MIDLAND, Texas — Midland ISD added some diversity in January, as Bunche Elementary School welcomed in several Chinese refugees. A Midland-based organization called ChinaAid helped bring 64 people from one Christian church legally here to the United States who were being persecuted by the Chinese government.
This group comes from nearly 8,000 miles away in Shenzhen, located in southern China. Now here in Midland, 17 families have children going to public school for the first time, and on Wednesday night, parents met with school staff to see what being a Bunche Bear is all about.
“We’re pretty diverse as it is," said Krista Daniel, Principal of Bunche Elementary School.
Communication can be a barrier, but Bunche Bears won’t let it be.
“We asked the district for a translation app, and so we went ahead and set up all of their technology to have the app available," Daniel said.
Teachers and staff are finding ways to work around it.
“To have a staff of teachers that are just willing to go the extra mile just to make a kid feel like they’re part of the culture I think says a lot about this school," Daniel said.
Daniel says they are fortunate to be able to embrace them.
“To be able to add and embrace one more culture to our background…it’s exciting," Daniel said. "We just want to embrace everyone, and we want to really make sure that we create a campus where people just feel welcome and embraced no matter what background they come from.”
As public education careers begin for these new students, the early results are in.
“In our first couple of days, we sat up some structures where kids could come in and do activities with their teammates, and when you walked in and you were looking at the kids interacting with each other, you really couldn’t even find who they were or where they were if you didn’t just know, and so, when you walked in the classroom, the kiddos were already embracing them, involving them, talking to them [and] partnering with them," Daniel said.
Wednesday night was for parents to feel welcome too.
“They had lots of questions they wanted to ask," Daniel said. "They got to walk around the school, and for them to trust us with their kiddos was very special to us.”
It is also special for parents.
“Happiness because all the teachers and the principal are preparing for the kids and taking care of the kids like taking care of their own children," said the mother of a new student named Daniel through a translator.
With a lot to offer at his new school, picking his favorite part of the day is tough for new Bunche Bear Daniel.
“Everything!" Daniel exclaimed.
Now Daniel’s parents mentioned that after his first day, he told them that school was good and that his teachers and classmates were very kind. Principal Daniel told me that they first wanted to create a safe space for these new students and make their first public school experience the best it can be.