Educators Guide to Promising Practices for Serving Immigrant-Origin Youth and English Learners

Twenty-six percent of school-aged children in the United States are immigrant-origin students—either immigrants themselves or children of immigrants. Yet many educators feel underprepared to meet the unique strengths and challenges these students bring to their classrooms.

This guide, developed by Carola Suárez-Orozco, Adam Strom, and Rosalinda Larios, bridges research from the academy to the classroom. It offers educators a strength-based framework for understanding the whole child beyond language learning—addressing social-emotional development, family engagement, cultural belonging, and the ecological contexts that shape student outcomes.

Inside, you’ll find practical dilemmas educators encounter daily, from navigating classroom silence to engaging immigrant families in the college application process. Each dilemma invites reflection and discussion, paired with research insights and children’s literature recommendations.

The guide explores who immigrant-origin students are—first-generation newcomers, refugees, students with interrupted formal education (SIFE), and second-generation students navigating bicultural identities. It examines promising practices for language learning, social-emotional support, culturally responsive teaching, and building school communities where every student belongs.

Whether you’re a classroom teacher, administrator, counselor, or district leader, this guide provides the context and strategies to help immigrant-origin students reach their full potential—recognizing that what works for them often benefits all students.