Migrant Students in Skokie: District 72 Teachers Share Their Experience

On October 11, NSTU hosted a Zoom discussion with the director of the Niles Township Schools ELL Parent Center and three teachers from District 72, who shared their experience with supporting a group of migrant students and their families.

Sabiha Patel (ELL Parent Center), and Carrie Rodas, Rachel Olsen, and Nick Conner (Fairview Teachers Association D72) explained how they were able to provide support for 40 migrant students who arrived at their school with very little notice last October. Working with no timetable and little or no communication from the state, every day they problem-solved on the fly and worked to connect with their students and their families. They all felt like they “came out of this as better people…better teachers…better humans because of the time they spent with their students.”

Sabiha, Carrie, Rachel, and Nick are a valuable resource for any of our schools in Local 1274 who need help supporting a large group of migrant students. If you would like to hear their experiences and what they learned in the process, here is the link to the Zoom discussion: Migrant Students in Skokie - A Conversation for Educators