Schools are crucial in helping refugee children settle in

The ones younger than eight years old may never have been to school at all.

For the thousands of Syrian refugee children headed for Canada’s public schools, the challenge will be more than just learning English or French and making friends. Many will struggle with the concept of school itself, of literacy even in Arabic, of studying in a building that won’t be bombed, and feeling safe enough, at last, to think about learning.

And they will bring with them the confusion of upheaval, startling gaps in education and hidden wounds that will be the schools’ job to help mend.

Schools can be the one-stop hub for family services, but never before have they faced so many refugees in such a short time, and it’s not clear, after years of federal cuts to settlement services, that they’ll get the help they need in time.

“We’ll need much, much more in support — more teachers, more settlement workers, more LEAP programs (classes for those whose schooling has been interrupted by war or disaster) to address an influx this large,” said Karen Falconer, executive superintendent of the Toronto District School Board.

She said she has to believe Ottawa will come through with more funding for help.

The Peel District School Board’s welcome centres, which have three Arabic-speaking workers, have started to accept donations of gently used winter clothing, bedding and other necessities for Syrian students. The board has recently applied for extra funding for settlement help and begun reaching out to mental health agencies that can provide counselling to young victims of trauma.

“We’ll have Arabic interpreters on speed-dial,” predicted David Crichton, principal at Toronto’s Rose Ave. Public School near the St. Jamestown highrises, where many refugees settle.

“But it will be kindergarten where the refugees will pose a challenge, because a large number of them won’t have had their needs identified or treated in their home country and our kindergarten classes already have 30 children,” said Crichton.

Settlement workers decode the school system for families, and refer them to help, including counselling at places like CAMH.

“The psychosocial help will be important — about 15 to 20 per cent of refugee children typically need intense psychological support — but what you really need is to be able to help a child feel welcome and supported without feeling centred out as The Syrian Refugee,” warned aid worker Caroline Keenan of Save the Children.