Immigrant Children Add New Element to Brookline Education

By: Mary Vitale

BROOKLINE – Of the 57,000 residents in Brookline, more than 25 percent were born outside the United States, according to the Brookline Community Foundation. The town has the third highest immigrant population in the state of Massachusetts. There are also 500 immigrants within the Brookline public school student population. School committee member Alan Morse said diversity adds a new element of quality education for the students of the town by exposing them first-hand to different cultures.

“Foreign students provide diversity that many children would never otherwise come into contact living in Massachusetts,” Morse said. “In today’s world, they will later need to interact with other cultures as adults, and by exposing them to that now, we hope they will find these different cultures positive and interesting, rather than threatening.”

Sarah Baffel, the program manager of the Brookline Community Foundation, said Brookline has seen a large increase in Hispanic, Asian and Russian immigrants over the past 10 years and their presence adds a wonderful diversity to the town and its schools. At the Edith Baker and Pierce schools, more than one-third of the students speak English as a second language. Because of this major influx of foreign students all eight elementary schools offer an English language-speaking program for immigrants.

“I feel this increase in foreign-born students has allowed Brookline children to learn the value of another culture and to better understand a world that is becoming more and more diverse,” Baffel said. “As a parent and as a town resident, I think this is a wonderful thing.”

Each Brookline elementary school offers a particular foreign language and culture program, such as Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Hebrew, Korean, and Russian. Another school committee member, Dr. Kevin Lang, said these programs help ease the transition for immigrant children into the town, as well as, help native Brookline children understand the culture of their classmates.

“Many parents choose to send their children to a certain devotional school based on where their child was born,” Lang said. “Each cultural program at each school allows these children to be proud and to remember their culture while being educated in the United States.”

Morse said many immigrant parents find comfort in connecting with other parents who speak the same language and who have similar experiences as them.

Nancy Pronovost, a Brookline resident, has adopted two children from China and one child from Vietnam. Provonost said Brookline’s diverse population is what prompted her to move there.

“My children are totally confident and comfortable going to school here,” she said. “The students and community are very welcoming and by attending the Michael Driscoll School, they are still exposed to Asian culture through the Mandarin Chinese program.”

There is a large immigrant presence in Brookline High School, as well. The Brookline High School student population of 1,880 teenagers represents 75 nations, according to the Brookline Community Foundation. June Harris, president of the High School Parent-Teacher Organization, said the students at the high school are proud of their different heritages, and it is reflected in student activities.

“One of the most moving activities of last year was when each child stood up at graduation and said hello to the audience in the language of their home country,” Harris said. “It’s great that Brookline is a town with such a diverse and proud community.”

Pronovost said she has never experienced any anti-immigration sentiment from anyone in Brookline since she has moved there.

“Racism is just something that is not in the culture of this town,” Pronovost said. “My children have never received any form of opposition, and I have never heard of any other families experiencing any.”

Lang said he has never heard any parents opposing immigrant children attending school with their children.

“I have never heard any anti-immigrant statements here,” Lang said. “I am sure there may be one or two parents out there who may not like it, but the majority of our parents welcome and value this diversity. Immigrants make our town and our schools extremely interesting places.”

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