K-12 Education

Immigrants and second-generation students who are children of immigrants confront a number of unique academic challenges, including limited proficiency in the host-country language and greater barriers in preparing for college and careers. Research here focuses on student educational attainment and in particular on English Language Learners (ELLs), who have persistent and wide achievement gaps with native English speakers. Adolescent ELLs face a greater workload, learning English at the same time they are studying core content areas in English—with resulting challenges in passing tests and completing graduation requirements.

Recent Activity

Fact Sheets April 2019 How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually? By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova	Commentaries March 2019 More Than a DREAM (Act), Less Than a Promise By Julia Gelatt
Reports January 2019 Breaking New Ground: Ten Ideas to Revamp Integration Policy in Europe By Meghan Benton and Aliyyah Ahad	Reports December 2018 Promoting Refugee Integration in Challenging Times: The Potential of Two-Generation Strategies By Mark Greenberg, Julia Gelatt, Jessica Bolter, Essey Workie and Isabelle Charo
Reports November 2018 Minnesota’s Superdiverse and Growing Dual Language Learner Child Population By Caitlin Katsiaficas and Maki Park	Multimedia November 20, 2018 Building Bridges Not Walls: Key Lessons from the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report on Migration and Displacement
Fact Sheets November 2018 Settling In: A Profile of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the United States By Julia Gelatt and Jie Zong	Fact Sheets August 2018 English Learners in Select States: Demographics, Outcomes, and State Accountability Policies By Julie Sugarman and Courtney Geary

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Reports March 2017 Strengthening Local Education Systems for Newly Arrived Adults and Children: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments By Brian Salant and Meghan Benton	Reports November 2016 Serving Immigrant Families Through Two-Generation Programs: Identifying Family Needs and Responsive Program Approaches By Maki Park, Margie McHugh and Caitlin Katsiaficas
Reports August 2016 Funding an Equitable Education for English Learners in the United States By Julie Sugarman	Policy Briefs August 2016 DACA at Four: Participation in the Deferred Action Program and Impacts on Recipients By Faye Hipsman, Bárbara Gómez-Aguiñaga and Randy Capps
Reports June 2016 Improving Education for Migrant-Background Students: A Transatlantic Comparison of School Funding By Julie Sugarman, Simon Morris-Lange and Margie McHugh	Reports March 2016 Young Children of Refugees in the United States: Integration Successes and Challenges By Kate Hooper, Jie Zong, Randy Capps and Michael Fix
Reports November 2015 Transatlantic Symposium Report: Improving Instruction for Immigrant and Refugee Students in Secondary Schools By Margie McHugh and Julie Sugarman	Reports October 2015 The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum By Sarah Dryden-Peterson

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EventPH 2015.9.21 LeftBehind HowtheWellBeingof ChildrenisAffectedbyParentalDeportation

Video, Audio

September 21, 2015

Left Behind: How the Well-Being of Children Is Affected by Parental Deportation

A report release where authors discuss the effects of parental deportation on the children of immigrants, the related needs for health and social services, and U.S. policy responses to protect these children.

Video, Audio

September 11, 2015

Growing Up in America: The Extent and Impacts of Discrimination on Young Children from Immigrant Families

On this webinar, researchers explore the types of discrimination that young children of immigrants may experience, the related educational, psychological, and social impacts, and recommendations for addressing discrimination.

EventPH 2015.3.31 Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States Flickr CBP Processing Unaccompanied Children

Video, Audio

March 31, 2015

Child and Family Migration to the United States: Continuing Flows and Evolving Responses

A webinar examining the shifting pattern of Central American child and family migration between 2011 and 2014 and expectations for 2015, the policy challenges presented by the rising inflow, and how states, localities, the U.S. government, and other countries in the region are responding to this recent trend.

EventPH 2015.3.18 Cross Cutting Needs and Opportunities flickrNewYorkPublicLibrary

Video, Audio

March 18, 2015

Cross-Cutting Needs and Opportunities: Language Access, Funding, Multi-Level Partnerships, and Planning for the Long Term

Part of a series exploring issues likely to be addressed by the new National Integration Plan, this webinar, with perspectives from the cities of New York and Seattle and others examines possible recommendations on federal coordination of local government immigrant integration initiatives, including language access.

EventPH 2015.3.12 Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas NDC Ashama

Video, Audio

March 12, 2015

Integration Challenges and Opportunities in the Economic Development and Refugee Resettlement Arenas

This webinar, with perspectives from MPI, the WE Global Network, and Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, examines the role of economic development initiatives and refugee resettlement programs/infrastructure in immigrant integration.

Recent Activity

Fact Sheets

April 2019

How Many Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate from U.S. High Schools Annually?

A high school diploma has been a core requirement of proposed DREAM Act legislation and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Yet a fresh estimate of the number of unauthorized immigrants graduating annually from U.S. high schools has long been missing from the debate. This fact sheet provides up-to-date estimates for the United States and top 15 states, estimating 98,000 such students graduate yearly.

Commentaries

March 2019

More Than a DREAM (Act), Less Than a Promise

The first bill introduced in the 116th Congress to offer a path to legal status to DREAMers, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019, could legalize nearly 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children, as well as those eligible for Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure, as this commentary explains.

Reports

January 2019

Breaking New Ground: Ten Ideas to Revamp Integration Policy in Europe

To address the intersecting challenges facing European societies—from population aging and labor-market change, to immigration and political upheaval—governments need to hone new strategies for helping both newcomers and long-term residents succeed amid diversity. This report explores some of the most promising approaches, drawing on input from policymakers, the private sector, civil society, and others.

Reports

December 2018

Promoting Refugee Integration in Challenging Times: The Potential of Two-Generation Strategies

At a time when the U.S. refugee resettlement system is facing unprecedented challenges, innovative and cost-effective tools for supporting refugee integration are in demand. This report explores how a two-generation approach to service provision could help all members of refugee families—from young children to working-age adults and the elderly—find their footing.

Reports

November 2018

Minnesota’s Superdiverse and Growing Dual Language Learner Child Population

Dual Language Learners (DLLs) are a growing segment of the Minnesota young child population, and a particularly "superdiverse" one with myriad origins, cultures, and languages—a new reality other states and communities will face. Drawing on interviews with policymakers and service providers, as well as analysis of census data, this report examines what this incredible diversity means for the state’s early childhood policies and programs.

Video, Audio

November 20, 2018

Building Bridges Not Walls: Key Lessons from the 2019 Global Education Monitoring Report on Migration and Displacement

Marking the U.S. release of the 2019 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, this discussion looks at different ways education policymakers, teachers, and civil society have responded to the educational needs of migrants and how to address the challenges that sometimes inhibit children from participating meaningfully and equally in education programs.

Fact Sheets

November 2018

Settling In: A Profile of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the United States

This fact sheet and accompanying interactive data tools provide characteristics of the estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, using a unique MPI methodology that assigns legal status to U.S. Census Bureau data. The fact sheet and tools offer statistics on these immigrants’ origins, U.S. destinations, educational attainment, English proficiency, employment, income, home ownership, and more.

Fact Sheets

August 2018

English Learners in Select States: Demographics, Outcomes, and State Accountability Policies

States are in the midst of designing new policies to hold schools accountable for the education of English Learner (EL) students, as mandated by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This series of fact sheets sketches the characteristics of immigrant and EL students in 25 states, the gaps between their educational outcomes and those of their peers, and the accountability policies each state is developing.

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K-12 Education

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