R ESEARCH A RTICLE How Schools Can Promote Healthy Development for Newly Arrived Immigrant and Refugee Adolescents: Research Priorities CLEA A. MCNEELY, DrPH a LYN MORLAND, MSW, MA b S. BENJAMIN DOTY, MPH c LAURIE L. MESCHKE, PhD d SUMMER AWAD, e ALTAF HUSAIN, PhD f AYAT NASHWAN, PhD g ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The US education system must find creative and effective ways to foster the healthy development of the approximately 2 million newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents, many of whom contend with language barriers, limited prior education, trauma, and discrimination. We identify research priorities for promoting the school success of these youth. METHODS: The study used the 4-phase priority-setting method of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative. In the final stage, 132 researchers, service providers, educators, and policymakers based in the United States were asked to rate the importance of 36 research options. RESULTS: The highest priority research options (range 1 to 5) were: evaluating newcomer programs (mean = 4.44, SD = 0.55), identifying how family and community stressors affect newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents’ functioning in school (mean = 4.40, SD = 0.56), identifying teachers’ major stressors in working with this population (mean = 4.36, SD = 0.72), and identifying how to engage immigrant and refugee families in their children’s education (mean = 4.35, SD = 0.62). CONCLUSION: These research priorities emphasize the generation of practical knowledge that could translate to immediate, tangible benefits for schools. Funders, schools, and researchers can use these research priorities to guide research for the highest benefit of schools and the newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents they serve. Keywords: immigrants; immigrant youth; refugees; refugee youth; adolescent health; school success. Citation: McNeely CA, Morland L, Doty SB, Meschke LL, Awad S, Husain A, Nashwan A. How schools can promote healthy development for newly arrived immigrant and refugee adolescents: research priorities. J Sch Health. 2017; 87: 121-132. Received on May 14, 2015 Accepted on August 11, 2016 F irst- and second-generation immigrant and refugee children represent the fastest growing segment of the US population. Approximately 1 in 4 youth under age 18 live with an immigrant or refugee parent, up from 15% in 1990. 1 This includes approximately 2 million first-generation immigrant and refugee adolescents. 2 Immigrant and refugee adolescents come from diverse socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, and have diverse migration experiences. a Associate Professor, (cmcneely@utk.edu), Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1914 Andy Holt Avenue, Suite 390, Knoxville, TN 37919. b Research Fellow, (lynmorland@gmail.com), Innovation, Policy and Research, Bank Street College of Education, 610 West 112th Street, New York, NY 10025. c Doctoral Student, (s.benjamin.doty@jhu.edu), Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205. d Associate Professor, (lmeschke@utk.edu), Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1914 Andy Holt Avenue, Suite 390, Knoxville, TN 37919. e Undergraduate Student, (sawad@utk.edu), Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1212 Wallingford Road, Knoxville, TN 32923. f Associate Professor, (altaf.husain@howard.edu), Department of Social Work, Howard University, 601 Howard Place, NW, Washington, DC 20059. g Assistant Professor, (ayat.n@yu.edu.jo), Yarmouk University, Shafiq Irshidat St, Irbid 21163, Jordan. Address correspondence to: Clea A. McNeely, Associate Professor, (cmcneely@utk.edu), Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1914 Andy Holt Avenue, Suite 390, Knoxville, TN 37919. We thank the University of Tennessee Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict, the University of Tennessee Center for Health Policy and Research, and the University of Tennessee Department of Public Health for funding this research. We thank the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. for hosting the two-day meeting to identify research options. The majority adapt successfully to the United States. Most arrive with a strong drive to achieve in school, acquire new language skills, experience positive peer relationships and family cohesion, and achieve emo- tional and physical well-being. 3,4 A healthy transition to adulthood is not uniform, however; 5 it depends on risk and protective factors throughout the resettlement or migration process, including characteristics of the receiving school and community. 3,6 Journal of School Health • February 2017, Vol. 87, No. 2 •  2017, American School Health Association • 121