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##  Secondary Newcomer Programs: Helping Recent Immigrants Prepare for              School Success. ERIC Digest.                                                 

Many school districts are facing increasing numbers of secondary                immigrant students who have low level English or native language                skills and, in many cases, have had limited formal education in                 their native countries. These students must learn English, take the             required content courses, and catch up to their                                 native-English-speaking peers before high school graduation. How are            schools meeting the needs of these students, many of whom are placed            below the expected grade level for their age? 
Some districts have             developed newcomer programs that serve these students through a                 program of intensive language development and academic and cultural             orientation, for a limited period of time (usually from 6-18                    months), before placing them in the regular school language support             and academic programs. The rationale for establishing these programs            differs across sites, but many programs were set up for one or more             of the following reasons: 
* Students were at risk of educational              failure or of dropping out of school. 
* Students were over age for            their grade level placement, because of weak academic skills and                limited formal education. 
* Students' needs surpassed the                     instructional design of the regular ESL or bilingual program that               was in place in the district. 
* Students had low or no English or             native language literacy skills. 
This digest reports on data                  collected through a study of secondary newcomer programs, sponsored             by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S.                     Department of Education as part of the Center for Education,                    Diversity & Excellence. It introduces the common factors and range              of practices found in secondary newcomer programs across the United             States. The information is drawn from program profiles found                    in "Secondary Newcomer Programs in the United States: 1996-97                   Directory"  (Short & Boyson, 1997). WHO ARE THE NEWCOMER                      STUDENTS?Secondary programs vary in their definitions of                    newcomers, but most include recent arrival to either the United                 States or the school district and limited English proficiency as                char- acteristics. Over half of the programs surveyed for the study             also noted that students are below grade level or have limited                  formal education. Some programs rely on a definition associated with            federal aid: students who have been in the United States for 3 years            or less and are limited English proficient. Almost a third of the               programs restrict enrollment to students who have been in the United            States for one year or less. 
Newcomer students at the secondary               level range in age from 10 to 22 years and come from many language              backgrounds. Most of the newcomers speak Spanish, but native                    speakers of many other languages, including Mandarin, Pilipino,                 Russian, Haitian Creole, Polish, Punjabi, Vietnamese, and Hindi,                attend these programs as well. In fact, over half of the programs               enroll students from four or more different native language                     backgrounds. 
The number of students served by the newcomer                    programs ranges from 14 at one site in Connecticut to over 740 at a             high school in New York City. Almost half of the programs enroll 50             or more students, and 12 programs serve over 200 students. Because              of limited resources, not all newcomer programs are able to serve               all eligible students in the  district. WHERE ARE THE PROGRAMS                LOCATED?Newcomer programs are located in 18 states; most of                 these have high rates of immigration, such as New York, California,             and New Jersey. Over three fourths of the programs are in urban-                metropolitan settings; the rest are in suburban areas and rural                 locales. More than half of the programs operate at the high school              level. About one third serve the middle school level, and the                   remainder offer a combination of middle and high school services.               Most of the schools draw from several attendance areas in one school            district. 
Most newcomer programs are designed as a separate                   program within a regular secondary school. This is usually the home             school (i.e., the school in their designated attendance area) of                most, if not all, of the newcomer students. The students may                    participate in some school activities outside of the program, such              as physical education and art. Upon exiting the newcomer program,               many students remain at the same school to continue their studies in            the regular language support program, which may offer English as a              second language (ESL) or bilingual services. Students from outside              the attendance area may return to their home schools or go to other             schools in the same district. 
Twelve of the programs surveyed are             not located in a regular school. Three are full-length high schools,            where students enter in the ninth grade and generally remain in the             program until graduation. Two programs are located at district                  intake centers, where language minority students are assessed and               placed. For those designated as newcomers, these intake centers                 offer special, short- term courses before the students enter one of             the schools in the district. In some districts, one newcomer center             has been established at a centralized site to serve, for example,               all eligible middle school students. HOW ARE NEWCOMER PROGRAMS                DESIGNED?Program designs differ according to educational goals,             site options, staff availability, and resource allocation. Most                 programs serve newcomer students for the full school day. This                  schedule provides time to offer several content area courses along              with English language instruction. Other programs operate for a half            day, sometimes to accommodate two groups of students at one                     site (e.g., middle school students in the morning, high school                  students in the afternoon) or to promote more interaction with the              entire student body at the school. Two programs operate solely after            school and students attend on a volunteer basis. Most of the                    programs are designed to educate students for one year, although                some offer an additional summer program. Nineteen programs last more            than one year; five for less than a year. One is a summer-only                  program. Most of the programs allow new students to enroll mid-year             or mid-session if space is available. 
The grade-level designation             of newcomer students varies at different sites. One school, for                 instance, is designated as a ninth grade school. High school-aged               students who enroll in the district with 8 years of schooling or                less may opt to attend this school for a year. Afterwards, they move            on to 10th grade in one of the other district high schools. Other               high schools may serve all grade levels, assigning students as                  appropriate to their age and educational backgrounds. After one                 year, 9th and 10th grade students exit to attend other high schools.            Eleventh grade students may elect to stay at the school to                      graduate. HOW DO NEWCOMER PROGRAMS ADDRESS STUDENTS' LANGUAGE                 LEARNING

AND ACADEMIC NEEDS?The programs offer a range of                instructional activities for students that reflect the goal of                  developing both language and academic skills so that students may               enter the regular ESL or bilingual program, or in some cases,                   mainstream classes. Ninety-eight percent of the programs provide a              course in English as a second language. Eighty percent offer                    sheltered content instruction, and 73% offer content instruction in             at least one of the students' native languages. (Over 10 different              languages are used for content area instruction.) Forty percent have            courses in native language literacy. More than half of the programs             offer both sheltered instruction and native language content                    instruction. In some of these sites, bilingual courses may be                   available for one or two high-incidence language groups, while                  sheltered instruction is offered to low-incidence language groups.              Because a large number of the students have limited educational                 backgrounds, many of the content classes are designed to help                   students learn the basic foundations of core subjects. While about              half of the programs also participate in Title I or provide special             education services, less than one fourth give newcomer students                 access to gifted and talented support. 
Newcomer programs usually              employ experienced staff trained in second language acquisition                 theory, ESL and sheltered instruction methods, and cross-cultural               communication. Usually at least one staff member in a program is                bilingual. Staff attend professional development workshops that                 address specific needs for the newcomer student population, like                developing literacy skills, so they can improve their curricula and             instructional delivery. At a number of sites, native language                   instruction in the content areas is provided by bilingual                       paraprofessionals. HOW DO NEWCOMER PROGRAMS ADDRESS                           STUDENTS'

ACCULTURATION PROCESS?One important characteristic             of newcomer programs is the attention given to familiarizing                    students with their new environment: the school, educational                    expectations, the community, and the United States. Eighty-eight                percent of the programs provide courses in cultural orientation to              the United States. Many of the programs supplement their classroom              curricula with field trips, cultural activities, and special events.            Some provide career orientation as well. 
Reaching beyond the                  students themselves, 43% of the programs offer classes to orient                parents to the United States, and 63% offer adult ESL classes either            through the program or the school district. All programs view                   parental involvement and communication with parents as high                     priorities. Some sites have a home-school liaison, and others                   maintain a community outreach component to share information about              the program and to arrange partnerships with community                          organizations. Many either have social workers on site or provide               assistance in helping students and their families access medical and            social services in the community. HOW DO NEWCOMER STUDENTS MAKE               THE TRANSITION OUT OF THE PROGRAM?Many of the programs that are             one year in length automatically exit students at the end of the                school year. A number of programs test students for language                    proficiency (and some test content areas as well) to determine                  whether students are ready to participate in other programs offered             on the district or school. However, most programs allow some degree             of flexibility for individual students. In some programs, students              who make fast progress can exit before the end of the program. For              students who arrive in the second semester of the school year, who              have large gaps in their educational backgrounds, and may be                    illiterate in their native languages, several programs accommodate              their needs by extending their stay. 
Newcomer programs ease the               transition process in several ways. At some sites, the newcomer                 courses are part of a continuum of services in the language support             program, and students move on to higher ESL levels or into bilingual            classes. Some sites have students sit in on regular courses before              they exit the newcomer program. Many sites provide orientation to               the regular school program, take students on school tours, and have             students talk with guidance counselors. Some also pair newcomers                with more advanced ESL students. A number of sites continue to                  monitor the newcomer students' progress for 6 months to a year after            they have exited the program and may offer tutorials and                        mentoring. CONCLUSIONThe newcomer directory will be updated               each year through 2000, adding new programs as they become known to             the researchers. In addition, case studies of selected sites will               take place to further an understanding of how these programs serve              recent immigrants. REFERENCESShort, D.J., & Boyson,                       B. (1997). "Secondary Newcomer Programs in the United States:                   1996-97 Directory." Washington, DC: Center for Applied                          Linguistics. 
This digest was prepared with funding from the Office            of Educational Research and Improvement, National Library of                    Education, U.S. Dept. of Education, under contract no. RR93002010.              The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the positions or            policies of OERI or ED.                                                      **Title:** Secondary Newcomer Programs: Helping Recent Immigrants Prepare for              School Success. ERIC Digest.                                                 **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CLL, 1118 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037; phone:                     800-276-9834.                                                                **Descriptors:** Acculturation,  English (Second Language),  Immigrants, Secondary               Education,  Secondary School Students, Student Characteristics,                 Student Evaluation,  Student Needs                                           **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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