Schools: Gateway or Obstacle to the American Dream Presenter J. David Ramirez, Ph.D. Center for Language Minority Education and Research California State University, Long Beach

Andrew F. Mellon Foundation Secondary Immigrant Project Study Goal:  To improve the integration of immigrant students into their schools and community.

Study Objectives:  To learn English.  To be proficient in content areas.  To successfully transition from- –home to school –school to school –school to post-secondary education/training/work

Why focus on immigrant students?  They are invisible at all levels: –Federal –State –District –School –Classroom

To address the needs of At-Risk students we must work at 4 levels:  Child  Family  School  Community

Student Voices  How do immigrant students see themselves?  How do they feel about their families?  How do they feel about their school?  How do they feel about their community?

Violence a Special Concern  Exposure to Violence and Mental Health among Khmer and Central American Youth

Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder

Indicators of Community Violence in U.S.  Homicide is 2nd leading cause of death for teens and young adults  Adolescents are victims of violence twice as much as adults  1.2 million crimes against adolescents are not reported (1991)

Age at Arrival & Current Age

Percentage of parents who completed High School

Percentage of families with annual income 20 K or more

What type of violent events did we ask about?  Arrested, kidnapped, held hostage  Threatened serious physical harm  Attacked, wounded  Witnessed killing, saw dead bodies  Sexually assaulted  Proximity to explosions, bombing, air raids  Tortured

What proportions were exposed to various types of violence in their lifetime?

What proportions were exposed to various types of violence pre and post migration?

What are symptoms of PTSD?  Intrusive memories and dreams  Avoidance of situations that remind of the violence  Difficulty sleeping  Difficulty concentrating  Feeling detached from others, outbursts of anger  Sense of foreshortened future

How did we evaluate functioning?  Interpersonal relationships  Broad psychological functioning  Job and school work  Use of leisure time

What did the youth report?  Between 1/4 and 1/2 of youth had PTSD  Violence in the U.S. was more pervasive and a stronger predictor of PTSD than violence before migration  Between 60-90% of youths reported good functioning  Lifetime violence was directly related to level of functioning

Did the amount of violence in the U.S. affect the level of distress (PTSD) and dysfunction?

Did the amount of violence in the U.S. affect the level of distress and dysfunction?

What can be useful to help students at risk?  Screening for mental health problems  Violence prevention - In schools (e.g. conflict resolution, safe schools policies, etc.) - Neutralize the impact of violence (debriefing after incidents) - Safety skills  Peer counseling, peer support  Referrals, linkages with mental health system

Implications for:  Services  Research  Policy

Comprehensive Services for Secondary Immigrant Students  Academic and Non-Academic Needs  Students and their families  School and Non-school agencies  On or off-school campus

Schools: Gateway or Obstacle to the American dream?