[lg policy] Adding Somali language at LHS would improve communication

[Harold Schiffman]

 Adding Somali language at Lewiston HS would improve communication

Abdikadir Negeye Special to the Sun Journal

Columns & Analysis <http://www.sunjournal.com/guestcolumns> |
Sunday, September 11, 2016


“I am writing to express my views about the announcement that Lewiston High
School will offer Arabic and Chinese language classes this year. The
biggest challenges for Somali parents in Lewiston are language barriers and
understanding the school system. Communication between parents and school
is very essential for student’s success.

Our Somali community values education more than anything. Every child is
advised by their parents to learn, behave well at school and listen to
their teacher. The best advice you will hear from every Somali parent is
“be respectful to your teachers; teachers are second parents.”

Not many Somali parents had educational opportunities in their homeland.
This is one reason why they value education more than anything and want
their children to succeed at school. They are grateful for the educational
opportunities available in this country. Most have experienced violence and
hardship, and in Lewiston they want to live in a quiet and peaceful place
to raise their children and get good education for their children.

Language policy and access in the local schools is so important for the
success of children of Somali immigrant parents. Children from
Somali-speaking families are now nearly a quarter of the population in the
Lewiston schools. Language facilitators in each school and the community
liaison in the Dingley building help to bridge between the school and
parents. But given the number of children from Somali-speaking families,
 this is not enough.

What I am hoping to see in Lewiston public schools is to have some
bilingual teachers. I would like to see the ELL graduation rate increase
and the communication between schools and parents strengthened. I would
like to see Somali language offered at Lewiston Public Schools.

Lewiston attracts many immigrants because of the education available, but
we still have gaps to fill. Let us be a role model for others. There is
great evidence that teaching the foreign home language of children who
attend a school helps student success, such as teaching Spanish in
communities with a significant Latino population.

Many Somali children are not engaged with their parents because of the
language barrier, because their parents speak Somali and children speak
English. This huge barrier often leads to family conflicts. In a Somali
language course offered in the Lewiston Public schools, students can learn
the language and learn to better engage with their parents and succeed
academically.

Also, students need to have someone they speak to in their language when
English is a barrier for them, especially the newcomers. We are a small
city, small community and we need to reflect our local community’s needs.

Another innovation that I would like to see is for our school
administrators and educators to have ongoing cultural competency training
to help student success at school and to better teacher-parent
communication. If you don’t know much about your student, you can’t help
them.

Many of immigrant children’s parents have gone through bad experiences in
their homeland and in the refugee camps. Even after they arrive in the
United States, they may not have access to support systems or community
resources. If their children’s teachers have a better understanding of
their experiences, then those teachers will be much more effective in
working with their children and showing the parents how to support their
children in school.

We would like to see more foreign languages taught at our schools, not to
replace the existing ones. As a community leader and parent I would like to
see every student succeed at school—this is what will make us a stronger
community.”

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/columns-analysis/2016/09/11/adding-somali-language-lhs-would-improve-communication/1990490


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