Educator Survey: Welcoming Sanctuary Schools & Newcomer Support Status
March 2024 marks exactly three years since a pregnant immigrant mother was detained outside a public elementary school in South Philadelphia, an arrest that sparked widespread fear and concern for immigrant and newcomer students and families. Despite the unanimous approval for the Welcoming Sanctuary Schools resolution in 2021, there have been continued instances of institutional harms that negatively impact our community, including an alarming threat of deportation towards a newcomer student by a District principal.
Juntos remains commited to supporting our community as they continue to navigate an educational system with disturbing trends of rights violations, including insufficient language access, shortcomings in newcomer screening, and inadequate support services. Unfortunately, despite securing a district-wide resolution that was meant to bring to fruition the vision of sanctuary in our local public schools, we are still waiting for the true systemic change that was promised.
From October 2023 to February 2024 we surveyed almost 150 Philadelphia educators, staff and administrators to gauge knowledge about existing newcomer supports within the District and current compliance with the Welcoming Sanctuary Schools resolution that was won in 2021.
Today, on the eve of three years of organizing for sanctuary in Philly public schools, we share these results. What we found out is not surprising, and only supports our call for true systemic change within the District. Out of 152 respondents, only 33% believe their schools are equipped to communicate with newcomers and their families. Only 14% have received training to use interpretation services. Additionally, according to District-provided data for 2023, there were 1,032 newcomer students, yet only 70 were enrolled in newcomer programs, leaving 120 spaces vacant.
But that isn’t all, when asked about implementation of the Welcoming School resolution, 63% of respondents indicate that the District is not implementing the resolution adequately or at all. Additionally, while the resolution was meant to implement District-wide training on how to respond to ICE presence and/or information requests on school grounds, nearly 44% of teachers reported having received no training at all.
The Sanctuary Schools campaign demands are as follows:
The District must expand their Newcomer Program to ensure more youth and families can access the supports they need. Additionally, the District must adjust their assessment of who can access this critical program.
The District must recommit to the vision of building true Welcoming Sanctuary Schools, which means making adjustments to ensure full implementation and compliance with the district resolution is met to avoid repeated instances of harm.
