Hope for a positive change was the mood among panelist and attendees during the presentation of the research A Rocky Path: Understanding Access to Education Challenges for Newcomer Children & Youth, presented by the FCJ Youth Network on June 14.

The research was made possible thanks to the support of the Maytree Foundation, whose president, Elizabeth McIsaac, referred to the importance of this kind of advocacy initiative among the community, championing equity in education.

The launching of the research was attended by representatives of the Toronto Catholic District Board and Toronto District School Board among other academic participants who learned firsthand about the experience of newcomer families in enrolling their children in school.

The research was illustrated with a presentation of members of the FCJ Youth Network, who performed a play reflecting the challenges faced by newcomer families during the school enrollment process. The play included interactive scenes depicting the experiences of a refugee claimant family and a non-status family.

Updated and expanded

The report is a follow up on a previous one produced on 2016, which assessed the secondary school system in Ontario on 5 salient areas: Getting In, Equitable Participation, Anti-Discrimination, Support, and Moving On. Due the regressions observed in recent times, the Youth Network constructed a more extensive version addressing the levels of Elementary, Secondary (High school, EdVance, Adult School), and Post-Secondary education access for newcomer youth and families.

Stefan Enrique Joseph Kallikaden, FCJ Refugee Centre’s Youth and Access to Education Coordinator, and Natalia Mercado Salazar, Youth and Access to Education Worker, were leading the research. They presented a summary of the findings and highlights from the report.

The conclusion of the report discussed the need to increase financial support for newcomer families through scholarships and grants, provide cultural competency training for staff, and implement safe schools and equity policies to reduce dropout rates and improve graduation rates. It also recommended enhancing campus inclusivity with dedicated support centers, expanded counseling services, and holistic support programs, combating discrimination and bullying with enforced agreements, language support, and cultural sensitivity training, and supporting families with multilingual materials and bilingual staff. Comprehensive orientation programs and targeted academic and career counseling for students were also highlighted.

The presentation was followed by a short film titled Errance (Wandering), directed by Karla Meza. She is a documentary filmmaker and independent journalist who reports on issues related to forced migration and challenges faced by marginalized communities.

The film, produced by the Institut National de l’Image et du Son (L’inis), features Jorge Blas Jr. and Melissa Blas from the Blas family. The director introduced the film, which included comments from the Blas siblings. The movie tells the story of a young Mexican refugee in Montreal who has been forced to put his academic career and dream of becoming a police officer on hold due to his immigration status. Socially isolated, he clings to the daily life he shares with his family and tries, as best he can, to occupy his time while waiting for his documents that will change his future.

Panel Discussion

The conversation was enriched by the participation of Loly Rico,  the founder of FCJ Refugee Centre, who talked about the experience of FCJ Refugee Centre supporting children and youth and how the Access to Education program started in 2015, offering two pathways for entry into University – a bridging course program, and a direct entry program to York University that now had been expanded to Toronto Metropolitan University since Fall 2023.

Natalia Mercado Salazar also participated in the panel, together with Diana Abril Sánchez Martínez, part of the Youth Network, who shared their personal experiences. Additionally, the Blas siblings, Jorge and Melissa, along with advocate Karla Meza, participated via Zoom from Quebec.

The discussion focused on several key questions, addressing the primary challenges newcomer families encounter regarding language barriers and cultural differences, the importance of building community to foster a sense of belonging, support for their children’s academic and emotional well-being, sharing success stories, and best practices.

Natalia mentioned that families don’t know where to find information, and even when information is found, it is not always reliable. The Blas family described how coming from Mexico, with a totally different educational system and environment, to Quebec City, where they had to learn both French and English to communicate, was very challenging. Loly Rico spoke about how Ontario is one of the best provinces when it comes to the Education Act but also noted that it depends on where you live.

Diana Sánchez shared an experience where, during a class, students were asked if they had a Social Security Number or knew how to get one. She raised her hand saying she didn’t have one, and the teacher said they should all go and get one. When she told her family, they made her skip school for three days because they didn’t understand what it was about.

Addressing the question about success stories or best practices from schools or communities that have demonstrated effective strategies for supporting the diverse needs and aspirations of newcomer families in Canada, Natalia mentioned the challenges as a support worker when trying to contact schools to support families. Schools often do not respond, leading to miscommunication, especially since the families do not speak English.

Loly Rico spoke about some of the positive aspects, such as the bridging programs with York University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Queen’s University. These bridging programs have been helping a lot of youth and have also been providing access to the schools where they can advocate more and hope to extend this advocacy to different provinces.

Overall, the event was a comprehensive exploration of the challenges faced by newcomer children and youth in accessing education and highlighted the critical role of community support and systemic change in addressing these challenges.

The presentation of the community research engaged participants in a meaningful dialogue on access to education creating expectations for an improvement of the education system that might be shown during the second phase of the project taking place in 2025 when the school year finishes.

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This new report is divided into two phases:

• Phase 1: 2024 School Year End [Assessing Elementary, Secondary & Post-Secondary System with List of Areas Of Improvement]
• Phase 2: 2025 School Year End [Updates on Implementation of Suggestions]

The report ‘A Rocky Path: Understanding Access to Education Challenges for Newcomer Children & Youth,’ presented on June 14, 2024, include the findings, conclusions and recommendations of Phase 1.

Download the report here: