California schools prepare to receive thousands of Afghan refugee students

IN CALIFORNIA, HOME to the largest number of Afghan refugees in the country, school officials are preparing for an influx of refugee students who fled Afghanistan with their families after the Taliban seized power in the country last month.

Schools are especially busy in Sacramento and Fremont, two of the largest Afghan communities in the state. Over 40 percent of the nation’s Afghan refugees have resettled in the Sacramento region in recent years, according to Jessie Tientcheu, chief executive officer of Opening Doors, a refugee resettlement agency based in Sacramento.