Undocumented, Immigrant Students to be Focus of New Camden Program
By Steve Rodas, TapInto Camden
October 1, 2020
CAMDEN, NJ — Thriving as an undocumented or immigrant student can be difficult, says Camden school board member Falio Leyba-Martinez.
The financial strains brought on by COVID-19, entering into a remote instruction format while learning English and having to worry about what your parents' legal status means for the resources you'll be able to tap into just being a few examples.
"People are struggling during these times, especially undocumented families. Not only with the language barrier but as far as [acquiring] federal grant money that, because of their status, they don’t have access to," Leyba-Martinez said over the phone.
Knowing that education is among the places where such families can gain helpful free resources, Leyba-Martinez has worked with non-profit ImmSchools throughout the year to cultivate initiatives to better the community. He also helped pave the way for a “Safe Zone” resolution in Camden City passed in May - making it clear that staff and faculty do not have to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on school grounds.
This past Tuesday, a resolution he sponsored was passed during the Camden City School District (CCSD)’s monthly meeting - allowing ImmSchools to help shape part of the curriculum around education for the undocumented and immigrant population.
“I’m proud to be able to use my position as a board member to push city schools to become more inclusive spaces for all students. The stakes are high to get this right because the undocumented population is so vulnerable. ImmSchools has the expertise to provide educators with the right tools to tackle these complex and sensitive issues,” said Leyba-Martinez.
It will be the first time that ImmSchools, founded in 2017 by three formerly undocumented educators, will be bring its programming to New Jersey - where there are roughly 43,000 undocumented students enrolled in K-12 and 1 in 11 children live with undocumented parents.
“We are thrilled to expand our impact in a city with such a vibrant immigrant community like Camden,” said ImmSchools co-founder and Chief Program Officer Vanessa Luna. “We are grateful to Camden Education Fund and Camden City School District for facilitating this partnership and for their commitment to better serving this often overlooked population. As someone who grew up undocumented, was a former DACAmented teacher and was the first person in my family to go to college, I have a deep commitment to support the needs of our immigrant community in our schools."
Luna says $45,000 from the Camden Education Fund (CEF) will make the efforts possible.