ICE detained her college students. This Minnesota superintendent spoke up.

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The morning after federal immigration officers detained two Columbia Heights Public Faculty District college students in in the future, together with 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, Superintendent Zena Stenvik awoke with one thought.

“We want justice for 5-year-olds and all these different youngsters,” she thought.

The superintendent referred to as her faculty board chair at 6 a.m. She was prepared to talk publicly.

Within the weeks main as much as that morning, as a surge of immigration enforcement crushed the Twin Cities, Stenvik had hoped her district within the inner-ring suburbs of Minneapolis would fly underneath the radar.

However these weeks took their toll on the district of roughly 3,400 college students: Brokers circled its colleges “continually all through the day,” Stenvik mentioned. Brokers got here on faculty property. ICE raids close by drove recess inside.

“We felt that we couldn’t have any bigger goal on our again than we already had,” she mentioned.

Throughout an ensuing press convention, Stenvik and others informed reporters what they knew: The story of scholars detained on their option to faculty, and of Liam, whose blue bunny hat grew to become an emblem of the toll that immigration enforcement has taken on younger youngsters.

She felt compelled to talk for her group, she informed Chalkbeat in an interview.

“When it’s impacting youngsters, that’s my enterprise,” she mentioned. “When it’s impacting our households and our communities, that’s my enterprise.”

The previous month has altered Stenvik’s district, with fewer college students within the classroom and extra on-line. The disruptions are so extreme that Twin Cities districts are contemplating asking for waivers to state testing necessities, she mentioned.

Practically half of Columbia Heights college students are English language learners, and the district anticipated to really feel the consequences of elevated immigration enforcement. The district started working with an immigration legislation agency and skilled workers on what to do if an agent got here to the college.

As a substitute, dad and mom have been abruptly detained, and college students have been stopped on their option to faculty. Seven college students have been detained to date this yr, and two are nonetheless on the Dilley Detention Middle in Texas.

“We have been ready for an ICE agent to point out up with a judicially signed warrant,” she mentioned. “We have been skilled on what to do with that situation, proper? That’s not occurring in any respect.”

For Stenvik, who grew up within the Twin Cities and has labored at Columbia Heights since 2007, her work is centered round group, she mentioned.

“We’ve acquired our core values and we’re actually displaying them,” she mentioned. “There’s so many various individuals… even when they’re doing one small factor to contribute, they’re doing it, whether or not it’s dad and mom standing on avenue corners or individuals delivering meals.”

Stenvik spoke with Chalkbeat on Tuesday. On Thursday, border czar Tom Homan mentioned he was winding down the enforcement surge in Minnesota. Native officers have expressed each aid and skepticism. Stenvik mentioned she would welcome a drawdown, particularly one that may permit college students to return to the classroom.

Stenvik mentioned how the district has confronted the disaster in her group, what she’s realized from her lengthy profession instructing college students from world wide, and the moments of pleasure she’s witnessed throughout a darkish time.

This interview has been calmly edited for size and readability.

Division of Homeland Safety officers have mentioned they aren’t focusing on colleges or college students. Does this replicate your district’s expertise?

This morning, behind one in all our elementary colleges and behind our highschool at across the time the place youngsters are coming to highschool, there have been three or 4 ICE autos parked proper behind our faculty, so that they’re very current throughout arrival and dismissal time. I imply, the Dilley Detention Middle exists as a result of they’re detaining youngsters, proper? Our youngsters who went into the Whipple [federal] constructing, and our workers members who went with them informed me that they’ve cartoons taking part in. They’ve acquired a stack of kids’s books. So youngsters are being impacted.

I had a number of youngsters who have been simply driving to highschool, they have been pulled over. At this level, our youngsters are carrying their passports and whatnot they usually weren’t apprehended. They have been in a position to come to highschool. However if you’re surrounded by six or eight masked armed males who are usually not figuring out themselves, who’re shouting totally different orders, and also you’re a 17- or 16-year-old child simply making an attempt to get to highschool, it’s very traumatizing and really impactful.

How do you keep in touch with college students who’ve been detained?

We begin making telephone calls and come up with relations to see if they’ve any extra data. After which we now have an inventory of various immigration attorneys who’re in Texas and right here in Minnesota as nicely, who’re keen and in a position to assist the households. And all the instances that I’ve personally been concerned in are individuals who have some form of authorized standing.

We had a mom who went to her often scheduled immigration appointment, after which was detained there, though she was following the legislation and following the principles.

How do you welcome college students again after they return?

There are totally different group members and organizations who’ve been serving to to get them a journey dwelling from the airport.

We now have a cell clinic that we’re working with, they usually’ll go to the kid’s dwelling and provides them a checkup as a result of they’re coming dwelling sick. They’re all coming dwelling sick. We now have psychological well being suppliers at our faculty who’re connecting with them, social employees, faculty psychologists, and therapists who’re connecting with them.

Yesterday, a few of our academics from Valley View Elementary Faculty went to one in all our college students who got here again, and introduced them pizza and groceries, and all of their academics confirmed up that they’ve had over time.

We’re making an attempt to have this stability of giving them privateness and time to settle again in with figuring out what their wants are by way of psychological well being and simply primary wants like meals and provides.

How do you stability college students’ tutorial wants when there’s a lot occurring exterior of faculty locally?

Our academics are doing an exceptional job of continuous to show and to show the tutorial requirements. However they’re additionally balancing out their classes with simply offering time and house if children need to discuss it or write, there’s artwork tasks occurring.

I’ve been working with different districts right here within the metro space, and we’re going to be looking for any form of reprieve from a few of this state testing that has to occur as a result of it’s not going to be an correct reflection of the tutorial prowess that our college students have.

You as soon as taught English learners. Within the midst of a disaster that disproportionately impacts them, what ought to individuals learn about these college students?

Once I was an EL instructor, my college students introduced the entire world into my classroom. And folks at all times assume the academics are giving all the information, proper? However I realized a lot from my college students. At one level, I had 12 totally different languages in my classroom.

Once I was in kindergarten in St. Paul Public Faculties, that’s when the Hmong refugees came to visit [in the 1970s and 1980s]. So I bear in mind being a kindergartner and having Hmong classmates and studying about them and their tradition as friends. In latest weeks, there have been ICE raids at Hmong households. So many individuals doubtless don’t perceive why Hmong individuals got here to Minnesota and [how they rescued] a lot of our personal American pilots throughout the battle.

It’s simply taking a second to, fairly than choose, be taught and hear first.

In one other interview, you mentioned, “Training is such a joyful profession.” What moments of pleasure have you ever felt lately?

In a few of our actually darkest weeks, I texted all of my principals, and I mentioned, ‘Your task at present is to seek out one second of pleasure and share it with one another on this textual content chain.’ It’s essential to not fall into despair.

This morning, earlier than I got here into my workplace, I finished at two totally different elementary colleges. Simply seeing the children at this level, within the wintertime in Minnesota, watching little youngsters get all their snow gear off, it’s simply fairly a sight to see, so cute.

I went round and noticed the small class sizes, as a result of we now have many children on-line at this level. However our workers and our academics are persevering with to offer these joyful lecture rooms. In our elementary colleges proper now, there’s hearts in every single place for preparing for Valentine’s Day.

After they’ve been stopped by ICE brokers on their option to faculty, I’ve been assembly with [students] individually, simply to examine in and see how they’re doing. I’ve heard totally different statements during the last month, like, ‘Why do they hate me?’

So I’m asking youngsters and workers, ‘Don’t internalize this. You’re good. You might be. We wish you right here. You belong right here. We love you.’

Lily Altavena is a nationwide reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Lily at laltavena@chalkbeat.org.