As of February 2022, Texas led the nation in the number of Afghan refugees it had received, a number that exceeded 10,000 at the time.
Many of those refugees were children who are now enrolled in Texas schools.
In Austin, the district has both a refugee support office and multilingual education department dedicated to working with these students and their teachers, as well as their families.
Even still, it can be a challenging and isolating experience for young people trying to learn new lessons, in a new language, in a new country and culture.
Here, one Austin middle schooler who arrived from Afghanistan in 2021 and has been enrolled in school for a year, shares his experience.
Coverage of race, opportunity, and equity is supported in part by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, at www.wallacefoundation.org. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.
