Announcement
Exciting news surfaced in early March when Utah lawmakers met to pass House Concurrent Resolution (H.C.R.) 22, “Concurrent Resolution Celebrating the Contributions of Multilingual and Multicultural Families to Utah Schools.” As we approach the season marking new beginnings, this resolution appropriately builds upon Utah’s existing work recognizing the importance of multilingual students and their families. Multilingual families draw from nuanced cultural and linguistic experiences. If schools understand how multiculturalism and multilingualism benefit their students, all of Utah’s students can find greater fulfillment both personally and academically.
Students provided their stories about moving to the United States as members of multicultural families in an effort to advocate for future students.
Photo: Screenshot
Natalie El-Deiry, executive director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Salt Lake City commented on the resolution, which passed unanimously, during the IRC’s first town hall of 2021: “We have seen some best practices from schools in the state on creating more welcoming school environments to refugee and immigrant families and this resolution is intended to see that expand so that all schools are adapting these best practices.”
This resolution recognizes the integral role guardian involvement plays in the lives of students and aims to increase engagement by encouraging the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) to expand the parent and family engagement sample indicators, which measure family engagement activities statewide, to include metrics specific to multilingual family engagement. If opportunities arise for further funding, such information will indicate the prevalence of newcomer families in Utah, the impact of supporting these families, and Utah’s existing expertise. This data collection will be helpful in the long-term investment of these school models.
Encouraging the success of this bill were the firsthand experiences of students from Clayton Middle School. Stephanie Hunt, who has been teaching English Language Development (ELD) and refugee students for ten years, provided testimony related to her multicultural students and the issues they were facing, stating, “after a meeting with a principal about how we could address this, we realized what we were trying to do was to instruct these kids in a way that we instruct our kids who are born and raised here...We weren’t celebrating them and the amazing things that they bring to our communities and our schools.” Their school restructured their system for instruction to include the families of multicultural students. Among the changes implemented was a “family-to-family” program that connects newly arrived families with those who had familiarity with Utah schools.
Five of Stephanie’s eighth-grade students provided testimonies supporting the importance of this resolution. As dedicated students who have lived experiences as refugees and immigrants, they drew on their knowledge to advocate for future students.
Representative Dan Johnson spoke of his father who immigrated from Sweden and of his early education.
Photo: Screenshot
Vivian, who comes from a Mexican-American family, came prepared with notes and spoke powerfully. “My parents are fluent in English and Spanish; therefore, they do not struggle with communicating or understanding the Utah School System,” she shared. "But unfortunately, unlike them, there are many parents who do struggle with being able to communicate with their child’s teacher. Therefore, due to the language barrier, it is necessary to implement a program that can provide resources to have a better way of understanding their teachers and be more involved in their child’s education.”
In addition to the students advocating for H.C.R. 22, Representative Dan Johnson, who sponsored this bill, spoke of his father’s experience immigrating to the United States from Sweden. His personal experience with his father, who inspired his academic pursuits as a young boy, encouraged his commitment to this generation of immigrants and refugees. Senator Daniel Thatcher, a longstanding supporter of refugee resettlement, sponsored the resolution in the Senate.
Representative Karen Kwan also voiced her support for the bill as a first-generation American whose parents stressed the importance of education. She spoke of her own sorrow in no longer being fluent in their native language due to bullying and outdated policies that encourage the belief that English is the only language. Representative Kwan believes this resolution celebrates the multilingualism she once had.
Thanks to the passionate voices in support of this bill, the bravery of students speaking of their experiences, and the sweeping encouragement from Utah representatives, this resolution promises an inclusive future that honors the individual strengths brought by multilingual families to Utah’s schools. H.C.R. 22 passed unanimously in both Chambers, and was signed by the Governor on March 17th.
The IRC’s advocacy team works alongside our supporters to fight for policies that deliver real change for the people we serve. Text RESCUE to 40649 to join the movement. Visit Rescue.org/TakeAction for more information.