Glenridge Welcomes Afghan Refugees

At Glenridge Elementary School, spirits are high, with elementary schoolers anxiously anticipating the arrival of new members of Glenridge’s classrooms.

“I think [the kids] are excited. Anytime an elementary school receives a new student, that student is welcomed with open arms, so they’re just excited to take on the responsibility of showing the student around and teaching them about the school and introducing them to people,” said Katherine Burkard, a social worker at Captain Elementary School.

Burkard is one of many staff members involved in the district-wide effort to prepare for the arrival of three new Afghan refugee students, a match that was made to the School District of Clayton through the International Institute. Refugee students are usually matched to the St. Louis City public school district due to high space availability and a strong English Language Learners (ELL) department, so the International Institute’s decision to assign a family to the School District of Clayton is a particularly special instance for the Clayton community.

“Glenridge had the unique opportunity to partner with the International Institute, and they are the ones who find housing and jobs for any person that comes through there. They were key in getting these refugee families set up when they first arrived,” said Katherine Ingersoll, who also works as a social worker in the School District of Clayton.

The International Institute has also acted as a center for connection to bridge the participating schools with resources throughout the city.

“The International Institute and all of these different services in the greater St. Louis region have collaborated together, so there’s this really rich network of referrals for whatever that family may need at the time. Generally from a social work practice, you start by meeting their basic needs, and then you move up,” said Ingersoll.

During this preparation process, English Language Learner (ELL) specialists have had especially critical roles in ensuring necessary resources will be available and provided for the incoming families.

“Across the district, we knew that it was a possibility just with [Afghan refugee] families coming into St. Louis that we may receive some of those families,” said Burkard. “The ELL specialists have worked really closely with administrators, school counselors and the social work team to put together some general information about the Afghan cultures and a brief history lesson for students as well, so that they understand the context of these families and their lives and what they may have experienced. That information was given to teachers and then the ELL specialists also went in and did some mini lessons with different grade levels.”

Throughout this process, communication has been a key aspect in helping things move forward. The arrival of the students has seen the district staff, from the ELL department to the social work department, collaborate in order to shape a welcoming yet culturally and circumstantially aware experience. From the social work perspective, Burkard and Ingersoll have been engaging in learning from peers and experts as well as committing to personal learning in order to develop best practices for introducing the refugee students into the district.

“[The social work department] has been in communication with other schools who are [also] receiving students to see what they’re doing […] [What we’re doing in common] is partnering with the EL department, partnering with administrators, and partnering with counselors,” said Burkard. “The International Institute is the leader in housing families and getting them set up, so we’ve turned to them for guidance. We’ve done a lot of communication with [them] to make sure we understand what they’re doing and what resources they’re providing, and then know how we can [build off of] what they’re doing.”

Ingersoll has been learning from peers within her field’s network. “One of the reasons I went into social work is because I love being part of a multidisciplinary team and working with people who have different backgrounds and different knowledge than I do. And so anytime we’re welcoming a family, I get to work with not only the student and their caregivers, but also all the wonderful school staff that are part of that team,” she said. “I’m part of a professional learning network of regional social workers, so it’s been really helpful to say ‘I have a family who speaks this language and needs this resource.’ We have a big discussion board that I can just plug that question out onto, and usually within an hour, I get several responses.”

All of these steps are crucial not only for team preparedness, but also to develop a better understanding of the community the staff will be assisting. Burkard stands by the importance of personal learning for staff during this time.

“A lot of the time it’s making sure that I’ve educated myself personally, and that our team is really being aware of all the different moving pieces so that we can respond appropriately,” said Burkard.

Despite the complexity of the situation, Burkard and Ingersoll have found that the response of the student body at the elementary school level has been incredibly enthusiastic.

“The students at Glenridge have just been so welcoming and so friendly, and giving the [families] time to acclimate has been great. And there are student helpers in each room who are just so eager to help, which I think has been a really great way to ease the anxiety of the transition,” said Ingersoll. “Glenridge is a super welcoming place for ELL students and just students in general who have different cultural identities. Being able to see kids get to express their own cultural identity while still experiencing these different worlds can be really interesting.”
The efforts of the district have been bolstered by the rallying the Clayton community has done to gather resources for the refugees.

“The PTO and PTs in each building have spearheaded some different donation drives and fundraising efforts that they then have distributed amongst the buildings. The social work department received some of those funds. Also, in each building on campus, there is a pantry that houses clothing items, household items, personal hygiene items, and food, so that’s available to any family. In each building we have some other funding sources where we can tap into if a family is needing financial assistance,” said Burkard.

Ingersoll references the International Institute, and how the organization had to shut down donations for time to sort supplies because the influx of donations was so large. This widespread support from the broader St. Louis community is reflected in Clayton, with community members eager to lend a helping hand where needed.

“I think the benefit of being in Clayton is that we have a lot of people who are so willing to help, both from the building staff to the greater Clayton community. And I think our best practices generally include assessing what the family needs. [We’ve been] really intentional about asking what they need and then helping them ease the transition, both in the school setting and the community,” said Ingersoll. “At the start of every year, educators discuss what they did last year, what worked and what didn’t work. And because the world was so frazzled with COVID, it was nice to be able to regroup and recommit to a quality education and a dynamic environment with a really focused staff who really care for the students that we have.”

As Glenridge teachers, district staff, and the Clayton community members work together, we hope to give the refugees a warm introduction to their new home.

All Photos from MCT Campus and Wikimedia Commons.