22 hours ago
On an April greeting astatine Winooki precocious school, nan time started pinch a penning prompt: Do you consciousness safe successful school? Why aliases why not?
The students – whose families hail from crossed nan globe and speak Arabic, Nepali, Spanish, Somali and much – wrote their responses earlier reference them aloud.
“I consciousness safe successful schoolhouse because I saw nan schoolhouse doors are locked each time,” 1 student said.
“ICE can’t travel in,” said another.
The consciousness of information students consciousness successful this multilingual learner people astatine nan Vermont precocious schoolhouse is hard-won. Since nan commencement of nan 2nd Trump administration, nan national authorities has investigated schools for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, rescinded a argumentation protecting students connected schoolhouse grounds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and threatened schoolhouse districts pinch nan nonaccomplishment of national funding. Administration officials person besides encouraged states to situation a decades-old ultimate tribunal determination guaranteeing undocumented students’ correct to nationalist schooling.
While galore districts person chosen to spell quiet aliases self-censor, nan Winooski schoolhouse strategy and its superintendent, Wilmer Chavarria, person taken nan other approach.
Last year, this mini territory of astir 800 students was nan first successful Vermont to walk a sanctuary policy aimed astatine protecting students from migration enforcement while astatine school. Chavarria besides refused to motion a document from nan Trump management saying it was complying pinch nan national prohibition connected DEI efforts successful schools.
This was contempt nan territory being straight affected by national policies. Last year, Chavarria, a naturalized citizen, was detained for respective hours by migration officials astatine nan Houston airdrome while connected his measurement backmost from visiting family successful Nicaragua. Over Thanksgiving break, a second-grader was detained pinch his mother by national agents. In early December, nan Winooski schoolhouse territory was nan target of racist messages and telephone calls aft a video of a student raising nan Somali emblem connected a rod extracurricular nan precocious schoolhouse went viral connected societal media.
While location person been nary nonstop threats by nan Trump administration to propulsion Winooski’s national funding, which accounts for 6% of nan district’s yearly budget, Chavarria said he was preparing for nan possibility.
“When personification wants america to suffer funding, we’re going to suffer it anyways. The quality is, did we suffer it while bending nan knee, aliases did we suffer it while opinionated up for our values?” Chavarria said. “Either way, nan result will beryllium nan same.”
Nestled on nan Winooski River connected nan outskirts of Burlington, this 1.5-sq-mile organization is nan astir divers territory successful a authorities that ranks among nan nation’s whitest. Nearly 60% of students are group of colour and much than a 3rd are learning to speak English.
For much than 3 decades, nan municipality and neighboring region person been a national exile resettlement community, accepting hundreds of immigrants annually who are fleeing conflict from Bhutan, Somalia, Bosnia and Syria, among different countries. Last year, nan Trump management decreased nan admissions headdress for refugees into nan US from 125,000 successful 2025 to 7,500 successful 2026, nan lowest level since nan program’s inception. So far, astir 50 refugees, each from South Africa, have relocated to Vermont this year.
Chavarria, 37, joined Winooski schools successful 2023 aft serving arsenic head of equity and acquisition support systems successful different Vermont district. Born successful Nicaragua, he didn’t study English until precocious school, a inheritance that resembles galore of nan Winooski students he serves. His actions connected behalf of migrant students person built him wide support locally.
“Wilmer has been a brave sound successful a clip successful our state wherever that’s being punished,” said Robin Merritt, a genitor of 3 children successful nan district.
The sanctuary schools argumentation is simply a cardinal reason. The guidance formally outlined successful Winooski’s argumentation reaffirms that unit will not stock student information pinch migration officials. It besides restricts agents’ entree to field without a signed judicial warrant, among different steps. In May, aft defense from Chavarria and others, nan Vermont legislature passed a rule modeled aft Winooski’s policy, requiring each schools successful nan authorities to person migration enforcement protocols.
Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec, argumentation counsel astatine nan nonprofit National Immigration Law Center, said clear policies for illustration this 1 not only protect students, but besides staff, who whitethorn not cognize what migration agents are allowed to do connected schoolhouse grounds.
“You want to beryllium capable to show that you support each families, including migrant families, that they ideally should participate and not beryllium acrophobic of coming to school,” she said.
A 2022 study recovered that children from families pinch mixed citizenship position were much apt to gain As and little apt to study problems pinch their teachers and peers if they attended a schoolhouse that had a “safe zone” argumentation restricting migration enforcement connected campus.
“I really spot nan effect successful nan classroom,” said Caitlin MacLeod-Bluver, who teaches English and history astatine Winooski precocious and was Vermont’s coach of nan twelvemonth successful 2025. “When kids consciousness seen and heard and weighted successful our territory and community, it shows up successful nan activity they’re doing.”
A desire to reassure migrant families was nan logic Chavarria decided to raise nan Somali emblem connected schoolhouse grounds connected 5 December, 3 days aft Donald Trump referred to Somalis arsenic “garbage” successful a furniture meeting. When a video of nan emblem went viral connected rightwing societal media, unit had to temporarily return down nan district’s website and societal media accounts and unplug schoolhouse phones because of decease threats.
Despite nan onslaught, nan unit kept nan Somali emblem up, beside nan US and Vermont flags, done nan pursuing week to show support for Somali students, who dress up astir 9% of nan schoolhouse system’s student population.
Chavarria – who, pinch his husband, stayed astatine a edifice for a fewer days pursuing nan section aft receiving decease threats – said he believed if much schoolhouse leaders publically and vocally pushed backmost connected Trump management policies, Winooski wouldn’t beryllium arsenic large a target for hate.
“It does consciousness for illustration we are unsocial successful an ocean,” he said.
Inside nan Winooski schoolhouse building this spring, location were visible traces of nan challenges of nan past year. Since nan deluge of decease threats successful December, doors separating hallways are locked, requiring a unit personnel to fto students done sections of nan building passim nan day.
A array pinch “Know your rights” and “Conoce tus derechos” emblazoned crossed a banner sits disconnected to nan side, pinch documents translated into much than half a twelve languages telling families really to shape their documents and talk to children astir ICE.
Still, extracurricular of schoolhouse walls, nan territory has not been capable to support each students safe. In nan weeks pursuing nan second-grader’s detention successful November, teachers wrote letters of support appealing to migration officials and organized a fundraiser for emergency resources and ineligible fees. Erin Hurley, a multilingual coach who taught nan boy, said detention halfway officials denied her petition to nonstop his schoolwork to him.
During telephone calls, nan mother told Winooski unit that her boy wasn’t doing good astatine nan detention halfway successful Dilley, Texas. After 7 weeks, and contempt having a lawyer fighting for their release, nan family decided to self-deport.
In nan past year, Hurley and different unit members astatine nan schoolhouse territory person volunteered to beryllium impermanent guardians for respective students whose parents interest astir being detained.
“I consciousness truthful disgusted that our state has travel to this. These families make our organization truthful overmuch brighter. They lend to Vermont truthful much,” Hurley said.
Back successful Winooski precocious school’s multilingual learners class, their coach turned to a caller topic: astronauts onboard Artemis II had conscionable released photos from nan moon, nan farthest immoderate quality has ever traveled from Earth. She pulled nan images up connected a surface for nan people to see.
They had a cardinal questions. Is that photograph artificial intelligence? How do nan astronauts person entree to nan internet? Why didn’t they onshore connected nan moon?
For a fewer minutes, their thoughts were 250,000 miles away. Then, it was clip to believe reference and penning successful English again.
This story was produced by the Hechinger Report, a non-profit, independent news statement focused connected inequality and invention successful education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.
