The US has historically been viewed as a land of opportunity for refugees. After World War II, the US committed to refugee resettlement and eventually became a world leader in the number of refugees resettled each year (Kerwin, 2018). When the Syrian refugee crisis came to the fore, President Obama resettled 12,500 Syrian refugees in 2016 and committed to resettling 110,000 in 2017. However, during Donald Trump's presidency, US policy shifted with a ban placed on resettlement of Syrian refugees as well as refugees from other nations (Biddle, 2018). In 2019, the cap for resettlement was set at 30,000 and for 2020, Trump decided to set the cap at 18,000, the lowest cap since the 1980s (Hesson, 2019). Canada has now surpassed the US to become the world leader in resettlement. Though US policy at the federal level has shifted away from resettlement, state policy in the state of Vermont is still supportive. The state has continued to allocate resources toward resettlement and has made a commitment to creating welcoming communities. This is also reflected in the pre-service teacher education programs that prepare teachers in the state. At one University in the state, the secondary education program committed to more effectively preparing future teachers to work with refugee youth. Toward that end, the program integrated related content throughout courses in the program and also developed a sequence of service-learning field experiences embedded throughout the program that allow pre-service teachers to interact with refugee youth and families. For this country perspective, we draw from a qualitative examination of three service-learning experiences embedded across three courses in the program. In an introductory education course, pre-service teachers partnered with a local school district to survey parents (including refugee parents) about a school initiative. In an educational psychology course and a content literacy course, pre-service teachers provided academic support to refugee youth at community centers. Participants are from all three courses (n=99). The findings demonstrate that the pre-service teachers developed an increased awareness of the diversity in the local schools and community, they acquired knowledge of strategies for engaging and communicating with parents, they developed a more complex understanding of learners, and they developed knowledge of strategies for communicating with and teaching English Language Learners. This study demonstrates that service-learning experiences can better prepare future teachers to work with refugee students while providing service that benefits the community.

Biddle, L. (2018). Refugee resettlement under the Obama administration: Untangling the US refugee assistance program at the federal level. Global Journal of Peace Research and Praxis, 2(1). Hesson, T. (2019, Oct.). Trump ending US role as worldwide leader on refugees. Politico Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com. Kerwin, D. (2018). The US refugee resettlement program—A return to first principles: How refugees help to define, strengthen, and revitalize the United States. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 6(3), 205-225.