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Bishar Hassan spends his days navigating the halls and classrooms of Talahi Elementary School, working to embrace and empower the dozens of Somali students who have arrived since the start of the year.

Across town, his brother, Ahmed Hassan, fills a similar role at Discovery Community School, another campus that has experienced a recent surge in enrollment of Somali students.

The Hassan brothers are part of a growing community of Somali residents in this central Minnesota city of 65,000. The recent influx of immigrant students is nothing new in the St. Cloud school district, where English-language-learner enrollment has spiked by 350 percent in the past 15 years.

Today, roughly 20 percent of the district鈥檚 10,000 students are English-language learners, many of them with ties to the East African nation of Somalia.

Similar situations are developing in districts around the country.

The United States is now home to the largest number of foreign-born black people in its history鈥攁nd many are K-12 students enrolled in public schools. The English-learners among them are overwhelmingly native Spanish, French, or Haitian Creole speakers, but districts have had to adjust on the fly to meet the needs of students who arrive communicating in less frequently spoken languages such as Amharic, Haitian Creole, and Somali.

Nationwide, nearly 35,000 K-12 students report that they speak Somali at home, making it the eighth most common native language for English-learners in public schools, according to federal data from the 2013-14 school year.

Somali families began resettling here in large numbers at the turn of the century, and their children have become fixtures in St. Cloud鈥檚 schools. About 1,625 of the district鈥檚 English-learners are Somali. And as educators in the St. Cloud district have found, language is often just the first hurdle they encounter when new immigrant communities arrive.

Social service agencies often look to place refugee families in communities where they have access to jobs and other support services, even in places that are not traditional magnets for newcomers.

鈥淭hey could pop up in places that maybe even haven鈥檛 had English-learners before,鈥� said Delia Pompa, a senior fellow for education policy at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a challenge to work with English-learners ... but you can鈥檛 overlook the effect of culture and language.鈥�

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a federal civil rights complaint against the St. Cloud school district in 2011, alleging a hostile environment for the district鈥檚 Somali students that included widespread and frequent harassment based in large measure, on religion. The majority of the Somali community is Muslim.

Five years later, remnants of that tension remain.

鈥淭he St. Cloud school district is a long way away from really being a place where all students feel completely welcome,鈥� said Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of the council鈥檚 Minnesota chapter.

Cultural and Linguistic Liasions

The Hassan brothers are on the front lines of St. Cloud鈥檚 efforts to better serve its ever-expanding English-learner population and integrate the Somali community.

They officially work as bilingual communication support specialists. Their duties range from providing verbal and written translations into Somali and English, advising students, cultural navigation, and working to bridge the language and cultural gaps that emerge between district staff members and Somali families.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in between two stones when it comes to bridging that gap between the communities we serve and the institutions we work for,鈥� Ahmed Hassan said.

One day, the brothers are explaining to parents that all of their children, including those who have disabilities, have the right to a public education. The next, they鈥檙e helping colleagues understand that Somali students who don鈥檛 make eye contact aren鈥檛 being disrespectful; in their culture, children are expected to look down when adults speak to them.

The district has ramped up its efforts to recruit Somali residents, like the brothers, who can relate to the students, many of whom are refugees of the civil war between ethnic groups that erupted in their country decades ago and continues today.

Sundis Ibrahim, 15, arrived in Minnesota two years ago from a Kenyan refugee camp, knowing little English. She鈥檚 a sophomore here at Apollo High School, where nearly a quarter of the 1,400 students are Somali.

For Sundis and her classmates, the promise of the bright future their families envision in America is housed within the school walls.

The soft-spoken teenager has made connections since coming to Minnesota, but language remains a barrier. She struggles with science and English/language arts classes, but said that teachers often praise her effort.

鈥淚 understand the questions, but I don鈥檛 always know the answers,鈥� Sundis said.

The same could be said of school district staff.

鈥楽ense of Belonging鈥�

Natalie Prasch, St. Cloud鈥檚 director of English-learner programs, recruited the Hassan brothers, at separate times, when they came to the district鈥檚 Welcome Center to enroll their younger siblings in school.

All told, eight of their siblings have attended or are attending school in St. Cloud; the youngest is a 7-year-old 2nd grader.

For their brothers and sisters, 鈥渆verything looked different, the system, the people they interacted with, the culture,鈥� said Bashir Hassan, who is 29. 鈥淭hat sense of belonging was the first struggle.鈥�

The same holds true for Ahmed Hassan, 30. He still remembers the day he came to the United States from a Kenyan refugee camp. His arrival in September 2008 ushered in a new life and new hopes, but so much uncertainty. His brother Bashir was his guide.

鈥淗e was my counselor, my adviser of what to do and where to go when it comes to being successful in this country,鈥� Ahmed Hassan said.

Schools across the country are educating more than 800,000 immigrant students who have been in American schools for less than three years. And as that population has grown, the U.S. Department of Education has announced plans to work more intently to address the needs of both refugee and black English-learner students in public schools.

Those populations intersect in St. Cloud, where Somali students who spent their entire lives in the desert and tropical climates of Africa must adjust to Minnesota鈥檚 brutal winters.

鈥淲e鈥檙e taking kids who grew up in the desert and sticking them in iceboxes,鈥� Prasch said.

During the winter months, the district is often tracking down coats, hats, and gloves for students at the same time they鈥檙e administering home-language surveys鈥攁 set of questions used to identify the language or languages an ELL student speaks and understands.

Some students suffer from malnutrition and its mental and physical aftereffects. Those children often hoard food in their lockers because they鈥檙e so used to going without.

Then there are the students with no formal education; for them, pencils and books are foreign objects.

Teachers and Somali staff members alike say the students who鈥檝e had little to no experience with schooling are easy to spot. To address their needs initially, more time is spent focusing on structure and order than curriculum and learning English.

In its high schools, St. Cloud has 鈥淓nglish Academy鈥� courses designed to aid newcomer English-learners and struggling long-term ELLs get up to speed while teaching core subjects such as biology and math.

In social studies classes, teachers tailor lesson plans to incorporate a global view of events, both past and present. In several classrooms at Apollo High, maps of Africa and Minnesota are posted side-by-side on classroom walls.

Counselors also work to integrate students in English-only courses to help their language development. Almost all the courses have Somali-speaking paraprofessionals at the ready to translate and address student questions.

Despite recognition from the U.S. Department of Education for its efforts to educate ELLs, the district hasn鈥檛 been able to close a yawning achievement gap between English-learners and native English speakers鈥攁 problem that vexes most school systems.

Talahi Elementary, where roughly 45 percent of students are Somali, is a state 鈥減riority school,鈥� a label attached to Minnesota鈥檚 most persistently low-performing Title I schools. With test scores among the bottom 5 percent in the state, the state department of education is closely monitoring Talahi鈥檚 performance and turnaround plans.

鈥淲e view language as an opportunity [not] a deficit,鈥� said Principal Kate Flynn, 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e always nervous about test scores.鈥�

Cultural Disconnect?

While St. Cloud works to support the English-language development of its students, district officials say it has been just as important to make Somali students and their families feel welcome in schools and part of the community, which remains a work in progress.

In St. Cloud鈥檚 middle and high schools, the district allows prayer time for students, including Muslim students, as federal law requires. The rooms used for prayer are open to all students to observe their beliefs and are used for other purposes throughout the school day. Districtwide, school lunch menus provide pork-free options for students, and staff members try to spur the newcomer students鈥� interest in sports, culture clubs, and other extracurricular activities to develop connections beyond the classroom.

Somali student-athletes played key roles on Apollo High鈥檚 2014 state championship soccer team, and track and field teams have drawn plenty of Somali participants. The district has partnered with the University of Minnesota to develop uniforms for female athletes who wear hijab, the headscarves worn by some Muslim girls and women.

St. Cloud鈥檚 Technical High School, the site of Somali student protests last spring over anti-Muslim harassment, began an international club that allows English-learner students to showcase their cultural heritage.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e separated, it鈥檚 really hard to feel like you鈥檙e a part of the community,鈥� assistant superintendent Marsha Baisch said. 鈥淵ou feel different, you feel other.鈥�

Some students still feel that way.

A 2011 settlement ending a federal civil rights investigation of the treatment of Somali students in St. Cloud requires the school district to report all allegations of harassment.

Under the agreement, the district must make its schools more welcoming to Somalis.

But the agreement didn鈥檛 signal an end to the resentment and clashes in the district.

Last spring, racial and religious tensions at Technical High School erupted when students and parents, most of them Somali, alleged that school officials did not adequately respond to bullying incidents and anti-Islamic discrimination.

A social media post that implied a Technical High student had ties to the Islamic State terrorist group whose adherents have been responsible for deadly attacks, sparked the protest.

The post roiled St. Cloud鈥檚 tight-knit Somali community. The ensuing unrest drew the attention of Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, who attended community forums in the city.

Several of the Hassan brothers鈥� younger siblings graduated from Tech High, the site of the mass walkout last spring. As employees, they wonder if enough efforts have been made to hire Somali teachers and administrators.

Struggle to Find Black Teachers

Finding and attracting Somali-speaking teaching candidates has proved challenging. Only one of the district鈥檚 700-plus teachers is Somali. Not many of the district鈥檚 teachers are black.

As an adjunct instructor at local St. Cloud State University and the nearby College of St. Benedict, Prasch is always on the lookout for teaching candidates. The district is teaming with St. Cloud State to groom more Somali teaching candidates, including an effort to provide a pathway to help district staff already working as paraprofessionals to earn degrees.

Hiring trusted community members is key to building a rapport, said Pompa, of the Migration Policy Institute. But the strategy could take time to produce results in St. Cloud.

Many students rely on loans to help pay for college, but under Islamic law, devout Muslims are prohibited from taking on interest-based loans. So many of the Somali St. Cloud schools employees have to work their way through school, often at a slower pace than their peers.

Bishar Hassan, who is a semester away from earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree at St. Cloud State, couldn鈥檛 peel away from his job in the district to be a full-time student.

He and his brother felt duty-bound to support his family and the city鈥檚 Somali community.

鈥淲e found Minnesota to be our home,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is my favorite thing to do in my life, [making] a difference in the lives of others.鈥�