When preserving culture turns to shaming

The four academies that make up Woodburn High have exceeded the Oregon state average by double digits for two years in a row, despite high poverty rates. What's driving the school's success?

Better teacher training and strategic programming for non-English speakers could turn things around in high schools with large immigrant populations.

With the emphasis on teaching English in American public schools, many non-English speaking students can lose the language of their family’s heritage. Hawaii has “language-immersion schools” that teaches children the native Hawaiian language until about fifth grade and then English is introduced. While the schools have preserved the native tongue and its cultural values, there are still challenges for students who face competition in English-dominated secondary education and the job market.

Anchorage schools employ a hybrid approach to integrating refugees—neither cordoning them off fully from the school at large, nor dropping them fully into the general student population. The city's Newcomers' Center plays an integral role in giving refugees a sense of community.

Instituto del Progreso Latino, a vocational school in Chicago, is comprehensively helping Latino immigrants living in the U.S. educate themselves, find professional work, and rise above poverty.

When immigrant children come to America, they are faced with culture shock, language barriers, and a system of education different from where their original country. Houston’s Las Americas Newcomer School is designed to ease the adjustment of immigrant and refugee children as they enter the American educational system. Las Americas offers competitive wages for teachers, teaching in several different languages, and preparation for the SAT as the school has the highest rate of minority participation.

In a global economy, helping students succeed means offering them the opportunity to become multilingual. States such as Utah, Indiana, and Delaware have stepped up their efforts with immersion programs for elementary students.

The Twilight Education Club is a non-profit working to break down the barriers – transportation, child care and cost – that typically prevent the economically disadvantaged from accessing social services such as language classes. While the Twilight program is specifically geared toward the needs of the parents - getting better jobs and securing greater stability - the long-term focus remains on creating future opportunities for their children.

The Aboriginal community in Australia is 31 times more likely than other Australians to die of alcohol-related causes. Could a "tough love" approach stressing accountability and making rehab mandatory work? Or is further restricting access to alcohol for everyone a better approach?

School districts across the country struggle with helping their “English-learner” students learn English and academic content at the same time. Kearny High School in San Diego does not isolate these special students, instead using the school-within-a-school model to help place their non-English speakers in content areas that interest them. This model has shown to put the English learners at Kearny in the top API scores in the San Diego district.