Newcomer schools: First impressions

Abstract

As result of political and economic climates in several Central American, Eastern European, and Southeast Asian countries, there are an unprecedented number of newly arrived immigrant students (Lucas, Henze, & Donato, 1990). Quite often these students or newcomers arrive in the school system with no or extremely limited experience with the English language and often little or no experience with the American school system (Minicucci & Olsen, 1992). With myriad of experiences coming into the classroom, these students provide special challenge for educators. Some students need language instruction while others are not adequately prepared for the content area work for their appropriate age level. Compounding these factors, some students arrive in the United States with severe psychological and emotional trauma due to war zone experiences and/or the immigration process (Lavadenz, 1991). Although there is ample research on programs, curricula, and instructional practices for elementary bilingual and limited English proficient (LEP) learners, there is little research pertaining to bilingual learners at the secondary level (Faltis & Arias, 1992). Within the secondary LEP population is a wide range of English language proficiency and prior academic preparation (Minicucci & Olsen, 1992, p. 3). Accordingly, many of the newly arrived students do not have adequate levels of literacy in either their native language and English. Since the majority of bilingual and English as Second language (ESL) programs are directed toward elementary LEP students, the secondary population has fallen