| The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to explore the experiences of seven former students of an urban secondary newcomer school referred to as the High School for New Americans (HNA), which provides a full-day program and uses bilingual and sheltered content area instruction. Students arriving as freshmen and sophomores must leave after one year; juniors and seniors may transfer out or may graduate from HNA. Questions focused on: learning, socializing and linguistic experiences in the participants' native countries; experiences at HNA; how the school had prepared them for their experiences after leaving HNA; aspects they would consider in deciding whether to recommend the school to others.;Newcomer schools have been subject to controversy, detractors criticizing them as segregating ESL students from English-speaking peers, supporters seeing them as safe havens for immigrants until they have become sufficiently acclimated. Chapter IV provides a description of HNA and its success in refuting a challenge on the civil rights grounds of "segregation." Chapter V contains the narratives of the participants.;Chapter VI presents a cross-case thematic analysis arranged under topics suggested by research questions. Among themes presented are that participants had many daydreams of life in America and that the reality had not always lived up to expectations. All reported that although they had years of prior schooling they had not learned sufficient English before coming to the U.S., that the ESL classes at HNA had helped them make sufficient progress in English, that in general teachers were helpful, and that they had been well-prepared for the next school or college they had attended.;All agreed the school was valuable for them. Some considered it "just right" and "highly nurturing;" a few wished they had transferred sooner. Some said they had experienced segregation in their home districts and that those who did not speak English felt isolated. Others saw themselves as segregated at HNA, but felt this was supportive in the first year. In contrast, a few commented on the value of being in a school with students from so many different ethnicities. |
