Andrian and his son Abraham are from Caracas, Venezuela.

He declares that he is proud to be Venezuelan. He loves everything about Venezuela because it is where he was born.

Andrian came to Chicago 2 months ago because the economy in Venezuela was not ideal. The only people there were those who worked for the government.

In Venezuela, Andrian used to work as a farmer, but later worked in a furniture store. Prices would keep increasing and furtniture would be hard to afford.

There is political corruption in Venezuela. It was uncertain whether schools were safe enough or not. There was lots of crime. Even if one bought a car, the government may take it away. Even going on strike was difficult in Venezuela.

Andrian recalled how the police had permission to take money away from them, so he chose to hide his money in his shoes. The police do not do anything if something bad is done. They simply take you to jail if you don't have money where you must stay for a few years.

• The police can do whatever they want beause they know that the government won't do anything against them.

Andrian came to the United States for security reasons. There was no medicine for the kids while they were in school, and everything, including the hospitals, were expensive.

Andrian chose to live in Chicago, and has liked how calm it is, although he recognizes that every place has its pros and cons.

Andrian has a cousin who picked Andrian and his immediate family up from the airport. They stayed for three days with her, then went to live in the police station. He currently does not know where his cousin is, while one of his other family members still lives in the police department.

Adrian spent a month and half traveling to the United States

He described being able to pay for utilize transportation via car for sections of the journey through Central America

Although he did not describe how he crossed the southern border, Adrian and his son did fly to Chicago O'Hare airport from San Antonio

• • Adrian's cousin, who has lived in Chicago for a few years, was able to pick him up from the airport via car

  • He spent a few minutes describing how much his son enjoyed the "beautiful" flight to Chicago and how much of the experience represented a newfound sense of hope

Adrian and his children were first housed in a Police Station 

• • They slept on the floor with blankets to soften the hard floor

  • Breakfast and lunch were often provided in the police station but the food had to be supplemented with their own purchases

    • • Adrian partook in temporary work wherever he could find it in order to pay for meals that were not provided at the Police Station

Andrian is thankful for Chicago Public Schools.

• He is thankful that the kids are in a safe place to go to school.

• In Venezuela, his kids could only go to school one or twice a week. Teachers used to go on strikes to advocate for pay raises, but nothing got resolved.

• Andrian hopes that his kids can continue to have a good education.

Andrian wants CPS teachers to know that his kids love school.

• Andrian recalls Abraham saying that he wants to learn English. Back in Venezuela, the kids did not want to go to school.

• There is language support in the school. Andrian is happy that most teachers speak Spanish here.

In terms of how CPS can better support his child, Andrian says that so far, everything is good.

While the kids are in school, Andrian works hard to find a job, but it is hard.

• Andrian does not have a social security number.

• Andrian works one day, sometimes two every week.

• He seeks for any temporary jobs he can find by asking neighbors around the community. He has helped with cleaning, construction, and car washing. Sometimes he is lucky, sometimes he is not.

Andrian's family lives in a shelter a couple blocks from the elementary school in Brand Park. 

• There are support services for medical care available. Social workers love to offer help.

Andrian's immediate family consists of his two kids, his wife, and his wife's sister. 

• Andrian's sister-in-law has a daughter who is in need of an operation. They hope that the United States can help with this.

Andrian has family abroad.

• His sister has been living in Chile for 6 years. They communicate through WhatsApp.

• Andrian occasionally sends his sister in Chile and his mother back in Venezuela money through Western Union. 

Foster an environment in which students can better pick up the language.

• Academic English can take more time than social English shared with peers. 

• There has not been one person in her school who knows how to speak an indigenous language. Similarly, her husband, who also teaches at a CPS school in Little Village, does not know anyone there who speaks another language.

  • It is difficult to find certified translators, and teachers are making do with translator apps.

  • Hiring a translator outside of the district is difficult and rare.

• As the only teacher wit ha bilingual endorsement last year, Alyssa feels overwhelmed with the surplus of demand for translation and bilingual support.

  • O'Toole Elementary School in West Englewood experienced a 5% to 25% Hispanic demographic in the last 2 years.

  • Alyssa does everything she can and beyond to help the migrant students, but feels stretched thin by the lack of attention she is giving to her own family back at home.

All parties in the building should welcome the students with open arms.

Alyssa states that the parents and kids do not consider problems such as emotional trauma as priorities: stable housing and food are more important.

• A family is yet to be identified that has yet to start and end the school year in the elementary school.

  • A group of students stay at most 6 months.

  • Otherwise, they go to another city or state.

  • Teachers try to address the families' social emotional needs by referring them to YMCA after school programs to strengthen their English skills, meet with a school counselor, find resources like sheltering, etc.

Primary school kids have an easier time adjusting to the new environment.

• There are more opportunities to socialize and play together.

Middle school kids have a harder time adjusting.

• None of the middle school teachers speak Spanish.

• There is little time to socialize during class, causing lots of anxiety.

Many students still choose to have a mask on everyday to cover their face.

She has often had to converse with homeroom teachers about ways to make the kids feel welcome.

• She recently went through a training at Lurie Children's Hospital to be able to counsel children on how to work through trauma.

Principal of Carl Von Linne Elementary School

• Notably, Parra arrived to the US from Venezuela in 1983 and attended Haugen elementary within CPS

• Parra emphasized the need to address the emotional trauma of children before academic learning can become effective

• Parra sees addressing the emotional trauma of recently arrived migrant children as the most important function CPS can perform in the early stages of integration into the school system

  • He says multiple Spanish speaking counselors on school grounds would be extremely valuable 

  • If budget constraints limit counselor availability, a referral system would add value for families

    • Referral system could help to distribute counselors already within the system more efficiently 

Challenges of age-based placement:

• CPS policy is to place in grade by age

• Many Venezuelan migrants are far below CPS standards for their age given lack of previous educational attainment 

• Carl Von Linne established a summer program to help lagging students catch up

  • Program did not capture needs of all students, given the steady stream of new arrival