Just a thought that I wanted to bring up.

A fellow AU TESOL alum and a professor I had worked with some Sudanese
men who came to the US as refugees.  They didn't have birth certificates
and had arbitrary dates assigned at the refugee camps.  They believed
before coming over here that if you had a birthday that made you 17,
that you could go to high school, but if you had a date that said you
were 18 you had to go to a GED program and that was looked down upon in
their community.  Now, that was a presumption brought they brought with
them, but there is a social stigma for those who have GED's and not high
school diplomas.  Personally, it doesn't matter what kind of degree one
has.  What are anyone else's thoughts as it relates to our ESL students?

Bryan Woerner

-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
dezreen at excite.com
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 10:56 AM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [EnglishLanguage] Adolescents in adult ESOL classes
Importance: Low


In many states, public schools are required to admit students to 16
years of age. At this point, students may drop out or choose to work,
etc. I believe that the amount of state funding the school receives for
older entering students may be different or not exist at all, which may
be part of the reason why districts are hesitant to enroll them. 

In some schools near me (rural Colorado), students who wish to enter
school over the age of 16 must petition their case to the school board
to enroll. They, their parent/guardians, employers or other community
representative need to establish their reasons for wanting to be in
school and their future goals, along with providing previous school
grades. They may sign a contract with the district that establishes what
classes they need to take to graduate, how long it will take and involve
behavior standards if that has been an issue. 

My high school is very willing to enroll older students without school
board involvement, but we have a meeting with parents and guardians, the
student, principal, ESL director and guidance counselor to hammer out
similar elements. If students are clear that they only want to enroll to
"learn English" we offer other community options (GED, adult ESL
classes, etc.). Once a student is enrolled, the ESL department is really
responsible for helping the student stay in school, for creating a
realistic schedule, for networking with classroom teachers, for helping
with disciplinary issues, etc. If things start to crumble, then other
options are suggested again and ESL connects the student with GED
teachers, etc. 

This year we have two 20/21 year old students enrolled. One is highly
motivated, knows she wants to be a nurse, stays up until midnight
working on homework and is a live-in nanny/housekeeper. The other
student comes in late, doesn't do homework, etc. His contract is about
to break. We've tried to help him stay in the system, but it appears
that one of his reasons for being in school is to get perks elsewhere
(lower rent, etc.). Many people have worked hard with both students to
help make things work and we are content that the students understood
what they were getting into. 

I think suggesting either of these methods could work in some of the
scenarios mentioned in recent posts. 

Kathleen Morgan
Telluride School District
Telluride CO


 --- On Thu 02/09, Dottie < dottie at shattuck.net > wrote:
From: Dottie [mailto: dottie at shattuck.net]
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 22:36:34 -0500
Subject: Re: [EnglishLanguage] Adolescents in adult ESOL classes

We're having a similar problem here in Charlotte, NC.. As a refugee
<br>resettlement agency, our caseworkers take the newly arriving
families to the <br>public school "international" office to enroll the
children & then to the <br>assigned schools.  Since Aug., we've had 3 or
4 young Montangard boys/men <br>(18-19 yrs.) rejected by the local high
school.  Although NC law apparently <br>allows kids to remain in H.S.
until age 21, admitting them after turning age <br>18 is "at the
principal's discretion."  To add insult to injury, some of <br>their
birthdays are "government issued" (1-1- 19xx).  [If the date were
<br>later, say 12-12-19xx, the boys would have been
admitted.]<br><br>We're concerned that they're being rejected because of
a perceived <br>"inability to succeed" - especially w/all the mandated
testing.  The <br>caseworkers & I think they'd benefit greatly from the
6 hrs./day of classes, <br>esp. since we can offer only 3-6 hrs. /week
of classes.<br><br>On the other side, we've had a recently-arrived 16
yr. old (who was in high <br>school) quit because he wanted to work &
help his family when his dad was <br>laid-off.  Now we're having trouble
getting him back into school.<br><br>Are there no good answers for these
kids?<br><br>Dottie Shattuck<br>HIAS-NC
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