Who we are
By refugees, for refugees.
Fugees Family is a national nonprofit organization that partners with public school districts and communities to better serve Multilingual learners.
Rooted in 20 years of experience helping English Language learners, our whole-school model, Teranga Academy, incorporates full-day English immersion, music and arts therapy, yoga, martial arts, soccer team participation, and wraparound family engagement supports in a trauma-informed setting that celebrates students’ culture and identity.
Fugees Family was founded in 2006 after beginning as a community soccer program for refugee youth in Georgia. As the organization deepened its relationships with newcomer families, it became clear that traditional school systems were not equipped to meet the needs of adolescents entering the United States with limited English proficiency and interrupted formal education.
The organization quickly recognized that academic success for newcomer adolescents depends on far more than classroom instruction alone. In response, Fugees Family developed the nation’s first whole-school model designed specifically for English Language Learners, one that integrates academics with social-emotional learning, mental health support, movement, and family stabilization.
The Fugees quickly grew into an after-school program, a summer camp, a support network, and ultimately a school, our flagship Fugees Academy.
Today, Fugees Family operates a public charter school and partners with districts to redesign how schools serve newcomer students in grades 6–12. Our programs combine English immersion, structured literacy, standards-aligned academics, arts, music, yoga, martial arts, and inclusive soccer within a trauma-informed environment across Georgia, Ohio, and Kentucky. Our House system reinforces belonging, leadership, accountability, peer support through our PRIDE values while creating predictable structures that promote emotional safety.
Being a Fugee means being part of a team.
Learning a new language, adjusting to a new country, and getting on track academically is hard work.
On and off the soccer field, our students are part of a team... a team that shares similar lived experiences, backgrounds, and goals. On the field, students don't have to explain themselves - it's a time to play, laugh, and connect.
All kids deserve to have fun every single day.
That’s why we also integrate music, arts, yoga, and martial arts into the school day, so our students can express themselves freely and bring their full selves to school every day. These subjects are multisensory and often less stressful for students, allowing them to acquire and practice language skills in a different environment.
Students are also each assigned a House – a group of students that serve as one another’s “home base” – that give students a place to belong, a sense of team pride, and a system of support and accountability.
