Building bridges for families in the Winooski School District - An interview with Multi-Lingual Liaison Tul Niroula

Tul Niroula, Nepali and Hindi liaison at the Winooski School District. Photo courtesy of the Winooski School District.

On a recent sunny afternoon at the Winooski School District, behind all the construction taking place at the school, recess is in full swing.  One group of students chases each other in a version of tag, another group dribbles and darts along near a basketball court and others chat and call to each other. Throughout it all you hear a handful of different languages.

The bell rings and the children line up to go inside. As you wind your way through school and the construction you eventually reach the Multi-Lingual Liaison department, where Tul Niroula, with his bright smiling face waves across the room.

 Niroula, 49, like many of people in this community, found his way to Winooski after years of difficulty. Born and raised in Bhutan, he fled during decades of ethnic cleansing and political unrest and found his way to a refugee camp where he lived for decades before coming to Vermont.

Human rights violations, racism, and political issues in Bhutan displaced around 120,000 people. “We decided our safety is more important than our property. We came to Nepal with very few possessions,” and they left behind valuable property, Niroula said. In the refugee camp he helped to teach children. Now in Vermont, Niroula, who speaks Nepali and Hindi, is the bridge for many children and their families who find themselves in a new culture, with a different language, under a very different school system.

Can you tell me a little about your background and how you ended up working in the Winooski School District?

 We lived in the refugee camp for around 22 years. There were many children and families there. I was one of the pioneers who created the school there. We taught English in the school and had very few materials.

Of course, we tried to go back to Bhutan, but we were denied by the government. There were 18 bi-lateral talks between the Nepali and Bhutani government, and all of them failed. When we tried to assimilate in Nepal the government there did not grant us citizenship or equality status. Our final choice was to relocate to the United States. Around 90,000 Bhutani people have relocated to the States.

Many of my family members came to Vermont--that is how I also ended up coming to Vermont. My sisters and brothers were here so I followed. Family union is very important for us in Bhutani culture.

 In short, I worked in education system in the refugee camps, I went to a Catholic college in India, and taught in a Catholic school for 15 years. I was very close to the education system so when I came to the U.S. I chose to work in this school system.

What is your role at the school?

I am a home-school liaison. I help students transition from their home countries to life over here in the United States. Which is different than any other education positions I have had in the past. In the beginning many of our students had trouble understanding the teacher’s tone, which was totally different to what they heard back in the camp. So, I would go to the classes with them and help them. It even took time for me to understand.

In the camps we were teaching in British English, and obviously here in the US it is American English and many of the words and phrases are different.

What are some unique things to the department?

I work in all three schools in the city-- JFK, Middle, and Highschool. We help the students and even help the families translate things. We translate all the documents we send home, into their native language. We also do electronic voice messages. For example, any meeting, holiday, or parent teacher conferences that the parents need to know about we send home a voice message. This is very important because then the parents can receive all the information on time.

Many of the students are bilingual which I feel is very helpful when learning in multiple languages. When I came in 2013, there were many dropouts--people who came from other countries and were much older than the typical high school age. Many were in their early twenties. A lot of them are working as well as going to school which made it hard for them.

Today, a lot of our students who started in middle school and pass-through high school, understand the system. For the past few years I have not seen any dropouts.

What is the relationship between your department and the rest of the teaching staff?

We are here to support the teachers; we have a great relationship with our department and teachers. A lot of our teachers have been educated on certain cultural things and language aspects that give them a better understanding of our students. Even a few of our teachers speak a few words or phrases in our languages.

It took time for our students to trust teacher and see that teacher is there to help. In Bhutan the teacher is a stern authority figure that should not be questioned. Here the students now feel comfortable with the teachers and the way things are taught.  

Are students and families ever worried about forgetting their native cultures?

One unique problem we face is the students that start kindergarten here, their English gets better and better. They lose their native Nepali language. So, to combat that we also have Nepali class as well as English class. I hope that this can continue but we had a budget deal that closes the last of November, I don’t know what will happen, we would like to be able to continue the Nepali language class, but it is uncertain.  

What are some challenges that you and your staff face?

Issues that may involve Winooski Police or DCF, liaisons get called in to come help and we assess the situation. Personally, I try to solve things at the student's home, so they do not carry those problems to school.

Many of the families are unfamiliar with how the American school system. We have a lot of strategies in place to assist them the best we can. Seventy to 80 percent of the family members of our students do not speak any English, which makes it really hard on top of a lot of them work from morning to the evening in entry level jobs, so they do not have a lot of time. Unfortunately, with these entry level jobs, they do not earn a lot of money for their families.

I am always available; I may get a phone call early in the morning or very late at night. I know that the parents have busy work schedules so they can call me anytime! Many of our liaisons are very flexible.  

Is there any cultural difference that makes your job particularly challenging?

There are a lot of issues in the community with mental health and trauma. Like, many of our people in Bhutan were beaten by the army or police. For many years we didn’t have good food or diet which causes lots of health problems that stay with them when they move here.

During the pandemic times, we did a lot of extra work translating documents for parents. Answering all their questions letting them know important information. Parents can come into our office with documents to have them translated.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Building a relationship with the parents.  I knew a lot of the parents from when I taught their children and some of my students are parents now. It is important for me to let my student build a good relationship with this school. This school is like a home, this school is like a temple. Come to school, do not run away from school.

What do you want people to know about the work you do?

Our work is so vast; I say one aspect then I forget another! For example, somebody said to me the other day, ‘Hey, I want to bring my family from Nepal for a visit to the school can you write an application?’ A totally new thing!

I help people apply for jobs and create cover letters. So, a lot of things like that are outside of the school. Everyone who works here is okay with that, because we are building relationships with the families. If we don’t do that there is no trust. People trust me so much because of the relationships I have created. I want to give my people my service, I love it!

Casey Arsenault is a sophomore at Saint Michael’s College from Stow, Mass. He is studying Media Studies, Journalism & Digital Arts.