Refugee Students in Toronto Schools

Abstract

This is an abridged version of a full report entitled Refuge Students in Toronto Schools: An Exploratory Study. The report, which was released by the Toronto Board of Education in 1995, (1) discusses the situation of refugee students in Toronto schools, (2) examines how school staff dealt with the change in student population and the challenges they faced, and (3) suggests ways to help teachers, schools and the school system meet the needs of the newly arrived refugee students. While this article captures most of the major findings of the study, a considerable amount of details contained in the full report-for example, some of the statistics, case studies, anecdotes collected from refugee students and parents, and specific programs and suggestions-are omitted in order to accommodate the length requirement of this publication. Readers who are interested in the detailed study can contact the Research and Assessment Department of the Toronto Board of Education.