Newcomer Support Services
Newcomer classrooms can incorporate innovative strategies for powerful learning. This video showcases a newcomer classroom in Oakland, CA.
Newcomers – immigrant students in their first years of U.S. schools – are among the most resilient and vulnerable groups of students in California’s K-12 system. Newcomer students typically arrive in the US with limited English proficiency and face the additional challenge of acculturating to a new country and new learning environment. Many have experienced significant trauma and economic hardship, which can create additional barriers to learning. Our state collectively struggles to meet newcomers’ distinct academic and social-emotional needs. These challenges contribute to disproportionately high dropout rates, low graduation rates, and low college/career readiness among newcomer students.
We are proud to offer tailored services to help schools and districts address the unique needs of newcomer students.
Heartwise Presents…
Newcomer Teacher Professional Development Workshop Series
Newcomers–immigrants in their first years of U.S. schooling– are a fast growing population in schools across the country. Despite increasing representation in our school communities, many teachers and administrators struggle with effectively supporting our newest language learners.
Join a community of peers who care deeply about helping their newcomer students succeed in the classroom and beyond, as we better make our classrooms and schools work for our newest learners.
Participants will gain:
New knowledge and research-based strategies to help newcomers engage in grade-level content, in a safe and supportive environment.
Time to learn or strengthen newcomer teaching skills, such as:
differentiating grade-level instruction across different levels of English proficiency;
leveraging students’ home languages and building their linguistic toolbox on the way to learning English; and
incorporating students’ and families’ funds of knowledge to strengthen family partnerships and make learning engaging.
Sample lesson plans and activities that model differentiated instruction and asset-based curriculum.
Time to collaborate with other teachers and instructors on lesson planning and experimenting with new strategies for newcomers in a safe learning space.
Newcomer Teacher Participants Say...
Professional Development for Newcomer Teachers
We provide targeted professional development to support newcomer teachers to grow and thrive in their instruction. Sample topics for professional learning sessions or workshops include:
The social context of newcomer students locally and nationally
Affirming the unique linguistic and cultural assets of newcomers
Creating powerful, safe, and trauma-sensitive classrooms
Building relationships with multilingual families
Leveraging district and community resources to serve students’ whole selves
Creative instructional practices–incorporating art, culture, storytelling, and other strength-based practices into the classroom.
Strategic Planning and Coaching for District Staff
We partner with your program team to design/refine a theory of action reflective of your community’s unique values and goals. We will help you assess your needs, assets, resources, and systems within a quality newcomer program framework, plan scale-up efforts, and offer coaching and strategies to strengthen or expand your newcomer supports, all within a whole-child, whole-community framework.
Evaluation and Continuous Improvement
We support your team to identify and capture relevant data to assess student and program success. This includes strengthening your existing student information systems to be responsive to and reflective of newcomers, as well as conducting qualitative and quantitative assessments to support ongoing learning and improvement.