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
Contact
Joseph J. Eye, M.Ed., Refugee School Impact State Coordinator
Bureau of School Support
Division of Student Services
717-783-3755 | jeye@pa.gov
Resources
- PDE's Standards Aligned System (SAS)
- Refugee Resettlement in Pennsylvania
- Office of Refugee Resettlement (federal)
- 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"
- 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
Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG)
The Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG) is a competitive federal grant which funds Pennsylvania's Refugee Education Program and local grantees. The primary goal of Pennsylvania's Refugee Education Program is to assist recently arrived refugee students and their families demonstrate a greater assimilation and integration into the school and community in a culturally and linguistically competent manner.
Pennsylvania's youth are the future success of the state. This grant addresses the unmet and emergent needs of recently arrived school-age refugee students (5-18 years of age) and the refugee families. The grant promotes out-of-school academic time and enrichment programs that will improve English fluency, support social adjustment, announce and disseminate information about/for refugees, and provides parent/family education and engagement.
Grantees of RSIG strive for a culturally competent transition to Pennsylvania and it's public education system that is comfortable for all serviced refugee students and their families. The goal of a seamless transition is to enable refugee students to adapt to a new and different cultural and linguistic environment.
The 2017-2018 grants will range in size depending on the scope of the program, extent of services, number of participants to be served and the special needs demonstrated by the refugee student population. Demonstrated collaboration will be a priority requirement of the potential grantee recipients: school districts, local education agencies (LEA), refugee resettlement agencies, and other community-based and nonprofit organizations. Refugee grant recipients must create a comprehensive, holistic approach to meeting the academic and social needs of refugee students and their families.
2018-19 Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG) Award Receipients
| School | Amount | County |
|---|---|---|
| Allentown School District 31 South Penn St. Allentown, PA 18105 484-765-4159 | $51,553.00 | Lehigh County |
| Erie School District 148 West 21st St. Erie, PA 16504-2834 814-874-6058 | $51,553.00 | Erie County |
| Harrisburg School District 1601 State St. Harrisburg. PA 17103 717-703-4375 | $51,553.00 | Dauphin County |
| Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIASPA) 2100 Arch St. 3rd fl. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1300 215-832-0920 | $51,553.00 | Philadelphia County |
| School District of Lancaster 1020 Lehigh Ave. Lancaster, PA 17602-2452 717-735-1486 | $51,553.00 | Lancaster County |
| Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13 1020 New Holland Ave. Lancaster, PA 17601-5606 717-606-1793 | $51,553.00 | Lancaster County |
| Central Susquehanna IU 16 90 Lawton Lane Milton, PA 17847-9756 570-490-0663 | $51,553.00 | Lackawanna County |
Refugee Education Program Definitions
Permanent Resident Alien - An alien admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident. Permanent residents are also commonly referred to as immigrants; however, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) broadly defines an immigrant as any alien in the United States, except one legally admitted under specific nonimmigrant categories (INA section 101(a)(15)). An illegal alien who entered the United States without inspection, for example, would be strictly defined as an immigrant under the INA but is not a permanent resident alien. Lawful permanent residents are legally accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States. They may be issued immigrant visas by the Department of State overseas or adjusted to permanent resident status by the Department of Homeland Security in the United States.
Migrant - A migrant is defined as a person that has moved within the preceding 36 months, in order for the family to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in agriculture, fishing activity, dairy work, the initial processing or production of crops, poultry, livestock as well as the cultivation or harvesting of trees for wages or personal subsistence.
Refugee - Any person who is outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution or the fear thereof must be based on the alien's race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
People with no nationality must generally be outside their country of last habitual residence to qualify as a refugee. Refugees are subject to ceilings by geographic area set annually by the President in consultation with Congress and are eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after one year of continuous presence in the United States.
Asylee - An alien in the United States or at a port of entry who is found to be unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality, or to seek the protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution or the fear thereof must be based on the alien's race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. For persons with no nationality, the country of nationality is considered to be the country in which the alien last habitually resided. Asylees are eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after one year of continuous presence in the United States. These immigrants are limited to 10,000 adjustments per fiscal year.
Definitions adopted from The Department of Homeland Security and the Pennsylvania Department of Education Migrant Education Program
Refugee Frequently Asked Questions
ORR is the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
USCIS is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an office within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Any person outside of their country who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Refugees are usually given an I-94 Form stamped “Admitted as a Refugee pursuant to section 207 of the Act".
An asylee is a person who applies for and receives a grant of asylum while in the United States or on U.S. territory, based on the same reasons as a refugee.
For their service to the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, certain Iraqis and Afghans are granted Special Immigrant (SIV) status overseas by the U.S. Department of State and are admitted to the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security.
A Cuban or Haitian entrant, or an “entrant", is any person granted parole status as a Cuban/Haitian entrant (status pending) or granted any other special status subsequently established under the immigration laws for nationals of Cuba or Haiti, or any other national of Cuba or Haiti who:
- Was paroled into the United States and has not been granted any other status;
- Is facing exclusion or deportation proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- Has applied for asylum with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); and for whom no final decision has been made.
An immigrant under Public Law 100-202 (Act of 12/22/87), which allows aliens born in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, to enter the United States, if the alien's father is a U.S. citizen. Spouses, children, and parents or guardians may enter with the alien.
A child under age 18 who is a refugee, asylee, entrant or trafficking victim, who has no parent or guardian, and who has been classified as an unaccompanied refugee minor by the U.S. Department of State.
A foreign-born child under age 21 who is:
- Not married;
- Abused, neglected, or abandoned, as determined by a court;
- Not going to be reunited with his/her birth family as determined by a court; and
- Going to remain in the United States as determined by a court
An immigrant who comes to the United States and is given permission to live and work permanently in the United States. An LPR can travel abroad and return to the United States, as long as he or she has not abandoned their U.S. residence. An LPR can apply to become a U.S. citizen after living in the U.S. for five years (three years if married to a U.S. citizen). The USCIS documents that prove LPR status include a “green card" (form I-151 or I-551), a reentry permit (I-327), or a foreign passport with a stamp showing temporary evidence of LPR status.
A person admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident. A lawful permanent resident can legally live permanently in the United States. He or she may be given an immigrant visa by the U.S. Department of State overseas or made a permanent resident by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the United States.
A person who temporarily enters the United States for a specific purpose. The person must have a permanent residence abroad and qualify as a nonimmigrant. Nonimmigrant classifications include: foreign government officials, visitors for business and for pleasure, aliens traveling through the United States, treaty traders and investors, students, international representatives, temporary workers and trainees, representatives of foreign media, exchange visitors, fiancées of U.S. citizens, NATO officials, religious workers, and others. Most nonimmigrants can be accompanied or joined by spouses and unmarried minor (or dependent) children.
A person who enters the United States without a valid immigrant or non-immigrant visa, or a person who enters with a valid visa and remains in the United States after the visa expires.