Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for EdSurge, Donna M. Neary explains how a new collaboration with the Speed Art Museum in Kentucky is allowing high school immigrants to share their stories of hardships and hope through a new art exhibit. 

· How is this art exhibit a way of empowering young immigrants and refugees? How can philanthropists and donors support America's immigrants and refugees?

· Read about one school is embracing immigrant students.

Moving to a new home and starting a new school would be intimidating—even terrifying—for most teenagers. But for Lian and Lisbet, who moved to a home they did not choose in a place they did not know and needed to communicate in a language they did not speak, these transitions have led to freedom for them and their families.

Lian, from Myanmar, is a senior who is looking forward to graduating and joining her sister Muan at community college. Lian had learned to read and write in English while living in Malaysia, where her family waited for two years to immigrate to the U.S., but she could not speak it when she finally arrived here. Now, nearly three years later, she raises her hand, and her voice, in class. Her determination to speak English, and her hard work in the classroom, has propelled her to membership in the National Honor Society and consideration for several scholarships.

Lisbet moved to the United States from Santiago, Cuba—a place she says rumbles with earthquakes daily—stopping first in Miami and then on to Louisville, Ky., and into my classroom. Lisbet is constantly working to improve her English, collecting colloquialisms and slang and practicing their use. She has strong, thoughtful opinions, and often writes her ideas first, before sharing them in class. This year, she was one of eight students selected for the school’s Aspen Challenge Team, a prestigious problem-solving competition sponsored by the Aspen Institute.

Read the full article about high school immigrants by Donna M. Neary at EdSurge.