Primary and Secondary Education
Children must be registered for school within 30 days of arrival. Young men and women are eligible to attend high school through age 21.
To locate a school in Minnesota: http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/go/MN To register for school, the family will need I-94 cards, social security cards or receipts, immunization records, and proof of address/phone number.
It would be helpful to be present on the first days of school to make sure the children get on the appropriate bus.
One thing refugee parents would really appreciate is for an American friend to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences with them to be an advocate for the family and to follow up with any teacher concerns. Someone assisting a refugee family in this area could also help parents understand things like field trips and extra-curricular activities as well as papers and notices the children bring home from school.
English Language Learning
English Classes. Adults must be registered for ELL (English Language Learner) classes within 30 days of arrival. Up to 20 hours/week of English classes can be counted towards job search hours if the family is receiving public assistance.
To find an ELL school or GED classes, contact the Minnesota Literacy Council hotline at 800-222-1990 or visit their website at www.themlc.org. (Click on ‘Hotline – Find ESL or GED Classes Here’ on the left)
To register for ELL, the family will need 1-94 cards and social security cards or receipts. Some ELL classes do provide transportation; check with the local ESL center to see if this is the case. Otherwise, show your refugee partner how to get to ESL classes by bus (see the Transportation section for more information on finding appropriate bus routes) or by walking.
Volunteers Serving as English Tutors. We ask that all of our English tutors (except those with previous experience) attend the Minnesota Literacy Council’s ESL Tutor Pre-Service Training. There is a $30 registration fee for the 12-hour training, but it will provide excellent tools and valuable skills to be an effective ESL tutor. To view the schedule and/or register to attend a training, visit: http://www.themlc.org/ESLTutorTraining.html.
Additionally, the following resources are available for information and ideas for teaching and tutoring ESL.
