For the School District of Lancaster, World Refugee Day is reflected in the students, families and staff who make our schools stronger every day.
That was the spirit behind the World Refugee Day flag raising at Lancaster City Hall, held in partnership with the City of Lancaster, PA and CWS – Lancaster Immigration & Refugee Program. The gathering honored refugees and immigrants who have helped shape Lancaster’s identity, while recognizing June as Immigrant Heritage Month and June 24 as World Refugee Day.
For thousands of students in our district, English is not their native language. Across our schools, students speak about 50 world languages, including Spanish, Nepali, Swahili, Arabic, Haitian Creole and many others.
Our schools are often one of the first places where families build trust, find support and begin to feel rooted in a new community. Classrooms become places where students are learning English, sharing who they are and discovering that their stories belong here. The work of welcome continues in the way we teach and the way we create schools where every student can contribute and thrive.
Our district and our city are stronger because of the refugees and immigrants who call Lancaster home. And our future will be stronger because of the generations of students who continue to remind us that belonging can be spoken in many languages. Click here for more photos on Facebook.
