Press about ImmSchools

Summer jobs for all — except NYC’s undocumented youth - april 2022

Three years ago, then-16-year-old Javier hoped to get a summer job to gain some work experience.He tried filling out an application for the city’s sprawling Summer Youth Employment Program, but quickly discovered that applicants needed a social security number. He didn’t have one.

Meet Two of Robin Hood’s FUEL for 50 Pioneers - march 2022

New York City’s Robin Hood Foundation is known for applying rigorous metrics to evaluate the poverty-fighting impact of its grants, so it’s big news that today it’s awarding $25,000 in no-strings-attached funding for 50 organizations that support parents and caregivers of young children.

Non-English speaking parents turn to WhatsApp, community groups when COVID translations fall short - February 2022

When New York City school officials introduced a new COVID policy during winter break, panic spread among many Bangladeshi parents in parts of central Brooklyn...

Non-English-Speaking Parents Turn to WhatsApp Groups for COVID Support - february 2022

Educators and advocates who work with immigrant families say changes in COVID rules have been confusing for those who speak limited or no English, and it is often challenging for them to get clarity about the protocols...

Apoyo y recursos disponibles a estudiantes inmigrantes - september 2021

Hablamos con Vanessa Luna de Imm Schools una organización que trabaja con padres para que estén preparados en el año escolar y conozcan sus derechos como estudiantes y miembros de la familia en nuestras escuelas.

Immigrant students will need more support next school year. Improved translation services are high on the wishlist - juLY 2021

A couple of months into the pandemic, Marleny De La Cruz lost her job as an office cleaner. Shortly after, her husband lost his supermarket job near their East Harlem home. She told herself there would be a silver lining: She could spend more time helping their 10-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter navigate remote learning through the tail end of the 2019-20 school year...

VIRIDIANA CARRIZALES - ON CREATING MORE SAFE AND INCLUSIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS FOR IMMIGRANT STUDENTS - juLY 2021

Prior to the pandemic, decades of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies have led to immigrant families not seeing schools as places they can trust. Any space they could create between the schools and themselves was a way of keeping their families safe....

English-Learners May Need More Support This Fall. But That Doesn’t Mean They’re Behind - JULY 2021

The country’s 5 million English-language learner-students—three-quarters of whom speak Spanish as their home language, federal data show—faced unique challenges during the periods of remote schooling last year. But, experts say, it’s important to remember being immersed in their families’ languages and cultures also offered some potential benefits for this group.....

2021 Philanthropy 100 Nominations Open - june 2021

Curated by Philanthropy Unbound/Unboxed Philanthropy, Philanthropy 100 is a list of people, organizations and companies making a positive difference in our world. ImmSchools appears at #65! It is broken into four categories – Individuals, Non-Profit Organizations, Foundations and Corporations.....

In a Crisis, Resilient Nonprofits Tap into Their Superpowers - june 2021

Defining and harnessing your nonprofit’s unique assets—its “superpower”—will help it push through the current crisis and the challenges yet to come. The second in a three-part series on building nonprofit resilience....

Get to know ImmSchools, an organization transforming the lives of students - june 2021

We are working to transform schools and make them safe and welcoming places for our immigrant community, especially for the undocumented," says Vanessa Luna, director and co-founder of said entity....

Welcoming and Safe Education for Undocumented Students in the US - may 2021

As the senior class at Skyline High School in Dallas looked forward to a trip to Europe, Lorena Tule-Romain looked for an excuse to tell her friends about why she wasn’t going. The real reason was because Tule-Romain was an undocumented student....

Survey of NYC immigrant families shows students falling behind - april 2021

There are few challenges Nereyda Gonzales has not faced as a parent.She arrived in New York City from Honduras in July 2019 and lives in a Brooklyn shelter with her family — a 17-year-old son in high school and a 10-year-old daughter in elementary school...

Showing its age, DACA can't protect many Dreamers heading to college in San Antonio - march 2021

Daily online courses, homework, cleaning houses six days a week and baking cheesecakes to sell on the side — that’s college life for Sun, an undergraduate at the University of Texas San Antonio. She’s 21 and pursuing a double major in cybersecurity and Mexican American studies, with a concentration in political science...

ImmSchools Student, Yeraldi Papaqui, speaks to Noticias NY1 About the Impact of DACA- FEBRUARY 2021
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In this interview, ImmSchools student expressed her hopes for more agency to shape her future through DACA and for immigration policy changes that will allow her to fulfill her dreams in school and beyond...

The Importance of Social Emotional Wellness and How Various Camden Schools Are Tackling it - january 2021

CAMDEN, NJ — Tracy Foedisch, one of the founders of Hope Community Charter School, was always aware of the large undocumented population in Camden. But she says the pandemic helped put the topic in a new light. It was while working with staff to be provide resources for the school’s more than 130 students. Virtual sessions but also safe in-person visits were set up to support them during the difficult year...

How Cardona Could Uplift Immigrant Students and English Language Learners as Education Secretary - january 2021
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When voters selected Joe Biden as the next president, Juan Cisneros offered a lukewarm congratulations.Cisneros, a 19-year-old computer science student at Benedictine University in Mesa, Arizona, is still fuming about immigration policy under former President Barack Obama...

DACA Has Been Fully Reinstated. Here's What That Means for the Thousands of People Who Qualify for Protection From Deportation - DECEMBER 2020

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is officially accepting new applications after the government fully reinstated the program on Monday. On Friday, a judge ordered the program to be fully reinstated to what it was before the Trump Administration attempted to rescind it in 2017, a reaffirmation of an earlier Supreme Court ruling...

Camden schools back undocumented students with new nonprofit partnership - october 2020

On Sept. 30, Camden City School District took a huge step forward in helping its undocumented students and families in what has been a tumultuous time for schools across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s persistence...

ImmSchools Receives Grant From Camden Education Foundation - OCTOBER 2020

CAMDEN – The nonprofit ImmSchools announced that it received a grant from the Camden Education Fund to expand to Camden and work with educators in transforming the city’s public schools into safe and welcoming spaces for immigrant and undocumented families...

Nonprofit organization ‘ImmSchools’ helps make schools safe, welcoming to immigrant students - OCTOBER 2020

This school year has been unlike any other with families facing new challenges because of the pandemic.One organization is working to help families at a bigger disadvantage, those in the immigrant and undocumented community....

ImmSchools featured in TIME 100 Next Talks - sEPTEMBER 2020
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Our Co-founder, Vanessa Luna spoke to Time100Next about ImmSchools impact and COVID-19 efforts.

Padres de familia preocupados porque clases en línea podrián no ser en vivo - SEPTEMBER 2020

Las familias que optaron por un modelo de educación mixto para este inicio de año escolar ya no tienen la garantía de que los días que sus hijos se queden en casa tendrán un maestro conectado para sus clases. Lorena Alpayero escogió esta modalidad y ahora está preocupada...

Remote learning a major challenge for students learning English as a second language - SEPT 2020

Roberto Gomez, 14, moved with his family to San Antonio from Mexico less than two years ago. He's been working hard to learn English since then — a task made even more difficult now that all of his classes are taught virtually...

Clases a distancia merman rendimiento del estudiante hispano - august 2020

Para Carmen Papaqui estudiar por internet con su hija Paola, de 12 años, ha sido un desafío."A veces es muy caprichosa cuando ella quiere algo porque quiere, a veces se pone a hablar cabello, muerde a veces, no siempre", explica esta madre de familia.Y es que Paola es una estudiante con necesidades educativas especiales.

Stop playing politics with New York’s immigrant families - AUGUST 2020

Sixteen years ago, I came to New York City to meet my husband and start our life together. We built a home here and are raising our two children in a community that we feel deeply connected to through our church, school, friends, and neighbors.

How school districts can support English Learner and Immigrant Students during COVID-19 - AUGUST 2020
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There is no doubt that COVID-19 has disrupted our learning environment and changed the way students learn. The sudden transition from in person-instruction to online learning in March imposed a challenge for many, including students, parents, educators, and administrators...

NYC Schools, Now’s the Time to Show Your Support for Immigrant Students and Families - july 2020

This school year was challenging for all of us, including our immigrant students and families. As New York City became the national epicenter of COVID-19 and schools closed, many immigrant families were disproportionately affected and struggled to support our children.

Why We Need to Protect and Support Our DACAmented Educators - juLY 2020

In the first weeks of school, Rosario Quiroz Villarreal always prioritized culture building with her elementary students in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, an area that is home to a large migrant population. She would do one activity in which students would say...

Education Groups Rejoice as Supreme Court Blocks Trump Efforts to End DACA Program’ - juLY 2020
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Education groups cheered a Supreme Court opinion Thursday that blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to end a program that provides work authorization and deportation relief to some 650,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children.

Without Wi-Fi, low-income Latino students resorted to doing homework in parking lots - JULY

Technology offered a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic as entire families went into quarantine. But for many low-income Latinos and their children, getting access proved to be a challenge. According to one education advocate, some students had to be driven to a McDonald's or a library for public Wi-Fi hotspots...

Organización ofrece recursos para estudiantes indocumentados en San Antonio - jULY 2020

ImmSchools es una organización local que capacita a maestros para educar y apoyar a estudiantes indocumentados y sus familias.

5 Ways Immigrants Are Leading the Way in the U.S. - juLY 2020
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immigrant communities have long been at the helm of social change. While there are organizations across the country working to address the needs of immigrants, refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers, many originated with and are led by well-meaning non-immigrants...

High School Grad Hoping DACA Makes Dreams Come True - JULY

"I immediately text my mom and it's like, 'They approved DACA again,' and then I call her and we're saying all the good things that we're going to get out of it," Miriam said. For 18-year-old Miriam and her younger brother Diego, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided DACA was illegally ended by the Trump administration a year and a half ago meant there was hope.

‘Resilient and Thriving’: What Immigrants Bring to Education - jULY 2020

The immigrant community is not a monolith. It spans every color, religion, language, identity, and immigration status, over 50 million strong and growing. But at the start of every immigrant’s journey was bravery and great hope for a better future for themselves and for their children.

Left out of government aid, undocumented workers get help during the coronavirus pandemic - juLY 2020
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AUSTIN, Texas — Juan, a 41-year-old unauthorized migrant from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, is used to working up to 10-hour days as a cook at a Dallas restaurant.But during the coronavirus pandemic, his hours have been cut by almost half.

Let’s Make America More Just for Our Immigrant Students and Families - june 2020

Check out this powerful piece by Rosario Quiroz Villarreal, ImmSchools NYC Program Facilitator and Next100 Policy Entrepreneur, Rosario Alexander-Villarreal highlighting the role and power of educators in supporting our immigrant students and families in our schools.

Maria Rocha, ImmSchools Facilitator reflected on WHAT the Supreme Court decision meant for her - june 2020

“As a San Antonio school teacher and DACA recipient, Maria Rocha has become an active voice for immigrants across the state and the nation.”We are inspired by the leadership of our DACA community who fought for and won this victory.

Lorena Tule-Romain: ImmSchools – How lived experience can spark your entrepreneurial fire. - june 2020
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Voyage Dallas featured our co-founder, Lorena Tule-Romain in their new edition #shoutoutdfw, she shared Viridiana Tule Carrizales influence on her and even gave travel tips highlighting Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation !

After Supreme Court Victory, DACA Educators Vow to Keep Fighting - june 2020

When Angélica Reyes learned that the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that the Trump administration cannot carry out its plan to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, she hugged her 8-year-old son tight and began to laugh and cry."He was like, 'We don't have to move to Canada, mama..."

Ideas to power next school year in NYC: How to confront trauma and foster healing - june 2020
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Trauma: the word will hang over school communities when teachers and students return next school year, whether to campus, to remote classrooms, or to some hybrid of the two.

'There's Hope for Us.' DACA Recipients Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling - june 2020
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Brian De Los Santos struggled to get to sleep on Wednesday night as he and his husband worried about what the outcome of the next day’s Supreme Court ruling on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program could mean for them.

With No Federal Aid, Immigrant Families, Students Lean on Local Support - May 2020

With just a few weeks left in her senior year of high school, Miriam has a long list of questions weighing on her mind.Will I cross the stage and collect a diploma? When will I see my friends again in person? Will college still start as planned this fall?Her list grows every day...

Resources for North Texas’ immigrants during the coronavirus pandemic - April 2020
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Here are some efforts aimed at helping authorized and unauthorized immigrants cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Educators Grapple With COVID-19 Challenges, Supporting Undocumented Students & Families Must Be a Priority - April 2020
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Last month, one of my former middle school students sent me a message on Instagram: “Miss, Hi! I wanted to ask you…do you have any information on food resources for my family? My mom isn’t sure where we can go, we are struggling right now and we need to feed our family."

For Undocumented Students, Coronavirus Pandemic Brings Learning Disruptions — and Economic Panic — With Few Avenues for Help - aPRIL 2020

Miriam hopes to attend college and become an elementary school teacher. But right now, she’s worried that she won’t graduate from high school.Like many campuses across the U.S., her high school in San Antonio, Texas, transitioned to online instruction last month amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As DACA decision looms, San Antonio educators talk support for undocumented families - FEBRUARY 2020
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As the nation awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision this spring on President Donald Trump’s efforts to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, participants in a conference for bilingual educators here Friday grappled with ways to support undocumented students, families — and colleagues...

Lorena Tule Romain selected as Dallas Park & Recreation Board Member - January 2020
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Established by the City Charter, the Dallas Park and Recreation Board has oversight of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. The 15 members of this policy making board are appointed and approved by the Mayor and Dallas City Council.

Vanessa Luna as Forbes 30 under 30 Dream Team - December, 2019
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This Teach for America veteran’s startup, which currently operates in Texas and New York, trains nearly 2,000 educators to help support 60,000 undocumented students in those two immigrant-heavy states...

Latinos making impact an impact in their community - December, 2019
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While Latinos faced brutal attacks in 2019, including a rise in hate crimes against our communities and vicious political assaults aimed at immigrants and people of color, this year also reminded us of our might. Across fields, our people have been using their voices, talents and smarts to uplift our stories and promote our culture...

ImmSchools selected as a 2019 J.M Kaplan Awardees - dECEMBER, 2019
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For America’s undocumented families, schools are places of unmatched opportunity: every child in the U.S. is guaranteed a K-12 education regardless of immigration status...

Supreme Court to Tackle DACA. What Does It Mean for Students, Teachers, and Schools? - November, 2019
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When the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday takes up a case about the Trump administration’s effort to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the 700,000 recipients of the program’s relief from deportation will be on edge...

ImmSchools a part of GSBI Social Entrepreneurship at the Margins - OCTOBER, 2019
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After the success of last year’s GSBI Social Entrepreneurship at the Margins (SEM) accelerator program, I am pleased to share our second cohort of social entrepreneurs supporting refugees, migrants, and human trafficking survivors...

Vanessa Luna is on the 2019 Time 100 Next List - october, 2019
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Vanessa Luna was teaching in Los Angeles in 2014 when the deportation of a student’s parent gave her an up-close view of how immigration policy can impact a child’s education...

Help is Here to Know and Protect the Rights of Immigrant Students - October 1, 2019

Many organizations connect immigrants to citizenship resources and legal aid. But ImmSchools is targeting support to where it’s sorely needed: in K-12 schools.

Check Out These Creative Initiatives Standing Up for Immigrant Students - OCTOBER 30, 2019

Amidst this ongoing crisis for students within immigrant communities, responses that create safety and support for them and their families are more important than ever. Here are several organizations with creative solutions that school administrators should emulate.

Back to School but Nothing’s Normal - September 15, 2019

It was a busy, if often frustrating, summer for the Trump administration’s many efforts to destabilize U.S. immigration policies. Federal judges ruled in August that...

Meet Lorena Tule-Romain of ImmSchools in Dallas - SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Growing as an undocumented student marked the trajectory of my professional life. As I navigated the professional pathways, I often grew frustrated with the lack of representation and knowledge around supporting undocumented families.

ALUMNA EARNS FORBES “30 UNDER 30” RECOGNITION - july 11, 2019

Vanessa Luna ’14 has dedicated her life after graduation to supporting the unique needs of undocumented students and families in the K-12 system.

ImmSchools wins Teach For America Social Innovation Award - June 10, 2019

The Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Social Innovation Award recognizes bold, new innovations that expand opportunities for students in low-income communities and address the root causes of educational inequity. Now in its eighth year...

ImmSchool Partners with SAISD - May 13, 2019

ImmSchools is excited to partner with San Antonio ISD and SA Rise in elevating the voices of the undocumented community within our schools. This video feature highlights the important of culturally responsive practices and tailored support of our undocumented students.

Vanessa Luna recognized as a leader in education by Forbes 30 under 30 - 2019

A Dreamer herself, Luna cofounded ImmSchools in 2017 to provide 1,000 educators the training needed to support the needs of 30,000 undocumented students and their families nationwide.

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ImmSchools Co-Founder, Vanessa Luna, selected as 2019 Roddenberry Fellow - 2019

Vanessa Luna is the Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer of ImmSchools. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 10 from Lima, Peru. Growing up undocumented, she experienced various challenges but due to her parent’s resilience...