Sue Phengsomphone

Sisomphone (Sue) Phengsomphone was born in Luang Prabang, Laos. After graduating from high school she attended pedagogy school for four years then taught high school for nine years in Laos until the regime changed to Communist. She escaped from Laos to join her husband Howard (Houmpheng) in the refugee camp Nongkhai, Thailand in 1979. In 1980, the family arrived in the United States, settling in Old Lyme, Connecticut where Sisomphone attended English classes provided by the church in Old Lyme. In 1981, the family moved to West Hartford. Sisomphone was hired by the Hartford Board of Education as a bilingual teacher to work with Lao refugee children ranging in age from kindergarten to grade eight, developing a flexible and challenging program that served the special needs of the students. She also taught the students Lao traditional dance, providing many dance programs for organizations including the Mark Twain House and the Noah Webster House where the Connecticut State Governor attended the performance. Sisomphone joined her husband and other Lao leaders in establishing Lao Saturday School at Jefferson School in New Britain, and she taught there for many years.