When Columbia resident Karina Prizont Cowan was looking for a new job, the former Enron employee searched the Howard County Chamber of Commerce Web site and a listing caught her eye.

The Board of Education was hiring staff members for its new Office of International Student Services (OISS). As a native of Argentina and a one-time exchange student to the United States, Cowan knew she could relate to families struggling to integrate into American public schools.

International liaison

On Oct. 28, the OISS opened with Cowan as its English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) community international liaison, with an office in Columbia's Faulkner Ridge Center.

"I love the interaction with students of all ages and international families," Cowan said. "I've experienced being in a strange place, strange school, strange community, and I didn't get any of this help, so it's thrilling."

The help offered by Cowan and ESOL counselor Samina Chaudhry is both specific and broad. Their primary goal is to aid families arriving in Howard County from abroad with registration for public school.

However, they also work with any student for whom English is a second language, providing academic testing and counseling and acting as a liaison between schools and families.

Meeting needs

Young-Chan Han, an ESOL family outreach liaison for Howard County schools, said, "A lot of families that move into this county ... they need a lot of support and that's why we created the international registration office. ... So, they get to know about our school system and by knowing, they can be more supportive of our schools."

Basic information such as attendance policies and when report cards are issued can be a challenge for parents who are limited in their English proficiency.

"Now we're trying to meet their needs. It's really exciting because we know these people are getting the service they deserve," Han said.

In their first full month, Cowan and Chaudhry registered and tested 29 students of 15 nationalities.

They are scheduled to see seven more children this week, including 17-year-old Gaganpreet Singh and his brother Gurnish, 13, whose family emigrated from India last week.

When Gaganpreet was tested Monday, "his English and language skills were proficient," Chaudhry said.

That means he can enroll at Howard High School, where there is no ESOL program. When students arrive, Cowan and Chaudhry prepare a completed registration package -- including ESOL test results -- for parents or guardians to take to school.

They also are given a school contact name and an appointment time for enrollment.

In addition, Chaudhry said, "For high school students, we do transcript equivalency here. We interpret it [the foreign school transcript] to see how many credits they get for high school."

She and Cowan recommend classes and academic placement, trying to keep kids in their age group when possible.

"Karina and I speak other languages [than English]," Chaudhry said.

"We're much more apt to take our time to listen and comprehend" than school staff members who might not be able to focus their attention on one family's needs.

The two women speak seven languages, combined.

Continued support

After the youths are registered, Chaudhry keeps tabs on them. The former Hammond High School guidance counselor sees children when language or cultural differences are affecting their success in school.

"When they first come here, it's so new to them and so overwhelming. And when I see the same students a few weeks later, it's starting to click for them. It's wonderful to see the progression," Chaudhry said.

She said that such terms as "credit" or "graduation requirement" are specific to U.S. culture and need to be taught to foreign families. Grades, group projects, snow days -- all may be new to students arriving from abroad.

To help ease such cultural gaps, Chaudhry is starting teen-newcomers groups at Oakland Mills and Wilde Lake high schools. "It gives students the opportunity to ... be around other students who feel the same way," she said.

Cowan and Chaudhry see their role as helping families to adjust to the community and the public schools.

"We want this office to be a one-stop shop," Cowan said. "We understand that often this is the first contact for families" with their new American community.

Information: 410-313-7101, 410-313-7102, or schaudhry@ mail.howard.k12.md.us or kcowan@mail.howard.k12.md.us.