UW hosts international conference on refugees, immigrants in schools

News – The Badger Herald

As national debates on immigration grow more prominent, the University of Wisconsin is hosting a conference to discuss how to help the children of immigrants and refugees cope with the challenges of starting life in a new community.The free event, which started Wednesday, is featuring talks on topics such how to bridge language barriers, navigate media and manage the placement of immigrant and refugee children in special education.
The three-day event held in Madison is only part one of the international conference. The second part of it will take place in Paris.
One of the event’s organizers, University of Puerto Rico professor Kristine Harrison said the conference is focused on what happens to refugee children who have been forced to move from their home countries either for economic or safety reasons when they get to different schools.
“Often, the teachers are the ones who are like first responders, because the children have been through a lot,” Harrison said. “They may need psychological help. They most likely don’t speak the language, and they need a lot of help. The schools may have programs, they may not, and then the teachers have to deal with that.”
The clash of languages and cultures can also affect children’s sense of identity, Harrison said.
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The conference will bring together K-12 teachers, faculty from across the UW System, a local Menominee Potawatomi educator and researchers from more than a dozen countries.
Asmahan Sandokji, a UW student, said the roundtable discussions with groups including the Muslim Student Association of Madison will also tackle issues like practicing Islamic rituals in schools.
“Muslim women, Muslim men, in general, we feel like we ...

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