Texas’ Austin Independent School District staffers are drawing on years of experience as the district opens its doors to Afghani children newly arrived on some of the last U.S. flights out of that war-torn country.

The district, with more than 74,000 students, already serves more than 700 refugee students, including about 300 from Afghanistan. As schools reopened for the fall term, the district was alerted to 11 new arrivals, with more on the way. 

Refugee Services of Texas noted that other Afghani families are being settled in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Amarillo even as other U.S. cities are beginning to see an influx of Afghanis seeking to restart their lives in this country. 

The Austin school system has two key assets in its efforts: An International Welcome Center and its Refugee Family Support Services Office.

The welcome center is the first point of contact for many newcomer families and offers assistance with registration, among other services, according to the district. 

The refugee support center serves as a language and resource hub for hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers who enroll in the Austin schools. Its four-person team speaks 10 languages and contracts with interpreters who can aid in translation in nearly 20 languages, including Pashto and Dari, the official languages of Afghanistan. 

Coordinator Salimah Shamsuddin said that among their many needs, families require information about their children’s new schools. “Making sure we are informing them in their home language is really important,” Shamsuddin said at a news conference.

Among her recommendations: “Provide a safe space for students and families to share their experiences, but do not put them on the spot. Some have experienced trauma they are not ready to share with others,” she told the Urban Educator in an email.

“They've been through a lot,” Shamsuddin said, according to CommunityImpact.com. “If you’re trying to welcome refugees in Austin, be creative, open-minded and flexible.”

Creating a welcoming environment is especially important, she said, for instance, adding a map to the classroom so the new student can show classmates their home country. “That can make the classroom inclusive,” Shamsuddin told KUT radio.

The district offers parents an orientation to give them some understanding of what the school day looks like – everything from class periods to lunch and recess. In addition, the district planned to host two training sessions for teachers on identifying trauma and facilitating mental health resources for refugee students in need. Licensed mental health officials and campus counselors also are being tapped to assist, Shamsuddin said.

University of Texas students with foreign language skills also are assisting as part of the mentoring program in the university’s Middle Eastern Studies division.

The UTexas students lend support in ESL classrooms and “sometimes they’ll do breakout tutoring, and eat lunch” with the new immigrants, said Katie Aslan, outreach director.

The program is rewarding for all involved, she said. The new students "feel like they have this friendly face, someone who understands their home language and culture, and our volunteers get to try and use that language in the real world they don’t often get to," Aslan told CBS Austin. 

Elsewhere, New York’s Buffalo Public Schools geared up for incoming Afghani students.

“We are always ready – we always welcome our immigrants and refugees but we know in this situation, this group of Afghan students are leaving in such a rush that they’ll have multiple needs,” said assistant superintendent Nadia Nashir, according to WIVB.com.

School board member Larry Scott said educators would need to “address trauma, social-emotional development and mental health,” as well as language and cultural needs. 

“Today’s immigrants are tomorrow’s innovators in America,” Nashir said. The district will aim to “provide an environment where they feel supported, challenged, where they can thrive and call Buffalo their home.”