Burlington High

Burlington High School opened my eyes to something I have never noticed before. Burlington is known as a refugee city so lots of the schools have students from all around the world incorporated into their classrooms. It was weird for me to think that I could walk into a third grade classroom and see a 15 year old girl from Nigeria sitting there learning at a third grade level because she had never been to school before. This was a whole new thing that I was being introduced to, and it opened my eyes to a completely different school environment then one that I had grew up in. I was placed in Burlington High School for this very special field trip, and I picked up immediately all the different cultures that I could see walking though the hall. I never realized exactly just how much of the population that the refugees made up. Burlington High School has a population of about 1,125 kids, 70% being white and the other 30% other. 8-9% of the 30% are Muslims, among others such as refugees from Nepal, and Somalia. They have about a 45% poverty rate but have a very successful graduation rate. About 66% of all graduating students go on to a four-year college. When I walked into those halls that day, I had no idea what to expect from it. When I walked out of those hallways that day, I had a totally new look on things. The school works around the kids to make them fit in the best way possible. Most of the new students don’t even speak English as a first language so the transition into school is quiet difficult for them. I couldn’t imagine going to a school for the first time in my life and not being able to speak the common language would be so difficult. It really opened my eyes to higher learning, no matter who you are, or where you come from, we all should get the equal chance to learn.