Into, through, and beyond Secondary School: Critical Transitions for Immigrant Youths. Topics in Immigrant Education 1.

Besides the difficult personal transitions involved in growth from childhood to adulthood, immigrant adolescents face difficult transitions to school as well, as they move from their native cultures to the U.S. culture, through the structures and gateposts of secondary school, and into higher education and work. This book discusses four specific principles that can be applied by secondary school staff to facilitate these reconceptualizations and promote students' transitions are proposed: (1) cultivating organizational relationships with and among health and social service agencies, community-based organizations, and higher education institutions; (2) providing access to information, about U.S. schools and culture, available resources and support services, workplaces and career preparation, and higher education; (3) cultivating human relationships, between immigrant students and adults, between students, among school staff, and between educators and families; and (4) providing multiple and flexible pathways into U.S. schooling and culture, into the mainstream, and beyond secondary school. With discussion of each of the principles, a list of questions is offered for school staff to ask in establishing practices based on the principle. (Contains 106 references and a list of related or useful organizations and programs.) (MSE)