Christian Walter is the principal of the Sylvia Mendez Newcomers School in High Point. It’s Guilford County’s second newcomers school, opened last year. The schools serve students who are new to the United States and the American education system for around a year. Federal law prohibits segregating students for longer than that, but the real goal of a newcomers school isn't isolating students, but preparing them to enter regular public schools.
“I mean, this is a dream for me. I really fought for this school, like really hard. This is a dream job for me,” he said.
The floors are spotted with green, teal, and blue tiles in groups. According to Walter, the colors were chosen because studies have shown they have a calming effect.
In fact, the whole school is engineered to make students comfortable and relaxed. Its computer and media room is full of uniquely shaped chairs and beanbags line the colorful floor, and at the front of the room is a screen with a fireplace, playing soft coffee shop piano music.
“I think education is one of those unique commitments that the United States has made. That the idea that all children, no matter their background, socioeconomic background, that they should have access to a high-quality education… This is the constitutional right of kids in America," he said.
For decades, Guilford County has been home to dozens of immigrant communities. Jose Oliva emigrated from Guatemala and became a student at Guilford County’s first newcomer school back in 2011, at the time a one-of-a-kind facility that had only been open for a few years.
Now he’s the district's youngest-ever chief of staff at Guilford’s second newcomer school — and calls it an investment in future leaders.
“When you think about the CEOs who lead a lot of the Fortune 500 companies, a lot of those CEOs are immigrants. So it would be a disservice to North Carolina to not invest in future CEOs, elected leaders… We see it as an investment in ourselves, when we invest in newcomer schools,” Oliva said.
Oliva is careful to note the difference between the immigrant and refugee experiences. When you’re a refugee, you don’t want to move, but you’re forced to for safety concerns. That’s where the Newcomers School steps in as a welcoming pair of open arms, he said.
In fact, Guilford County has a long history of serving as a new home for resettled migrants, refugees, and immigrants long predating the newcomer school — and the county's population of over a half-million includes over 60,000 members of immigrant communities speaking over 100 different languages. According to a 2012 report from the UNC Greensboro Center for New North Carolinians, federal grants and programs, along with faith-based organizations, helped Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians settle in the area during the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid-90s, Somali and Sudanese immigrants settled in the area.
He said he knows there’s a vocal minority that opposes newcomers schools, but said most people support them.
“I think that most communities embrace a concept of newcomer schools. I think most people relate with that American Dream story. I think people want all their students to succeed," he said.
Some pushback against newcomers schools claim they aren’t schools at all. But Colleen Dunst, the school’s curriculum coordinator, said that’s simply not true.
“We use the same curriculum that they use around the district so if a student is in an English 1 class here, they’re using the same textbook, the same content in English 1 in another school,” she said.
Newcomers schools follow the state curriculum — with added focus on learning English. And, as Principal Walter said, the school helps students build up confidence.
“One of our emphasis here is the fact that we teach our students here how to advocate for themselves. And I think that’s a life skill you need when you go to a regular school.”
Transitioning from newcomer schools into regular schools is not easy, staff said. Refugee students have already been through a lot, and Walter says taking them away from that dual language environment can pose a serious challenge.
“They just feel so safe here and so familiar with the setting that going into the unknown might trigger some anxiety. So we partner with the SEL department” — social-emotional learning — “and also with UNCG psychological services. Sometimes they come and do sessions with our students.”
At the end of the day, Walter said newcomer schools are valuable, important, and very real places of education.
“What we do here in Guilford County is we prepare our students that come from different parts of the world so that they are able to become active members of this country. Because they’re not going to leave. They’re going to stay here.”
In response to criticism of the idea from public figures in New Hanover County, Walter said, “I think that they can do better.”
Oliva concluded: “So I hope they find a way to serve all kids. It doesn’t have to be one at the expense of the other but they can serve all kids. But I have my eyes on New Hanover, I think they're going to do great things."
