Supporting Resettled Refugee Children's Social and Emotional Development Through Community-Based Programs: What Works and Why it's Necessary

Resettled refugee children encounter a wide variety of challenges when integrating into classrooms in the United States. Having experienced instability and trauma in key years of their development, this transition is often not easy. These students' strengths and struggles are commonly overlooked, as they face immediate pressure to catch up to their peers academically. After working first-hand with resettled refugee students for several years, I set out to pilot a program that supported their holistic development in order to offer learning outcomes and suggestions to teachers and community professionals. The study contains an analysis of relevant literature, how it informed interviews with local teachers and community professionals, and how the information gathered shaped the development and implementation of a summer program for resettled refugee children.