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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD The Office of Civil Rights of the federal Department of Education has responded to a complaint filed by a Springfield school volunteer regarding Somali refugee students and will investigate whether or not they are receiving the attention they deserve. Jean Caldwell of Springfield, a long-time school reading volunteer, filed the complaint in response to what she has seen in the city's schools. "My impression is that they [the School Department administration] is trying to ignore the fact that Somali students are here," she said. Caldwell said that the Somali students she has met have come to this country with far less education than other refugee or foreign students she has encountered and the differences in culture also impact the students greatly. She said that these students, persecuted members of the Bantu nation within the nation of Somalia, have been living in refugee camps under very primitive conditions. She said their parents come from farming backgrounds and are illiterate in their own language. In the camps, where the children were born, there is no running water, no toilets, no electricity and generally no schools. What schools exist teach songs, dances and the oral traditions of the Bantu. Caldwell has witnessed children who do not know what a staircase is and marvel at the "miracle" of a water fountain. However Springfield School Superintendent Joseph Burke said the school system is responding to concerns. It is conducting an evaluation of the Somali students and has posted an advertisement for a Somali translator. Burke said that if the Department's evaluation shows that the Somali students need more English training than what they are currently receiving, the School Department would consider implementing a summer program for the students. "It's going to take us a little while to get the data," Burke said. "It's an interesting issue that has been raised." Burke wondered if the Department treated the Somali students differently if that could be seen as discriminatory. The problem is that the students about 100 of them have been placed in standard English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in 21 schools across the city. Because of their cultural differences and small number, the Somali students are in a different situation that Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese speaking students whom make up the majority of ESL students, Caldwell added. There are only two Somali translators currently in the school system for these students. The result is confusion, which is leading to behavioral problems, Caldwell said. She added that in some ESL classes, there might be only one Somali in a class of all Spanish-speaking students. The student isn't sure what language English or Spanish he or she should be speaking. Sending home information for parents is difficult as the parents are learning English as well, she added. Non-ESL teachers have not been trained to address the needs of the Somalis either, she said. Caldwell charged that part the problem is due to the fact that School Department was not flexible to a change in where these refugees were placed in the city. Burke confirmed that the original plan was that the refugees would be living in apartments in the Mason Square area and the children would be clustered in the Johnson, Deberry and Homer Street schools. That housing plan changed and the families were placed in housing around the city. Burke said that the newly implemented boundary school plan complicated the matter further. He added that he believes the schools could have been more effective in meeting the students's needs if the original housing plan had been done. According to Caldwell, this is not a new concern. A group of 40 people met last March to discuss the topic because it was "clear children were frustrated and the teachers were frustrated." Caldwell would like to see the Somali students brought to a classroom together with an ESL teacher and a translator for their English lessons. "The city has the resources [to address this problem]," she said. Robert Marmor, the executive director of Jewish Family Services the agency that sponsored the Somali refugees said that 250 Somalis settled in Springfield. He said that the employment rate is 81 percent and the average wage is $8.57. Because of the large families, most are living below the poverty line. All but two families are residing in subsidized housing. Marmor explained that the number of refugees living here was determined by the State Department, which had been assigned an overall number of refugees by the United Nations. He said the transition for the Somali refugees in general was one of " the most difficult" in history in part because of their language problems. He said the Somali parents see great value in education and many want their children to be doctors and lawyers. He added that there are some refugees pursing higher education in area community colleges. His agency received a grant of $25,000 from the federal Office of Refugees and Immigration to provide after-school tutoring for the Somali students. Marmor said the agency is working with the School Department on the program that should be in place for the fall. The refugee cycle for the Somalis is over and Marmor said that currently, Sudanese, Liberians and ethnic Turks from Russia are being resettled in the area. "They're doing great," he added. |