Yefei Jin was a theater major at the University of Minnesota when his fraternity volunteered to tutor young Karen refugees.
The experience led to a minor in English learner education and, more recently, a new website for teachers who work with English learners. Jin, who recently wrapped up an education policy master's degree at Harvard, is developing the project through its Innovation Lab to make sharing lesson plans and other resources easier.
He conceived it after hearing from Twin Cities teachers how hard it is to find classroom materials that fit their students' language skills. He enlisted several dozen of them to help develop the online platform this summer.
"These teachers often find themselves creating materials from scratch," Jin said. "Such a platform could be a game-changer."
As an undergrad, Jin cofounded the first Asian-American fraternity in Minnesota. Several members were the children of refugees, and the group chose a volunteer project teaching English to recently arrived Karen, an ethnic minority persecuted in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Jin was also an English language learner. When he was 5, his family moved from China to the United Kingdom so his father could pursue a doctoral degree. Jin remembers getting pulled out of class to work with an English instructor. He was confused by capital letters, which do not exist in Chinese.
But he had it relatively easy: He was young and the son of highly educated parents. As a tutor, he saw how hard Karen high school students had to work to overcome both the language barrier and wide academic gaps.
While working in the U's admissions office after graduation, Jin launched an after-school performing arts program for Karen students. He started attending English language learner conferences.
