Syrian refugees pose challenges for B.C. schools

As most B.C. kids return to classes after the winter break, many Syrian refugee children are looking forward to theirfirst day of schoolin years.

"I cannot wait to go to school," saidShergo Kurdi, the 15-year-old nephew of Tima Kurdi.

"I couldn't wait until I am in Canada and to be a kid againand to start my new life."

Shergo Kurdi and his sister Haveenhaven't been able to attend school since 2012.

• Finding refuge: Syrian arrivals prepare for a new life

Now, along with other Syrian refugee children that have been arriving in B.C. in recent weeks, they are beginning the process of being placed in classrooms and filling in the gaps in their education.

An average of three years' missed education

The interrupted education is one of the biggest challenges for school districts welcoming Syrian refugee children.

"Based on what we have seen so far, and what we are expecting, an average student has missed school for threeyears. So we're looking at a threeyears'gap in schooling," saidHavalAhmad, a settlement worker at theBurnabySchool District.

"Some schools existed in the refugee camps, but really there were no sets of standards."

UNICEF says13.7 million out of 34 million schoolage children in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Sudan are not getting an education, almost double the number five years ago.

Ahmad says Burnaby is beginning to see the first few registrations of what he expects to behundreds of new students in the coming months, as Canada settles25,000 Syrian refugees.

The first step for refugeestudents is to take an English Language Learner (ELL) assessment.

ButAhmad says it cantake months to determine exactly what level of courses they should be taking.

"For instance, a student could be doing really good in math, but because of their Englishvocabulary, they might not understand the concepts."

Where to put these students?

Another challenge is where to put the new students, in aschool system that is already often stretched to capacity.

Caroline Lai, the manager of Surrey Schools' English Language LearnerWelcome Centre, says they are alsoexpecting a few hundred Syrian refugee students.

"If they do all live in one area, then I think ... we'll be devising a plan of having students perhaps transported to different schools that are not as full."

Lai says it's important that Syrian students be placedinto regular classes with their own age group, rather than concentrated in a class geared just for refugees.

"Our goal is to empower students and to integrate them," she said.

"We don't want to take that high school experience away from themor their elementary school experience away from them."

However, Lai says many Syrian refugee students over the age of 15 won't be able to graduate from high school, since they won't accumulate enough credits.

She says in that case, students will be encouraged to continue their education as adult learners after age 19.

Lai saysa professional development day will be held for B.C. teachers in Februaryto help them prepare for teaching Syrian refugee students.