Local Program Facilitates Smooth School Transitions for Students in Canada: Empowering Newcomers

Local Program Facilitates Smooth School Transitions for Students in Canada: Although adjusting to a new country, let alone a new school, as a new Canadian is difficult, a programme designed to assist newcomer students attend and succeed in school has been in full swing since its pilot phase.

Since 2017, Guelph and Wellington County have participated in the Settlement Workers in Schools programme. It served 383 pupils during the 2022-2023 school year.

It is a programme in which settlement workers from Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington assist new Canadian youth and their families in adjusting to the public and Catholic educational systems.

Sandra Cocco, executive director of Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington, stated, “Our role is to serve as a liaison between the school and the parents, whether it be the principals or the teachers.”

“By informing and educating as many families as possible, their elementary or secondary school-aged child will ultimately be more successful and happier.”

The programme has expanded from a pilot initiative that served five schools to one that currently serves 25 schools. At the program’s inception, there were two settlement employees in schools; there are now six.

Local Program Facilitates Smooth School Transitions for Students in Canada

When settling into a new country, language can present a barrier.

Staff from Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington may participate in parent-teacher interviews in order to facilitate the discussions. It is possible to obtain interpretation services.

Parents are sent notices by schools, which can be translated into other languages.

“The Eritrean child who picks up the memo and sends it to their parents will receive it in their native language,” Cocco explained.

The pandemic underscored the need to eliminate language barriers, as stated by Cocco. During the pandemic, Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington provided tablets and workshops on how to get online for class to students.

“Our translation budget is typically depleted quickly due to the program’s extensive use,” she explained.

If students are experiencing difficulties, staff members will meet with instructors to explain cultural differences so that teachers can better comprehend them.

Cocco stated, “We bring in our own newcomers.” “Professionals who have arrived in Canada. They speak a distinct tongue. Therefore, we do our utmost to place the immigrant in a school where, for example, there are many Eritreans.

It makes a difference for the students to have a representative of their culture in their school who is working to support them and their families, she explained.

“Being there is sufficient. “Being supportive of the school and the parents to help their child succeed,” said Cocco.

25 magnet institutions were identified by the programme. Appointments are scheduled at schools with sufficient numbers of newcomers to justify a settlement worker.

Since the outbreak of war in February 2022, the number of Ukrainian clients at Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington grew in 2022.

At the time of the interview with GuelphToday, approximately 397 Ukrainian customers had been served. For the Settlement Workers in Schools programme, they employed one Ukrainian employee.

“I believe it is essential for our neighbours to realise it does not matter what country they are from. As a resident who is growing and having children, you share the same desires for your family to be prosperous, to have a job, to see their children through school, and to appreciate our city, as stated by Cocco.

“Really, they are no different than anyone else who chooses Guelph as their home, their destination,” she explained.