How Topeka USD 501 schools are gearing up to teach Ukrainian refugee students

The language is different, but markers, held in little hands, paint stories that need no words to be understood.

On one poster, a stick figure family stands tall on green shaggy grass under a vast paper sky, with a big blue-and-yellow striped flag centered prominently. On another, a river of red roses flows next to big blue-and-yellow heart.

One shows a family split apart by a scribbled mess of orange, captioned with the word "BOOM!"

This was the Ukrainian children's understanding of the past six months with their families, scribbled away by an even more incomprehensible war.

Monday was the first session of what Topeka USD 501 officials hope becomes a monthly series of fellowship meetings with about 20 Ukrainian refugee families whose children will attend district schools.

The meeting, held before the families' weekly English classes at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, was geared at helping the families formally enroll in school and answer any lingering questions the families had about U.S. education — questions on things like school bell schedules and if the schools would provide meals for children.

The families had varying degrees of English proficiency, but a translator helped facilitate the meeting. Smiles flashed across the room as the translator relayed each family's excitement to be in Topeka.

What it takes to teach refugee students

Although Topeka USD 501 doesn't have much past experience working with Ukrainian refugees, it has worked with refugees and students from other countries, particularly through its welcome center for new families, and some of the same concepts apply.

The district has usually worked with students from Spanish-speaking families through its English Language Learners programs, and in those cases, teachers and staff have been more likely to be fluent in Spanish.

But with the Ukrainian students, the educators will have to rely on other techniques to bridge the language gap, said Pilar Mejia, director of cultural innovation for the district. However, Topeka USD 501 teachers are well-trained in those methods.

"We use those best practices that help students acquire content through realia, through visuals, tonal and physical response strategies," said Mejia. "It's a marriage between how to support  them in their basic needs of that interpersonal communication, and also pushing ahead into acquiring the academic vocabulary and language that they need to be successful in class."

The Ukrainian students will be kept together, to an extent, to allow them some level of familiarity and friendship as they navigate starting school in a new country. All students will either attend Jardine Elementary, Jardine Middle School or Topeka High School, depending on their age.

The district will provide van transportation for each family, so as to minimize any confusion over bus pickup and drop-off times.

At the middle and high school levels, the students will take the same English Language Learner classes while staff try to keep them in other classes together, with a dedicated paraprofessional tagging along for support.

Topeka USD 501 is also providing most materials and supplies the students will need, including internet hotspots and laptops for the students to use at home.

Beyond the approach to teaching, schools are also working with teachers and staff to recognize any cultural hurdles, as well as any lingering trauma the students have of the past six months of war in their country, said Jardine Middle School principal Mike Haire.

For example, students could become stressed at the sound of a fire drill, or the weekly tornado siren tests might sound much like the air raid sirens from the start of the war in Ukraine.

"Our teachers are getting a better understanding of how kids might react to certain things," Haire said. "Their country is war-ridden right now, so we're teaching about things that might be triggers or might be social-emotional needs we need to address."

The ultimate hope is that as the students become more accustomed to their schools, they start participating more fully in such activities as athletics or band.

"We're just hoping to provide a lot of different things to them," Haire said. "It's about trying to open doors and provide opportunities they might not get anywhere else."

Learning the little things of being a student in the U.S.

Never in Larry Lonard's long career as a Russian language teacher did he think he'd have to put in place his skills to help the victims of a country he had long studied.

For 31 years, Lonard taught Russian classes as Topeka High School, as well as other history subjects. He also managed Topeka High's foreign exchange program relationship with its sister school Kharkiv 62 in the Ukrainian city, occasionally spending a month of each school year at that school.

"Unfortunately, the Russians blew it up," he said.

He "came out of retirement" Monday to help any way he could as USD 501 officials figured out how to best meet the needs of the families they were enrolling. Despite knowing knowing just a few words of Ukrainian, Lonard used his Russian to help translate for a few families.

In his experience with exchange students decades ago, Ukrainian students arriving to the U.S. often felt overwhelmed by the wide variety of course offerings and electives in U.S. high schools. It could also be a challenge for the students in adapting to different bell schedules and customs, as well as learning "all of the little things" and idiosyncrasies of being a kid in America.

All that is amplified now.

"Adapting to the culture while you're thinking about things back home or watching the news, it's hard," he said. "I imagine some of their fathers are in the army, fighting the Russians. It's great to see the district and city open their arms to them, but I hope they can go back to their families in Ukraine."

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at ‪785-289-5325‬. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.