Struggling to support students
Since the great influx of refugees began in 2015, Sweden has been struggling to support the 1 in 3 students that come from different countries. Testing needs, staffing and finding classroom space to accommodate the new arrivals have placed burdens on some schools in Sweden. Fortunately, the Swedish spirit is showing its strength as school personnel find resourceful ways to solve the problems. Some are helping refugee students as well as adults who had been teachers in their homelands. The result is that many adults are teaching foreign-born students while also training to become certified teachers in Sweden.

Same school district, different worlds
How can two schools located in the same district and only miles from each other be so different? In the case of Skäggetorps and Ljungsbroskolan, it has to do with segregation. There is an isolation between immigrants and native Swedes that affects every area of the immigrants' lives. In Skäggetorps, 98 percent of students have Swedish as their second language and live among 30-35 other languages as well. Contrast that with Ljungskolan, where only 12 percent speak a language other than Swedish as their mother tongue; it's easy to see that while close in proximity, the schools are worlds apart. They did, however, experiment with exchanging students to see if they could bridge the gap, and the results were described as “magical.” They hope to find ways to continue the experience and include exchanging teachers as well.