LEWISTON – Homework ruled the scene at the Haji-Hersi household Thursday night.

Ali, 9, ate cereal with one hand and held a pencil in the other as he leaned over his books and papers. His sister, Mariam, 16, did her homework, occasionally helping Ali. A multiplication chart made by their parents was propped up, help for Ali.

At the same table Omar, 13, worked on his math. A few feet away were open books and papers belonging to their mother, Amina, a college student.

Eight of the 10 family members are students. The mother and two daughters attend Central Maine Community College. Two sons attend Lewiston-Auburn College. Three other children are in Auburn schools. The father is a social worker at the Maine Department of Human Services.

The homework scene goes on each night, the parents said. Television is allowed “if they have time” when their school work is done, Amina said.

“By 9 o’clock they have to go to bed,” their father, Farah, said. The nightly structure is to keep them “in a straight line,” to ensure all his children do well in school and go to college.

Most are students

Lewiston’s Somali population is somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000, even higher according to some estimates. About 80 percent of the immigrants are students, said Mohammed Abdi, the Somali liaison for the Lewiston School Department. They range in age from 5 to 70.

“Except for a few elderly women, some elderly men, some men who have suffered injuries – gunshot wounds during the civil war – and some babies,” they are taking classes, said Abdi.

Local Somalis regard public education as an opportunity that hasn’t always been available to them, he said.

When the Somali civil war broke out in 1991, many lost everything.

“The only assets they ran out of that place with was their children,” Abdi said. “They value education a lot. They want to see success of their kids for whom they have sacrificed so much.”

Many walked hundred of miles to Kenya through hostile territory, hiding by day and walking at night to avoid the militia.

After making their way to refugee camps in Kenya, survival was the priority. Schools at the refugee camps were often made of twigs and mud. Education was typically unstructured, sometimes unavailable.

Here in their new home, parents are demanding of their children’s school performance, Abdi said.

“They tell their children, ‘You’re having an opportunity in America which I didn’t have, my grandfather didn’t have. You have teachers helping you. You have books. You have computers, things we have never known. If you don’t succeed in this environment, I don’t know where you want to go.'”

Adults also take advantage of the opportunities.

As soon as they arrive and get their children enrolled, they ask where they can go to learn the language of the land, Abdi said.

He takes them to Anne Kemper, who coordinates the Lewiston Adult Education Learning Center.

Adult Ed attracts hundreds

Even in August when most schools are closed, these classes are brimming with students. Many are Somali women, wearing traditional Muslim head scarves and flowing dresses.

The English learners program has more than 300 students representing 17 nationalities, including people from Haiti, Russia and Asia, Kemper said. Most are Somalis. In addition, 400 to 500 are taking basic education and GED courses.

Somali adult students range in age from 19 to 70. Their level of education varies. Some have had considerable schooling in Kenya, enabling them to quickly earn their GED certificates. Others have had some schooling and some have never been to school.

They are among the most interesting, engaged and appreciative students Kemper has met, she said. “These immigrants, who have come from terrible situations in their home country, can begin to build their lives here.”

Every student she’s worked with wants a job and wants to learn English so that they can get a job, Kemper said.

Somali kids ‘working hard’

Lewiston schools have 538 students whose native language is not English, said Susan Martin, director of the city’s English Language Learners program.

Most are young Somalis at the beginning level who need to learn more English to do grade-level work, Martin said. There are 430 in grades K-8. and 108 at Lewiston High School.

To meet their needs the school department has hired ///how many?/// new teachers and Martin, who recently began her role as coordinator. The city is reimbursed by the state – $1.2 million this year – for the extra cost.

“It’s a wash,” said Lewiston School Superintendent Leon Levesque.

The new state funding formula has helped in that it better reimburses schools for special services, and has allowed Lewiston to hire the additional teachers, Levesque said.

At Montello Elementary School, 20 percent of the 800-plus population are Somali students. In general they are working hard, making progress and contributing to the school, said Principal Deborah Goding. Montello now has the kind of diversity students will see when they get out in the world, she said.

Bonnie Soper, a Lewiston teaching assistant, was one of the first educators to work with Somali children, said is impressed with them.

“They’ve been through hell,” Soper said. “Some have seen terrible things, brothers and sisters killed. One young kid saw his father die at home after he was wounded. And the refugee camps weren’t a picnic. Local people would come in and steal food.”

In class, they were hungry to learn, Soper said. “They know what not having an education gives them. I’m thrilled they’re here.”

Some have lived in Lewiston for five years and teachers are beginning to see academic progress, Martin said. The long-term goal is for all to be doing grade-level work, a big goal for those who arrive speaking no English.

The addition of African students in Lewiston classes, on sports fields and in organizations has given Lewiston a broader perspective and more diversity, Martin said.

“The city has gone from no need for English Language Learner teachers to figuring out how to program 500 kids,” Martin said. “It’s now to the point where the state and university are training teachers, and we have a good pool of teachers to hire from. Some want to come to work in Lewiston.”

‘Gifts are many’

The number of English Language Learners in Auburn is smaller, about 136. Of those, 79 are Somali. Seventeen are in high school, the remaining 62 in grades K-8, said Assistant Superintendent Tom Morrill.

The increase of Somali students has prompted what Morrill called an “important growth” in Auburn schools.

Their arrival three years ago exposed racial prejudices, Morrill said. After high school fights between white and black students, a Unity Project was created to help students work together. As they shared their stories of discrimination, fear and hope, more became friends. The culture improved, Morrill said.

Initially some Somali students who didn’t speak English were a challenge for schools, Morrill said, adding that the challenge has been met. Other Somalis have arrived already proficient in English.

In general, educators have found Somali students committed to family. Many have jobs, Morrill said. Most are involved in all facets of school.

“Their membership in our schools, like all students, is enthusiastically welcomed, appreciated and valued,” Morrill said. “Their gifts to us are many.”