In the tenth installment of our blog series on 'Childhood and Migration,' our member Sandra Castro (Adelphi University, US) discusses the vital role of schools and mothers in the academic success and integration of Central American immigrant children living in Long Island, New York.
Source: Wiki Commons.
In suburban Long Island, New York, immigrant children in transnational families from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, Central America, undergo complex processes of family reunification and social adjustment upon reuniting with their mothers, new siblings, and stepparents after extended periods of separation. These experiences are intricately interwoven with the local community and, predominantly, the educational institutions they engage with, which play pivotal roles in shaping their integration and overall well-being.
Research has underscored the profound impact of family separation due to immigration on the educational and academic trajectories of immigrant children[1] across racial/ethnic and various age groups. Studies also suggest that such separations influence academic outcomes differently across gender lines: boys often encounter lower levels of social and familial support and have lower academic achievement compared to their female counterparts, who tend to receive greater familial and social support and do better academically[2].
Integral to the successful integration and academic achievement of immigrant students are effective modes of integration. Without robust support systems in place, immigrant children confront an array of challenges including struggles with school adjustment, social exclusion, bullying, diminished self-esteem, and susceptibility to involvement in the criminal justice system[3].
Moreover, the context of reception significantly shapes school access to crucial resources and services. In places like Nassau County, Long Island, a suburb of New York City, high levels of segregation persist[4], reflecting Long Island's history of racial inequities and discriminatory practices.[5]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, of Nassau County’s 1.38 million residents in 2022, 57 percent were non-Hispanic whites, 18 percent Hispanic, 13 percent Black, and 12 percent Asian[6]. The median household income was $127,000 but varied by town. With wealthier towns, like Sands Point, with a predominantly non-white Hispanic and Asian population having a median income of $250,000 and lower-income towns, like Hempstead, with a predominantly Black and Hispanic population with a median income of $74,000. For immigrant children from Central America on Long Island, particularly adolescent and teenage males, the highly segregated and racialized context has often caused them to find themselves on the receiving end of anti-immigrant prejudice and racism within school settings, a phenomenon that has led to their unwarranted criminalization by school administrators, security officers, and local law enforcement[7].
In my qualitative study examining the experiences of separation and reunification of twenty-five transnational Central American mothers and their children,[8] I found that the educational context played a role in their children’s academic success or shortcoming, community integration, adaption and overall sense of fulfillment. An additional discovery was that the schools themselves exhibited considerable variability. Some children attended schools with high dropout rates, overcrowded classrooms, teacher turnover, lack of teacher diversity and incidents of violence, underscoring the inadequacies within the educational system[9]. Other schools exhibited concerted efforts to support migrant children. By employing bilingual staff, implementing orientation programs, bilingual programs and ensuring appropriate placement of students, these schools created conducive learning environments for their success. A school psychologist in one school mentioned the importance of bilingual programs not only for English Language Learners (ELL), many of which are unaccompanied minors, but also for monolingual students to be prepared for a multilingual professional world in the future. The bilingual program existed for various subjects where students have academic instruction in Spanish and English. The school also initiated a “Project Adventure”- group-building activities for ELL and immigrant students to build bonds with peers through field trips, college tours and recreation.
Mothers played a central role in facilitating their children's integration into new communities and schools as well. Despite demanding work schedules and being immigrants without being fluent in English, and being unfamiliar with the U.S. educational system, these mothers exhibited unwavering commitment by engaging in enrolling their children in school programs, coordinating with school staff to secure interpreters, compiling residency paperwork, and seeking support from family members. However, despite their tireless efforts, their children often harbored feelings of resentment toward their mothers for what they perceived as inadequate preparation for the challenges encountered in their new school environments. This resentment was due to their initial separation due to their mother’s migration and perceived abandonment, but also due to the hardships encountered once children entered schools. Nivian, one of the mothers in the study, talks about the difficulty enrolling her oldest son who was 15 in school and the poor treatment he received as a student.
It was hard getting him in school because as you know I do not have the paperwork to show that I am his mother. I would have to get every paper that they gave me notorized and translated to English. I’d have to send to Guatemala to get them notorized. This took so much time and every time I would go to the school, they would send me back for something else. During this time of going back and forth to the school, he was not able to attend school. When my son finally went to school, he always came looking very depressed and sad. He told me that he did not like the people from the school. He said “You don't know how they treat me. They treat me like I’m dumb, because I’m “illegal”.
In summary, the educational experiences of immigrant children in suburban Long Island schools are intricate and multifaceted. The processes of family reunification and social integration are directly connected to the support systems provided by the local community, educational institutions and their families, in particular their mothers. Gendered disparities in institutional support, coupled with historical racial inequities and discriminatory practices, further exacerbate the challenges faced by migrant students. However, collaborative efforts between families, communities, and schools are instrumental in fostering the well-being and academic success of immigrant children in Long Island schools.
[1] Family Separation and the Educational Success of Immigrant Children
[2] Crossing the border to find home: A gendered perspective on the separation and reunification experiences of Mexican immigrant young adults in the United States.
[3] Hope as a Crucial Factor in Integration Among Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth in the USA: A Pilot Project | Journal of International Migration and Integration
[4] Housing and Educational Inequality: The Case of Long Island
[5] School segregation on LI twice U.S. average - Newsday
[6] Long Island Counts: 2020 Census Report
[7] How a Crackdown on MS-13 Caught Up Innocent High School Students - The New York Times
[8] Tears, Trauma and Transformation: Central American Mothers' Experiences of Violence, Migration and Family Reunification
[9] 37%: A CBS2 Special Presentation