Children of immigrants face more barriers to success

Children of immigrants face more barriers to success

A report released from the private philanthropy Annie E. Casey Foundation states there are 18 million children under the age of 18 in the US who are the children of immigrants or are immigrants themselves, journalnow.com wrote.

Of those, 414,000 live in North Carolina. Only 36 percent of these children live above the poverty line of $49,200 a year for a family of four, compared to 54 percent of children born in the US.

The average income for immigrant families with children is 20 percent less than US-born families.

Data is from 2013-2015, according to the report, which is published every three years.

“We continue to see significant disparities,” said Rob Thompson, senior policy and communications advisor for N.C. Child. The organization partners with the Kids Count Data Center division of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “It’s really undermining the future in the state.”

Barriers presented to children today will have a domino effect for problems later in life, Thompson said. Limiting access to healthcare and education can compound a child’s chance to succeed.

“There’s a lot we can do to help. ... The earned income tax credit at the state level is one thing. We allowed it to sunset a few years ago,” Thompson said.

 “We can also extend Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Families with health insurance are more likely to stay on the job.”

He said that will help families stay in one place, helping children.

“Kids learn better when they’re in healthy, stable houses and not moving all the time. We need to look beyond the classroom,” Thompson said.

He pointed to the N.C. Legislature, which considered reducing SNAP benefits last session — which would also cut free and reduced lunch for about 50,000 students.

“You can’t expect them to go to school hungry and be able to focus on the task at hand and read,” Thompson said.

Sometimes, though, it is cultural differences that must be sorted out to help students get comfortable in a school, said David Sisk, director of the English Learners Program for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

In 2015-16, there were 648 immigrant students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The following year there were 704 students, Sisk said.

The district has ESL — English as a Second Language — teachers in all but eight of its more than six dozen schools, with plans for an instructor to be at the remaining schools by next year, he said.

Every high school has in ESL teacher, and Paisley IB Magnet School is the only middle school without one, he said. Cash, Sherwood Forest and Whitaker elementary schools and a few alternative schools also don’t have the position.

The school district also uses a type of schooling that helps students learn a language and the educational concept simultaneously, Sisk said.

Still, eight percent of fourth-graders in the US who are English-language learners are proficient readers, compared with 38 percent of children born in the US Math numbers are similar: Five percent of eighth-graders who are children of immigrant families are proficient in eighth-grade math, compared with 34 percent of children born in the US.

Sisk said the district doesn’t track that data officially, but said the system’s numbers are similar. He said if you don’t speak the language and go into a room trying to learn math, there will be an instant gap in learning.

Students may have other difficulties weighing on their minds, as well. The study states fear of family separation due to deportation or other factors is detrimental to a child’s mental and physical health.

Sisk said the school district doesn’t track who is in the country legally or who may be trying to get paperwork renewed. However, he said the school system tries to help children with their worries.

“Immigration-related issues can add a level of pressure: Getting visas and other matters. We have counselors on staff to help,” he said.

“Tensions were increased last year, due to the increase in immigration enforcement, which has made some students more fearful.”

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools also helps families assimilate into the community by hosting family nights, cultural fairs and interpreters available for parent meetings, Sisk said.