UNO Partners with Nebraska Dept. of Education to Help Nebraska Schools Better Serve Afghan Refugees

UNO’s International Program’s Center for Afghanistan Studies is launching a 10-month training course for Nebraska school administrators, teachers, and other school personnel to better serve incoming Afghan students and their families.

Through a partnership with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), this program, called Afghan Refugee School Impact, aims to enhance the capacity of schools to better serve newcomer Afghan students and families. This will involve expanding and strengthening opportunities for linguistic integration and education; providing welcoming schools and classrooms for Afghan refugees; strengthening skills, knowledge, and competence of NDE staff for the benefit of Afghan refugee students; and enhancing the capacity and quality of existing programs that focus on Afghan refugees.

The program, made possible through a partnership with the Nebraska Department of Education, will train a total of sixty participants representing Omaha Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, and Lincoln Public Schools. It will be conducted with a hybrid approach of online and in-person programming produced in collaboration with the Division of Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives at UNO.

The course consists of five modules: The Refugee Experience, Cross-Cultural Understanding and Communication, The People of Afghanistan, Religious Practices of Afghans, and Professional Skills for Supporting English Language Learners (ELLs) and ELLs with Disabilities.

Besides offering practical content on topics related to Afghan culture, the course will cover topics related to general knowledge about refugees and the trauma of displacement as well as the stress of resettlement and acculturation. This broader knowledge can be transferred to apply to other refugee populations, making a greater impact, not only for Afghans, but for people coming to Nebraska from many other parts of the world. Another anticipated outcome of the course will be giving administrators, teachers, and school staff an avenue for discussion, problem solving, and collaboration regarding topics related to including, supporting, and empowering Afghan refugee students and their families.