Refugee Education Program

Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG)

The Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG) is a competitive grant for federal funding. The primary goal of Pennsylvania's Refugee Education Program is to assist recently arrived refugee students and their families to adjust to their school and community in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner through the Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG). Funded programs provide before/afterschool, summer, evening and/or weekend opportunities that demonstrate creative and supportive activities to remove obstacles for refugee students that will result in optimum progress in academic and social development. They implement a holistic view of refugee students and their families with consideration for their past experiences and current situations. The focus is on services for new arrivals that are making initial adjustments and those that have been in the country for three years or less, but still continue to face serious challenges.

The awardees, their respective county being served and their total award amounts over the two-year period are listed below:

2012 - 2014 Refugee School Impact Grant

• PENN*LINK 2012-14 RSIG RFA Release (PDF)
• 2012-14 Rubric for Refugee School Impact Grant Application for Funds (PDF)
• 2012-2014 Request For Application (RFA) (PDF)
  2012-2014 Request For Application (RFA) (Word)
  

The Pennsylvania Department of Education aims to integrate and acculturate refugee students into school districts. The Refugee Education Program offers advocacy for a special population of students who otherwise may not have a voice. The Department provides technical assistance and supports districts' capacity to:

• Refugee Education Program Definitions (PDF)

  Connect school districts to the appropriate refugee resettlement agency in their areas
• Identify refugee students at enrollment
• Record the achievement of refugee students to contribute in increasing the overall achievement of the district
• Provide a free and appropriate education for refugee students in the least restrictive environment
• Facilitate school districts' requirements to provide translators and interpreters intheir native languages for refugee parents
• Link refugee students to appropriate programs within the district to help them achieve academic and social success
• Work with community-based organizations to support refugee youth
• Involve refugee parents in the education of their children
• Help schools value and use the diversity that exists within the refugee community to prepare all students for global service and leadership

• PDE's Standards Aligned System (SAS): www.pdesas.org.
• PDE's Migrant Education Program website: www.education.state.pa.us, keywords: Migrant Education.
• Refugee Resettlement in Pennsylvania: www.refugeesinpa.org.
• Pennsylvania Refugee Health Program: www.health.state.pa.us, Health Services and Resources àHealth Equity àRefugee Health.
• Office of Refugee Resettlement (federal): www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr.
  • The Regufee Act of 1980 (PDF)
  • Chapter 420 Refugee Act (PDF)
• Refugee Admissions Report to Congress: www.state.gov. Published annually.
• Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services (BRYCS): www.brycs.org.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): http://www.hhs.gov/.
• Administration for Children and Families (ACF): http://www.acf.hhs.gov/.
• Administration for Children and Families - Funding Opportunities http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/.
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) https://www.cfda.gov/.
• Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html.
• United States Code (U.S.C) http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/.
• Center for Applied Linguistics: www.cal.org.
• Resources for Teachers:
  • Amnesty International USA www.amnestyusa.org.
  • Immigration and Refugee Services of America (IRSA) www.refugeesusa.org.
  • International Institute of Buffalo, New York, Inc. www.iibuff.org/resettlement.html. 
  • Jewish Family Services www.jfs.org. 
  • Journey's End Refugee Services, Inc. www.volunteersolution.org/uwbec/org/2169343.html. 
  • Public Welfare Foundation www.publicwelfare.org.
  • Refugees International – USA www.refugeesinternational.org. 
  • U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) www.refugees.org. 
• On the Health/Mental Health of Refugee Children:
  • Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, Inc. (ASTT) www.astt.org. 
  • Life Transitions Center, Inc. http://www.lifetransitionscenter.com. 
• On Social Skills Programs:
  • Responsive Classroom www.responsiveclassroom.org. 
  • Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum www.cfchildren.org/violence.htm. 
• On Refugee Children Teaching Materials:
  • Carly (available at www.unhcr.ch ).
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child: www.unicef.org/cre. 
  • Cultural Orientation Resource, Center for Applied Linguistics www.culturalorientation.net. 
  • Human Rights, refugees and UNHCR: www.unhcr.ch .
  • Refugees Magazine: www.unhcr.ch .
  • To be a Refugee: www.unhcr.ch.
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) www.unhcr.ch.
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. 
• Children's Books:
  • From Far Away, Robert Munsch
  • One day we had to run: Refugee children tell their stories in words and paintings, Sybella Wilkes
  • Refugees: A resource book for primary schools, Jill Rutter
  • The other side of the truth, Beverly Naidoo
  • Who belongs here? An American story, Mary Burns Knight
  • Who belongs here? Teacher's guide, Mary Burns Knight and Thomas V. Chan
  • Why do they have to fight? Refugee children's stories from Bosnia, Kurdistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka, Jill Rutter and Mano Candappa