Creating A Sense of Belonging for Refugee and Immigrant Students

Many refugee students and families face a unique set of challenges, including but not limited to, cultural differences, language barriers, a lack of resources, discrimination, feelings of displacement, and trauma. Luma Mufleh is a refugee activist and founder of the nonprofit, Fugees Family. She opened two schools, Fugees Academy in Ohio and Georgia, dedicated to supporting refugee students and families. Luma is the author of Learning America: One Woman's Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children and her most recent memoir, From Here. In this episode of Get Schooled on Public Education, Luma discusses her experience as an immigrant, her advocacy journey, and how her charter school helps to resettle families to ensure students feel safe and grounded.

Key Takeaways:

• Refugee and immigrant students have different needs—one size will not fit all.
• Try placing yourself in the shoes of an immigrant or refugee student when making decisions/polices that impact them
• Consider realistic timelines for student learning and growth based on their individual needs

Featured in the Episode

Luma Mufleh
Refugee Activist and Founder of Fugees Family
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lumamufleh/

Quotes

“It's pretty powerful when you know you've got a community that's got your back when you're struggling, when you're failing, and when you're succeeding.” - Luma Mufleh

"My focus is advocating and fighting for their best interests, disregarding the comfort of others."- Luma Mufleh

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:01 A Journey of Schools, Soccer, and Education
03:10 Prioritizing Deserving Students Over Personal Interests
05:10 Immigrant Student's Success with Community Support
06:00 Empowering Students to Overcome Adversity
07:24 Embracing Activism and Overcoming Challenges
08:38 Breaking Barriers: Policies Affecting Refugee & Immigrant Students
09:56 Conclusion

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hello, and thank you for tuningin to the Get Schools on Public Education
podcast. I'm your host, BritneyBaker, and remember, charter schools are
public schools. We're alive in Austin, Texas at the National Charter Schools Conference
hosted by the National Alliance for PublicCharter Schools, and I'm so inspired by
our guests, Luma Moufflet. Lumais one of our keynote speakers for the

(00:28):
conference. She's also an author,refugee activists and the founder of the nonprofit
Fujie's Family, which oversees Fuji's Academy, two schools located in Georgia and Ohio.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday, Luma, How are you
good? How are you? I'mdoing love. Luma is the author of
Learning America, One Woman's Fight forEducational Justice for Refugee Children, which we

(00:52):
have with us today. Fujie's Academyis dedicated to advancing educational justice for fugee
in immigrant youth. Can you describeyour advocacy journey and what led you to
open Fugie's Academy. I think itwas like an unlikely road to starting schools.

(01:14):
It started off as a pickup soccergame in a parking lot. I
was born and raised in the MiddleEast, and I'm on Jordan, came
to college, ended up in theSouth. You can read more about that
in the book as to why.But I was on my way to end
the Leastern grocery store to pick upauthentic must and Peter Bread. Missed my
turn. Had to you turn intothis apartment complex, and when I was

(01:37):
there, I saw kids playing soccerwith rock set up as goals and they're
playing barefoot, and it reminded meof home. I'd been a club soccer
coach at the time, had asoccer ball in my car, brought it
out. The boys rushed, theywanted the ball, I wanted to play.
We had all The rest is history. And then once I got to
know my kids and players, Irealized that they couldn't read or write.

(02:04):
And that was really hard for meto reconcile because my parents sent me to
British and American schools growing up becausethey believed that was the best the world
had to offer. And I believedall schools in America or like the State
Department around American High School I wentto, and they were not and that
was not okay, and what aboutthe charter school model made you think that

(02:28):
it was the best way to servethese communities. So initially in Georgio,
we started off as a private school, so private school for a zero tuition
private school, and we applied tobe a charter and we were denied because
we had asked for our lottery toprioritize our community. So many charter schools

(02:53):
start off prioritizing a certain community andthen shift because the neighborhood gentrified, our
pressures to you know, get differentresults. And I wanted to make sure
that we had this in our charter, that we would prioritize our community.
And at that hearing, I wastold by one of the commissioners that she
was not going to prove a schoolthat discriminated against white middle class kids.

(03:17):
And I was like, oh,this is I'd expect to hear that.
So it continued as a private school. And then you know, the law
was changed in Georgia that allowed youto weigh the lottery for el and income,
and so when we applied for ourcharter, no one had used that
lottery, but it was there,and so we stacked it heavily. When

(03:38):
I was talking at someone who's helpedme with the application. She's like,
well, what do you want toensure I said, well, I want
to make sure that my daughter can'tcome to this school. And she's like,
all charter school leaders want their kidsto go to the schools. I
said, no, I want herto come, but I don't want her
to get in because she shouldn't betaking up as seats that another kid deserves

(03:59):
more. So let's dig a littledeeper here. What are some of the
key things we need to think aboutwhen serving the refugee and immigrant students and
families, and how do we getto those solutions? I mean, I
think we need to factor in thatit's not a monolith. Right, So
usually get English language learners, andit's like the same approach, the same
funding, the same solution. Andthe kids we specialize in are ones that

(04:24):
haven't had any formal education or theireducation was disrupted. So not only are
the English language learners, some ofthe kids we work with don't know letters
of the alphabet. That's a verydifferent approach than an immigrant who is literate.
And then you have to factor inall the things that may prevent learning.
Right, So are there stresses athome? Are there immigration policies that

(04:46):
weigh down on the kids? Like, you've got to factor in every piece.
And I tell my team when we'redesigning for solutions, we should walk
in their shoes and then we canstart seeing, oh, we forgot to
factor this in. Two Often whenwe designed solutions, we walk in our
own shoes and we don't walk inour community. Who can you share a

(05:09):
story about how a student or familywas positively impacted by Fuji's academy. There's
just there's so many, Um,I think of there's this one kid,
Um. He came in mid year, so in October novatmid semester. Um

(05:30):
came from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Didn't know word of English was a
hot mess, like as all middleschoolers are, right. Biggest challenge was
first getting him in this uniform tieto tie and like show up regularly.
Um, and we share our gradesin our schools and so um, you
know, the court the term cameand he had to share his grades and

(05:55):
he had the report card upside down, couldn't read it, you know,
and it was all f's anyway,And so I was standing next to him
and I read it and then endof the semester, he was able to
read it a lot of f stillsome ces. Everybody started clapping because every

(06:15):
kid in that room had seen whatI transpired, you know, And it's
like pretty powerful when you know you'vegot a community that's got your back when
you're struggling, when you're failing,and when you're succeeding. I've seen kids
who you know, have ended upgoing to college or entered apprenticeships when all
the data showed it's not going tohappen. I've had girls who got pregnant

(06:43):
during their time and finished school andare now on a path in community college.
Right, And it's like you've gotto have their back no matter what
and show them the possibilities. Likeyou're going to hit a bump. And
I think in some ways it's easierfor our kids to grasp that because they've
had to like uproot their entire lives. Right, So the little bumps that

(07:09):
here in the United States will considerhuge bumps. They're like, no,
like I can do this. It'snot that it's not as hardly in my
country, right, right, Yeah, And um, diving into the insight
you've gained over the years, whatare some of the key lessons you've learned
during your advocacy journey. I've hadto learn where to give a little bit

(07:33):
and where to like not compromise atall, and not to compromise at the
cost of my kids, right thatwhat I should be advocating for and fighting
for is what's best for them,not what makes other people comfortable. And
I've had to learn that the hardway, and that they're not to be

(07:56):
on display right um, and toshow them as assets, like too often
our community is shown as a deficit, and I want people to see us
in all the beauty and strength andresilience. And I've gotten a lot better
at asking for money. I hatedit. I hated it. I hated

(08:18):
it. I hated public speaking.And a friend was like, you do
it because of what happens after youdo it, Like you've got to step
out of your comfort zone. Andat that's what being an activist is.
So yeah, And a part ofyour mission is to advance educational justice or

(08:39):
refugee and immigrant you how can ourlisteners support you in your mission? I
think listeners should pay attention to thepolicies that keep refugee and immigrant kids,
you know, where they can't succeed. There's this like one AS nine policy
that says English language learners get awaiver from state testing for one year.

(09:03):
I'm like, you expect them tobe a grade level in one year?
Like that's just stupid, you know, Like, so pay attention to and
not not accept. Well, that'sjust the way it is. It's like,
well that is, it doesn't meanit's right. And think about,
like what you would want if youhad left your home, what you would
want in a school environment, ifyou had left your home, what you

(09:24):
would want in your community, ifyou'd love your home. I recently read
Dave Eggers. It's a kid's book, it's called Her Left Foot, and
it was about the Statue of Libertyyour right foot, Sorry, it's about
the Statue of Liberty. And hehighlighted that the statue of Liberty's leg is
actually lifted. It's not standing still, it's in motion. And so it's

(09:46):
in motion to welcome people in,not waiting for them to come to us.
And that's what America is about.We should be bring people in,
you know, that make our countrybetter and that need to heal. Well,
I love that and just thank youso much. For being here today.
Thank you for all that you dofor students and families. Thank you

(10:09):
for sharing your passion and your missionwith us. Thank you for having me.
Of course, I really appreciate youagain. Luma Mufflay, author,
refugee activists and founder of Fuji's Family. I'm your host, Britney Baker,
and thank you for tuning in toanother episode of the Get Schooled on Public
Education podcast, produced by Heartcast Media