Celebrating 5 Years of Great Service

Thank you for your incredible support of the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds! We are pleased to announce that we are celebrating our five-year anniversary of the opening of the Refugee Center and Community School. Please read on as we pause, reflect, and look towards the continued impact of these essential services. Our Vision: A peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.  Our Mission: We engage community members in opportunities for education, cultural integration, and wellness, leading to self-sufficiency, career readiness, and enrichment.

The Community Education Newsletter

November 10, 2020 Partner Spotlight: School District of Lancaster

Dr. Damaris Rau Superintendent of Schools, SDoL The partnership with IU13 Community Education and the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds (RCCSR) has been particularly critical during the COVID-19 crisis. The Center has enabled the School District of Lancaster to ensure a strong communication link with our refugee and immigrant families. During a time such as this, our refugee and immigrant families struggle to understand how our school system works and how to support their children. The cultural navigators and the Center have filled a tremendous gap for those families, ensuring they continue to feel part of the community and that their voices are heard. Throughout our partnership, the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds has supported the emotional, educational, and social needs of this vibrant community. I could not be prouder of the work with IU13 Community Education and the RCCSR Center.

Partner With Us We envision self-reliant, life-long learners who earn family-sustaining wages and nurture family relationships while feeling safe, secure, and connected to their communities. Please join us in making this vision a reality through your gifts of time and money.  Donate, Give & Volunteer ExtraGive Working with the Lancaster-Lebanon Education Foundation (LLEF), our 2020 fundraising efforts during the Extraordinary Give will focus on ensuring every student at Reynolds Middle School receives a gift this holiday season. Once our our goal is met, we will use the remaining to integrate refugees and immigrants with services to ensure a smooth transition to the U.S. Extraordinary Give!

Check out Tim Talk at the bottom of the newsletter for important updates from our program director and a big "THANK YOU" to all our partners.

Reflection

Josh McManness Supervisor, IU13 Community Education Working with the Refugee Center and Community School (RCCSR) has been some of the most meaningful work I’ve been involved in throughout my life. The team at RCCSR and our partners are all highly committed to impacting the lives of those we serve. Over the past five years, we have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of students and families in helping them achieve their unique goals in the United States. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved in this life-changing work. Five years ago, IU13 Community Education and its partners had a strong vision to impact change in the community and in the lives of those we serve. Five years later, we are continuing to fully realize our vision by working together to meet the unique challenges of the present day and the future. My life has been enriched through the work of the Refugee Center and Community School and our extraordinary students and families. Here’s to another five years (and many, many more) of the Refugee Center and Community School!  (Pictures from ribbon-cutting ceremony, 2015.)

Cultural Navigation

Jalilah Cultural Navigator My unique experience as a Community Education Navigator comes from working with RCCSR. As a navigator, I have the privilege of supporting newcomers from all around the world to become economically, culturally, and linguistically integrated into the Lancaster community. Assessing their needs, making referrals, and educating them to navigate the governmental and programmatic system is rewarding in so many ways. I found it an incredible honor to collaborate with the community agencies to find work, home, and hope for them all. I am proud to be a member of the RCCSR family and am thankful every day that I get to work at an amazing place where my great team is passionate and dedicated to their work. I am truly humbled to be able to help those who need assistance. Thanks to RCCSR for not only finding a home for people but also going beyond to build a welcoming community.  (Pictures above volunteer event, 2016, and Jalilah, Cultural Navigator since 2016.)

Client Stories

Rima RCCSR Client "I came to the U.S. from Syria in 2016 because I had no other choice. I met Jalilah; she is my cultural navigator. She helped me when I came here. She helps me a lot because she speaks Arabic too. She helped me when I had emergencies with my kids. She cooperates with the staff at the kids' schools. My kids also participated in the educational summer program for refugees at the school. After I had separated from my husband and took out a PFA, I felt lost in society. I didn't know where I could find someone to take care of my youngest son. I spoke with Jalilah, she met with me and the principals, and they helped me to send him to preschool. Now I go to HACC and am studying to be a nurse. I want to encourage all my kids to continue their education. I thank all of the people that helped me and worked with this program."  Watch Rima's testimony here.

Adriana Career Pathways for English Learners (CPEL) participant "As an immigrant, it is hard to get used to a new country, a new language, a new culture, but we need to do it. It is important for us to have the support of many institutions and people, such as the Literacy Council and the Refugee Center." Watch Adriana's testimony here.

Where Are We Now?

Aaron Swinton Principal, Reynolds Middle School "The Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds is a communication bridge for those families who are limited English speakers within the school. We rely greatly on the cultural navigators and our Community School Director (Cate Gorham) at RCCSR when it comes to connecting with students and families to ensure their needs are met." (Picture of Principal Aaron and Community School Director Cate at a school event, September 2019.)

COVID-19 Impact on RCCSR COVID-19 has forced our team to be creative in the way we support students, families and clients. For Reynolds students, we are holding weekly tech times to help students navigate online learning, we’re going to students' homes to remove barriers that make online learning difficult, and we’re distributing food to families weekly to ensure our families are fed. Instead of meeting with a student or client in our offices, we’re connecting virtually through Zoom, meeting with families outside their homes, or using WhatsApp. Our team of cultural navigators has been supporting the students and families of School District of Lancaster and also CPEL clients virtually due to COVID-19. They are actively participating and holding meetings with teachers and clients to serve their needs while problem solving as well.  (Pictures of tech time and food distribution, 2019-2020.)

RCCSR - Snapshot Reynolds Middle School is a school of approximately 500 students with 89% of students living below the poverty line. What makes our middle school unique is that it is a Refugee Center and Community School that goes above and beyond to serve the diverse needs of students, families, and community members. We have numerous students who are presently living in homeless shelters and shelters for victims of domestic abuse, students residing in one-parent homes, and another segment of our students who are children of migrant workers. We also serve refugee and immigrant community members who have left their home country for many reasons, including war, religious persecution, and ethnic cleansing. (RCCSR infographic.)

Women and Girls Empowerment Banquet The Women and Girls Empowerment banquet invites refugee mothers and their daughters to participate and speak about their experiences. The idea behind hosting such programs is to foster self-love and confidence, while building career readiness, so that participants are empowered to take advantage of all the economic, educational, and cultural opportunities available to them. (Picture of girl speaking beside Cultural Navigator, Taylor, at Empowerment Banquet hosted by Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 2019.)

Future Plans

Building for the Next 10 Years

We’ve made lasting impact over the past five years, so how will we build that momentum over the next 10 years and beyond?   Our strategic priorities for the next 10 years:  Partner and Client Engagement  We will continue to strengthen our partner and client engagement  Financial Sustainability  We will increase our engagement with donors  Staff Training and Development We will continue to expand high-quality internal and external professional development opportunities for staff and partners  Advocacy  We will advocate for the systems-level change needed to create an inclusive society for all  Communication  We will strengthen our communication infrastructure and build awareness of our services within the local, state, and national community (Picture CPEL clients at the Facilities Maintenance Training provided by Thaddeus Steven College and SACA, 2020.)

Our Partners | Our Community

Cheryl Hiester Executive Director, Literacy Learning Success Centers The Literacy and Learning Success is proud to partner with the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds! Since the beginning, we have collaborated to serve refugees, immigrants and speakers of other languages through a variety of programs and services, including adult English language instruction, Career Pathways for English Language Learners, supporting families participating in remote learning, volunteer engagement, and staff professional development. Imagine being in a strange place where you may not know the language, customs, and people. Imagine shopping or enrolling your children in school.  Our partnership enables us to develop effective services for newcomers in the School District of Lancaster and beyond. These services are designed to welcome and integrate the newest members of our community in their new home.

Community Impact: One “Stick” At a Time (Client story) Yunaisi, Mirses, and Maged were all formerly trained in the medical field in their home countries. For new arrivals in the United States, these credentials are often not recognized and the need to start all over again is a reality they must face. To that end, these three successfully completed a short-term phlebotomy program held at Tec Centro, a provider of skills training for the underemployed to gain economic self-sufficiency. This intensive program met three nights a week and included coursework and a two-week clinical practicum and culminated in a certification exam. Yunaisi and Mirses were assisted through the Career Pathways for English Learners (CPEL) grant funded through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Maged was assisted through a grant the Literacy and Learning Success Centers was awarded by the Pennsylvania Medical Society. These two grants aim to support individuals to attain the knowledge and skills necessary to begin professional careers in the United States and allow them to be contributing members in their communities. (Pictured above, phlebotomy student practices their blood draw technique at Tec Centro, 2019.)

Be Part of Our Community

Donate Extraordinary Give We know that this year our families and students need our support now more than ever. Families are struggling to find ways to pay for food, medicine, phone service, rent, etc. We need and appreciate any donation that you can give us to help support our students, families, and refugee and immigrant community members. Help support a student by joining us at the ExtraGive on November 20. Check out the site now and sign up to be a Person-to-Person (P2P) fundraiser for the Extraordinary Give! Click here and simply select “Fundraise” and enter your name, email address, create a password, and click submit!  Don’t forget to share your fundraising page with friends and family to help us raise money for the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds! (Picture Principal Swinton visiting the Mix, 2019-2020.)

Volunteer Opportunities Refugee Center and Community School Are you interested in volunteering for the Refugee Center and Community School? Please contact Beth Boll by emailing beth_boll@iu13.org to find out about current volunteer opportunities at RCCSR.

Digital Navigators Our partners at the Literacy and Learning Success Centers are also actively recruiting volunteers to serve as digital navigators who will help students connect to classes and learn the skills they need to use a computer. If you’re interested in volunteering with the Literacy and Learning Success Centers, please contact Jane Myers at Jane@literacysuccess.org.

Tim Talk IU13 Community Education Program Director

Thank you, Lancaster, for making dreams become reality! As I reflect on the 5-year anniversary of the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds Middle School, I am filled with gratitude for the generosity and commitment from the many partners who made the dream a reality. With a generous gift of $100,000 from the Rotary Club of Lancaster to celebrate their 100-year anniversary, the program was launched. The School District of Lancaster provided space at Reynolds and generous amounts of funding and administrative support so services could be ramped up and then maintained. The Lancaster Health Center generated most of the funds needed to develop the clinic and provide ongoing services. The United Way of Lancaster and the Lancaster County Community Foundation provided substantial multi-year grants so the Center could hire staff and provide much-needed services to families in need. In five short years, the program has expanded from one full-time employee to seven full-time employees plus administrative staff. The Refugee Center and Community School is a testament to the tremendous generosity and commitment to vulnerable populations here in Lancaster County.

Thank you to all the following partners:

A special thanks to: all the teachers, staff, and administration at Reynolds Middle School as well as all the participants who volunteered for the Power Packs Project.

Aim to Empower Alpha and Omega Community Center Bethany Christian Services Boys and Girls Club Bridge Bright Side Opportunity Center Community Action Partnership (CAP) Carpenter Mennonite Church Central PA Food Bank Communities In Schools (CIS) Compass Mark Church World Service DART Container Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) Emmanuel Lutheran Church Franklin & Marshall College Goodwill Grace Lutheran Church Grape Leaf Empowerment Center Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) Islamic Community Center of Lancaster

Immerse International Kreider Farms La Academia Lancaster Career and Technology Training (CTC) Lancaster Chamber of Commerce Lancaster City Lancaster County Community Foundation Lancaster Country Day School Lancaster Health Center Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP) Lancaster-Lebanon Education Foundation Lancaster-Lebanon Literacy & Learning Success Centers Lancaster Newspaper Lancaster Science Factory Lancaster Sweet Shoppe Leadership Lancaster Mennonite Central Committee Migrant Education Milagro House Millersville University

North Museum One Who Plants Seeds Petra Church Power Packs Project Rotary Club Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) Sacred Hearts of Jesus Parish School District of Lancaster Squash ACES Tabor Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology The Mix at Arbor Place Tyson United Disabilities Services United Way Lancaster Urban Outfitters Wegmans YMCA Your Language Connection Garden Spot Village Ten Thousand Villages

Contact Information: For more information about Community Education visit our website www.iu13.org/communityed or call Lancaster 717-606-1708 Lebanon 717-450-1525 Want to sign up for the newsletter? Click here or scan our QR code below!

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