| The number of Sudanese children dropping out of high school in Calgary has become a major concern for the Alberta New Sudan Community Association of Canada. The non-profit organization estimates that 210 Sudanese students have dropped out of school since the late ’90s.
Simon Chuol, secretary-general of the association, says some Sudanese children in Calgary never had the chance to attend school before coming to Canada due to the brutal civil war in Sudan. Other Sudanese children attended school in refugee camps but he says the camps often did not have properly trained teachers or adequate resources. Chuol is concerned that when Sudanese kids come to Calgary they are put into classes with other kids the same age even if they have never received any education. In many cases, parents are unable to help educate their children because they are themselves uneducated or they work long hours. Sudanese students also face a language barrier, because most don’t speak English when they arrive and some have psychological problems related to growing up in a war zone.
"They have grown up in war always hearing guns firing, seeing people dying," says Chuol. "The question of integration in the school is really hard. They get ashamed and drop out of school…. The school system lets most of them drop out."
Discrimination and bullying is also a big problem in the Calgary school system, says Chuol. He says in some extreme cases Sudanese students have been called "nigger" by other children. Chuol says the discrimination they face causes some Sudanese students to get into fights and they can end up suspended or expelled.
Most Sudanese students attend the Calgary Catholic School District. Chuol says his association has been trying to work with some schools to come up with solutions to the unique challenges Sudanese students face. He says the fact that the school district has hired a Sudanese liaison officer is a positive first step.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese community is very concerned about the fact that Sudanese drop outs are in some cases getting involved in high-risk activities. "They will end up as street boys and girls, become prostitutes and drug addicted," says Chuol.
Judy MacKay, superintendent of instruction services for the Calgary Catholic School District, says the district doesn’t keep statistics on drop out rates for specific ethnic groups so she can’t comment on Sudanese drop-out rates. However, she says the district is aiming to reduce drop out rates for immigrant youth.
MacKay says the district has specific programs in place for immigrant students who have entered the Calgary school system at the high school level. She says there are special classes for students who have had little or no previous education and who also don’t speak English, which combine literacy and ESL components.
"Those same supports are available for any immigrant population including Sudanese or Columbians who come at high school level and face challenges either because of disrupted schooling or they may not have had the opportunity to have any schooling, so that makes it very difficult to integrate into our system," says MacKay.
She adds the district has family school liaison workers who work with specific ethnic communities to try to ensure student success. They also have a fourth-year high school program where older students who haven’t been able to complete high school due to ESL or literacy issues can attend. The district and Bow Valley College also co-operate on the Bridge Program which helps students who still have language and literacy deficiencies to move on to further education or the workforce. The district has also developed a program with the Alberta Mental Health Board specifically geared to help immigrant students who have lived through war. A team of family support workers and psychologists work with students to help them deal with the trauma they’ve faced.
"Calgary Catholic has a very high rate in terms of high school completion. Our goal would be to have 100 per cent of our students completing high school. We’re not there yet," says MacKay." We certainly continue to work with all our communities including our Sudanese population. Students who are leaving are a concern and there are all sorts of things we do in our high schools."
MacKay says the district also tries to emphasize making schools welcoming and inclusive for all students regardless of ethnicity. |
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