Arrive & Thrive: Creating Supportive Structures for Newcomer Students and Families

Julie Nariman Vijayendran • Cahn Fellow 2022

This project addresses the question, “How do we support newcomer Multilingual Learners (MLLs) in thriving upon their arrival to a new school in a new country, rather than just surviving?” As a school for newcomer MLLs, we sought to reexamine our systems for welcoming students, particularly those who arrive after the first day of school and also those who arrive after the 9th grade who did not matriculate from an 8th grade New York City school. 

We explored everything from how students are introduced to their teachers to how we teach literacy school-wide, with the goal of helping students and families feel comfort, belonging and academic success as quickly and seamlessly as possible. The project explores how we re-envisioned our school’s student services team as well as our student entry process, added a robust, data-driven strategic reading program, and created a new vision for peer mentoring.