The Empty Chairs in My Classroom

In one year, my table has gone from overflowing to nearly empty

One year ago, my spacious and sunny classroom on the third floor of a 110-year-old school building was full of voices chanting the days of the week and letter sounds. Last school year, I taught three groups of newcomers - students who had been in the country for less than twelve months. One of my groups was so large that it was a struggle to fit all nine of them around my kidney-shaped table, but we managed. My newcomers arrived from Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Malawi, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Republic of Congo within the past year. They had varying levels of education and English proficiency.

I taught them English, and they learned, soaking it up like sponges. They practiced writing math equations and 3-digit numbers on small marker boards. They wrote poems for Mother’s Day and discussed what they wanted to be when they grew up. They played math games to help them catch up on their math skills during their transition to the U.S. and interrupted schooling. They asked to play games like BINGO because my prize box is full of Happy Meal toys or little items from home, like fidgets, that my teenage sons have outgrown.

With such large groups, I relished the days when a few students were absent, when there was enough of me to go around to teach my enthusiastic students a new game like Pick-Up Sticks or Old Maid. Most days, there were too many students to play the nostalgic childhood games that kids still love today.

This year, I can’t play Old Maid or many other games in my classroom because I have only one newcomer group, with only one student. One.

For the first time in my 27 years as an elementary teacher of English Language Learners, I don’t have a single student new to the country this school year. My sole newcomer arrived in the U.S. last spring and continues to learn to read and write in English with me each day. I spend most of my day supporting my other ELL students in their classrooms with vocabulary and comprehension during literacy.

Photo by Niamat Ullah, Unsplash

At the end of the school day, my classroom is almost quiet as I teach sight words and letter blends to my lone student. He’s shy, yet eager to learn and quick to catch on, but there’s no learning partner for him, which means less interaction and conversation. He is a joy. He enjoys school and is thrilled to have a brand-new baby sister at home. I send home puzzles, games, coloring pages, and crayons for him and his younger, school-age sister. He likes to teach her how to play the games we play together when he’s practicing his oral language in my classroom.

Solo learning at my table

Classroom stuffed animals waiting to be hugged by new friends

The future of immigrant and refugee families is uncertain. In the past, after a wave of resettlement, other family members would follow as the first family members became established in their communities. However, Averee Nelson of the Daily Express US reports that as of January 2026, 39 countries are either completely banned or face restrictions on certain visa types for entry into the U.S.

The following countries are entirely banned from entering the U.S.:

• Afghanistan

• Burkina Faso

• Chad

• Equatorial Guinea

• Eritrea

• Haiti

• Iran

• Laos

• Libya

• Mali

• Myanmar

• Niger

• Republic of Congo

• Sierra Leone

• Somalia

• South Sudan

• Sudan

• Syria

• Yemen

• The Palestinian Authority

The following countries have partial restrictions on entry into the U.S.:

• Angola

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Benin

• Burundi

• Cuba

• Dominica

• Gabon

• The Gambia

• Ivory Coast

• Malawi

• Mauritania

• Nigeria

• Senegal

• Tanzania

• Togo

• Tonga

• Turkmenistan

• Venezuela

• Zambia

• Zimbabwe

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