and nationally.
Creating safe, supportive, and trauma-sensitive classrooms.
Identifying and responding to students’ social-emotional needs.
Helping students build confidence in the classroom.
Differentiating support for grade-level instruction.
Leveraging students’ home languages to support student engagement and grade-level learning.
Building relationships with newcomer families, even across language and cultural differences.
Helping connect newcomers to their new community.
So every newcomer student experiences a caring, responsive, environment, no matter what classroom they’re in.
Whether you’re just getting started or developing an existing program, we help district and school leaders take a more intentional approach — grounded in research and reflective of your local context. We help you build on what's already in place and align the many moving parts to strengthen a holistic system of supports.
We can help program leaders:
Program Strategy & Advising
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel — or rely on piecemeal fixes — to support your newcomer students.
Identify self-assessment tools for team reflection and growth.
Align newcomer supports with existing initiatives like community schools, MTSS, or family engagement — so efforts reinforce each other.
Integrate newcomer student and family voice into program planning and priorities.
Clarify your program’s vision and goals, grounded in research and promising practice.
Develop a phased roadmap for top priorities and further program development.
Create a focused PD calendar that meets staff where they are and builds capacity where it’s needed most.
So your efforts are fully integrated — not isolated — and provide newcomers with the holistic supports they need to thrive.
Tools, Systems, & Learning
You want your newcomer supports to be more than a set of good intentions or dependent upon a few dedicated individuals — you want it to last.
We help build the practical tools, routines, and structures that make newcomer work stick — across classrooms, years, and staff transitions
We can help you:
Build assessment tools like multilingual surveys and interview guides to elevate student and family voice.
Create decision-making tools to help leaders prioritize resources and align newcomer supports with other district initiatives.
Develop storytelling templates to help teams document impact and share the value of newcomer programming.
Create toolkits and slide decks to support onboarding and ongoing PD for teachers serving newcomer students.
Develop classroom-ready protocols and templates for building welcoming routines, scaffolding instruction, and engaging newcomer families.
Design site-level planning tools to help teams track and coordinate newcomer supports across classrooms and programs.
So that newcomer support is a shared responsibility — with clear tools and practices that help every adult show up with confidence and care.
Want to Learn More? Talk With Us
Whether you're exploring possibilities or already have a project in mind, we’ll help you sharpen your focus and explore smart ways to move forward.
Here’s how to take the next step — no pressure, no heavy lift.
1
Book a Call
Start by scheduling a quick, no-pressure call with the Heartwise team. Pick a time that works for you so we can learn more about each other and what you’re looking for.
2
We Explore Fit
We’ll ask some questions, listen closely, and learn about your goals and context. We’ll also share some initial ideas for how we might be able to help.
3
We Plan Next Steps
If it feels like a good match, we’ll follow up with a second session to co-design a scope of work based on your priorities. If not, we’re happy to point you towards other helpful resources.
*Curious about cost?
Most Heartwise projects range from $15,000–$80,000. We shape each scope of work collaboratively — pairing your priorities with the level of support it takes to reach them.
