“How Do I Get In?”: A College Readiness Program as a Site of Authentic Care for Immigrant-Origin Youth

• In Event: Sanctuary Schooling: Educational Renewal for Im/Migrant Youth Through Research, Remedy, and Repair

Abstract

Paper: “How Do I Get In?”: A College Readiness Program as a Site of Authentic Care for Immigrant-Origin Youth

Purpose: This paper explores how Aspire, a college readiness program for immigrant-origin secondary students in a small urban school district in Maine, USA, served a growing population of diverse immigrant-origin students and families in the 2023-2024 school year. This presentation answers the research question: How does the Aspire program contribute to a caring context of reception for immigrant students and their families in a new destination city?

Theoretical Framework: This presentation is grounded in theories of immigrant integration that highlight the salience of nested contexts of reception in shaping immigrants’ experiences (Golash-Boza & Valdez, 2018; Portes & Rumbaut, 2014), as well as theories of care in educational settings (Noddings, 1984; Rolón-Dow, 2005). As regular points of contact with the state, public schools are central influences on the experiences of immigrant-origin youth and their families (Lowenhaupt et al., 2021). Authentically caring relationships with educators disrupt inequalities faced by immigrant-origin youth by promoting a sense of belonging and expanding their access to educational opportunities (DeNicolo et al., 2017).

Methods and Data: For this critical ethnographic case study, the author spent one year working within the school district, including four months (one semester) of working full-time as the Aspire mentor for “Baxter High School.” By working as a college access mentor to over 60 students and balancing dual identities as a researcher and practitioner, the author developed a deep understanding of the caring role Aspire plays as an educational space dedicated to helping immigrant-origin youth access higher education and develop a sense of belonging at school and in the city. During this period of intensive participant observation, the author took field notes, collected written artifacts, and wrote reflective memos.

Results: For immigrant-origin students, Aspire plays an essential, caring role in creating a caring context of reception by embracing students’ non-dominant social and cultural capital; connecting students with resources within and outside the school; seeking resources for students who are undocumented or awaiting pending asylum decisions; and making space for student self-expression. In a newly diversifying and mostly rural context like Maine, relatively few immigrant parents have the dominant cultural, social, and academic capital needed to help their children navigate the complex, inaccessible higher education system of the U.S. Aspire staff - many of whom, like the author, are young university graduates with immigrant backgrounds - are in a unique position to meet students where they are and support them in meeting their goals.

Scholarly Significance: This paper highlights the importance of authentically caring educators in creating and improving caring contexts of reception and post-secondary outcomes for immigrant youth. Findings from this study can inform research, policy, and practice in other newly diversifying school districts serving growing immigrant populations.

Author

• Edom Tesfa, Brown University