English-Language Learners Video

From Afghanistan to Austin, One Refugee Student’s Experience

By Lauren Santucci — December 1, 2022 4:32
Ahmad Still 003 BS

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.

See Also

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iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion 12 Ways to Support Afghan Refugee Students
Larry Ferlazzo, August 25, 2021
12 min read

Lauren Santucci
Video Producer
As a video producer, Lauren Santucci produces, films, and edits meaningful, human-interest digital video and works closely with Education Week editors and reporters. Prior to joining Education Week in 2022, she produced videos for Al Jazeera, FRONTLINE PBS, and The Texas Tribune. She has a master’s degree in visual journalism from Ohio University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

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.

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