Immigrant Heritage Month

Graphic illustration of immigrants standing with welcome signs and flags from different countries behind them

In honor of Immigrant Heritage Month, LACOE will share valuable resources and information with LEAs to help them better serve immigrant students, including those who are language learners.

LACOE will offer LEAs a range of professional development opportunities designed to provide differentiated supports that meet the needs of immigrant students:

Family Partnerships and Culture: Reflect and Learn First, Teach Second - June 10, 2024
Supporting Schools & Newcomers: Overview of Unaccompanied Minors - June 20, 2024
Becoming Effective and Equitable Early Childhood Leaders - September 10, 2024
2024 Embrace Equity Symposium (for equitable education) - November 13 and 14, 2024
Equity Tropes and Traps – June 17, 2024
California HETAC Training Series Course 3: McKinney-Vento 101 – June 30, 2024
Equity in Data Book Club – 2/27/2025

LACOE has also curated the following resources in support of students who are also newcomers and/or refugees:

Newcomer Resources for Distribution | New Arrival Support Resources

Here are some recommended texts that offer insights into the experiences of immigrant children, youth, and families:

“Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story” – Childhood experiences navigating Ramadan as a new immigrant to the United States from India.
“A Shelter in Our Car”—Jamaican American Zettie and her mother come to the U.S. for a better life after Zettie’s father passes away.
“Enrique’s Journey” – When journalist Sonia Nazario met Enrique, an undocumented immigrant teen, she was stunned by his story of immigrating to the United States alone.
“Denied, Detained, Deported: The Dark Side of American Immigration” – For teens who are interested in learning the history of immigration in the U.S.
“Something in Between” – The author explores the experiences of undocumented teens in Something in Between.
“We are Displaced” offers more insight into the life of an extraordinary woman and an introduction to lesser-known conflicts and refugee experiences around the world.
“We Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults” - Anonymous young writers share their stories of being undocumented.
“This Land is Our Land” - Osborne organizes her immigration history to the United States into waves of immigrants, making it an excellent resource for highlighting parallels in the immigrant experience through time.