Not Too Young: Immigration in Elementary School Video Series

The Not Too Young video series was developed by the CUNY - Initiative on Immigration and Education (CUNY-IIE) through intensive partnerships with public schools across New York State over three years. These collaborations led to the creation of school-wide projects that center immigration and education in elementary schools. These collaborations showed that teaching about immigration needs to happen as early in students’ schooling as possible.

The series features the following three projects and schools:

• My Story, Our Story (PS 340X: Bronx, New York)

• Family Literacy Program (Children’s School of Rochester: Rochester, New York)

• Welcoming New Students: A Guide for Teachers, Created by Students (PS 212Q: Queens, New York)

Living Undocumented Series

This two-part series captures the strengths and challenges faced by undocumented New Yorkers through their adolescence and adulthood.  

Living Undocumented: High School, College and Beyond 

Living Undocumented is a short documentary that explores the lives of diverse undocumented immigrant youth to illustrate the realities, challenges and opportunities they face through high school, college, and beyond. It features six DREAMers, who portray the realities of our nation’s immigration system and its impact on undocumented youth.  The documentary is intended for all audiences, but with the accompanying lesson plan and resource guide for students and educators, it is especially useful in secondary classes.

Still Living Undocumented: Five Years Later

Still Living Undocumented is the sequel to the 2012 documentary Living Undocumented. The first film captured the realities of undocumented youth as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was announced. DACA drastically changed the trajectories of some people in the film while leaving others out of its reach. Still Living Undocumented follows three people from the first film to see how a political policies, or the absence of them, impact individuals.

Una Vida, Dos Países: Children and Youth (Back) in Mexico

Una Vida, Dos Países shares how children and youth experience life in Mexico after being born or raised in the US.

One million Mexicans residing in the US have returned to Mexico, including children and youth who were born or raised in the US between 2009-2014. Una Vida, Dos Países presents the stories of these transborder youth, highlighting their experiences living between two countries, cultures, languages and education systems, and exploring their parents’ decisions to return to their home country after living undocumented in the US.

The 30-minute film is multilingual in Spanish, English, and Zapotec with subtitles throughout. Also available is an accompanying curriculum for secondary schools in the US and Mexico, as well as a guide for teachers of transborder students in Mexico.

Supporting Immigrants in Schools Video Series

This series shows schools doing right by immigrant communities in spite of the prevalence of anti-immigrant sentiments and policies.

Supporting Immigrants in Schools is a four-part video series that was funded by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The 10-12 minute videos provide information and illustrate successful practices across New York in order to support educators in creating safe and welcoming environments for immigrant students and families. The videos cover the following topics:

• Key Immigration Issues

• Approaches to Educating Refugees and Immigrants

• Elementary Immigration Issues

• Secondary Immigration Issues