E-Learning Course: Creating Safe and Healthy Environments for Immigrant and Refugee Youth

This series of four e-courses made available through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will help you plan and implement practices that create welcoming environments, learning engagement and success for immigrant and refugee students in Wisconsin schools.  All four interactive modules are designed to support educators, educational staff and leaders at all levels to enhance their understanding by working in the e-course modules individually or in groups. Within each module you links to supplementary resources and templates to support your learning.  

Module 1 will help you define characteristics of immigrants and refugees, explore immigration trends in the U.S., globally and in Wisconsin, identify educational rights of immigrant and refugee students in Wisconsin public schools and develop communication plans that promote success and safety for immigrant and refugee students.  You may choose to work through the module individually or groups.

 Module 2 will help you understand adjustment factors that influence immigrant and refugee youth’s successful transition to the school community, identify resources to support trauma recovery, review promising programs and practices that support safety, trust and healthy adjustment, and analyze effective approaches embodied in the promising programs described. You may choose to work through the module individually or groups.

 Module 3 will help you identify practices to support the welcoming phase of integrating newcomer youth and families in your school community, apply a valuing approach to family engagement, understand essential communication practices in and beyond parent orientation meetings and identify key communicators to support safety and trust with newcomer families. You may choose to work through the module individually or groups.

 Module 4 will help you understand a Positive Youth Development Approach to working with immigrant and refugee students, identify challenges, research specific immigrant and refugee populations settling in your Wisconsin community, identify existing advocacy organizations in your area, and create plans for school-community partnerships to support youth adjustment, safety and success. You may choose to work through the module individually or groups.