A Story Told With Pictures From What Tham Krabok, Thailand!


From August 2004 through April 2005, 15,000 Hmong refugees from Wat Tham Krabok, a camp in Thailand, were resettled in the United States. Of the 5,000 people who settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, well over 1,000 are school-age children. Since finding out about the incoming students in February 2004, the St. Paul Public Schools have been working to prepare programs and curriculum to accommodate them. St. Paul mayor, Randy Kelly, and a delegation of city and school representatives traveled to Wat Tham Krabok in February 2004 to lay the foundation for a successful resettlement. Picture 1 of 27 Picture 2 of 27 Picture 3 of 27 Picture 4 of 27 Picture 5 of 27 Picture 6 of 27 Picture 7 of 27 Picture 8 of 27 Picture 9 of 27 St. Paul public schools have over 100 schools, 149 ESL programs, and an average enrollment of 200–300 new ELL students each year. Picture 10 of 27 Picture 11 of 27 Picture 12 of 27 Picture 13 of 27 Picture 14 of 27 In order to accommodate the new students, St. Paul public schools created Transitional Language Centers (TLC), classrooms within St. Paul schools that would serve only students from Wat Tham Krabok. Students will remain in the TLCs for at least one year and then transition into Language Academy classrooms. Picture 15 of 27 Picture 16 of 27 Picture 17 of 27 Picture 18 of 27 Picture 19 of 27 At the height of the resettlement, schools in St. Paul were receiving 25–50 new students each day. Over 1,000 new students from Wat Tham Krabok have enrolled in SPPS since September. Picture 20 of 27 Picture 21 of 27 Picture 22 of 27 Picture 23 of 27 Picture 24 of 27 "They're [the students] very shy," Mo Chang says, "and they think that because they came late [to the United States] that they won't have the opportunity to become successful. But every day I tell them, 'No, if I can do it, you can do it.' I always tell them, you can do anything you want to; the only person that can stop you from becoming successful is yourself. This makes them smile." Picture 25 of 27 Picture 26 of 27 Despite worries and concerns about the possibility for success, the students from Wat Tham Krabok love to attend school. (Many even complained when they learned they couldn’t attend classes during Spring Break.) Picture 27 of 27 Please allow this page to load in its entirety before you begin navigating through the slides to ensure proper slide display. Previous Slide \| Next Slide
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From August 2004 through April 2005, 15,000 Hmong refugees from Wat Tham Krabok, a camp in Thailand, were resettled in the United States. Of the 5,000 people who settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, well over 1,000 are school-age children. Since finding out about the incoming students in February 2004, the St. Paul Public Schools have been working to prepare programs and curriculum to accommodate them. St. Paul mayor, Randy Kelly, and a delegation of city and school representatives traveled to Wat Tham Krabok in February 2004 to lay the foundation for a successful resettlement.

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St. Paul public schools have over 100 schools, 149 ESL programs, and an average enrollment of 200–300 new ELL students each year.

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International English Class in Reg School

In order to accommodate the new students, St. Paul public schools created Transitional Language Centers (TLC), classrooms within St. Paul schools that would serve only students from Wat Tham Krabok. Students will remain in the TLCs for at least one year and then transition into Language Academy classrooms.

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At the height of the resettlement, schools in St. Paul were receiving 25–50 new students each day. Over 1,000 new students from Wat Tham Krabok have enrolled in SPPS since September.

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"They're [the students] very shy," Mo Chang says, "and they think that because they came late [to the United States] that they won't have the opportunity to become successful. But every day I tell them, 'No, if I can do it, you can do it.' I always tell them, you can do anything you want to; the only person that can stop you from becoming successful is yourself. This makes them smile."

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Despite worries and concerns about the possibility for success, the students from Wat Tham Krabok love to attend school. (Many even complained when they learned they couldn’t attend classes during Spring Break.)

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