The Refugee Education Center’s Spring 2021 in Review
What a busy spring it has been! At the Refugee Education Center, we are honored to be entrusted to support refugees in their journey to become full participants in the West Michigan community. Our mission drives us to continue supporting the refugee community despite the challenges we faced in the last year. We are so proud of this community's resiliency and cannot wait to continue supporting them in their accomplishments in the coming year.
Below are some program updates from this spring and a peek into what we have in store for the summer.
Hands Connected
Last month, we celebrated our littlest neighbors' preschool graduation for the Refugee Education Center’s Hands Connected program. It was a great day to recognize their hard work over the last year and all the changes and challenges that came with it.
We are also excited to share that 48 children ages 3-5 have already enrolled for our Hands Connected Centers for the 2021-2022 school year. We are well on our way to another great year of providing early childhood education to refugee families and the surrounding community!
Graduate + Grow
The center’s summer Graduate + Grow program is about to get started. It will pair area high-school-aged refugee students with mentors and cover the topics of college and career prep, essay writing workshops, and visiting local colleges. So far, 11 students are enrolled in the program for this summer.
Additionally, as many of the older students we serve have unique challenges, our Refugee Navigators teamed up with our Graduate + Grow team to ease the path to graduation for many students. In fact, 24 students who were involved in our Graduate + Grow program during the 2020-2021 school year just graduated from Lighthouse Academy. We can’t wait to see what is in store for Didasi (pictured left) and the other 23 students!
Project Faulu and BRIDGES (K-12 Programs)
Our 2020-2021 Project Faulu online tutoring program has officially ended. This year, with the support of our volunteer tutors, we assisted 118 K-12 refugee students in language and literacy, STEM, and socio-emotional learning.
The Project Faulu team is now coordinating the collection of 402 report cards from participating students from 74 schools to track student progress over the school year. Thank you to all of our supporters and volunteers who made this program a reality. To our participating students, we are so proud of the hard work and adaptability you have shown this past year!
Additionally, our summer program, BRIDGES, kicks off this week for a summer full of fun and learning! Twenty newly resettled refugee students have enrolled in BRIDGES, where they will be exposed to new topics, themes, and cultures they will encounter in their new US schools.
Navigation Services
In the past month, our Refugee Navigators have helped welcome and support four newly resettled refugee families here in Kent County. Navigators, who come from a refugee background, share their lived experiences and are trusted partners for those newly resettled as they become familiarized with their new homes, schools, and more.
Additionally, the Navigation Services team has assisted 12 children in enrolling in our Hands Connected program, 30 K-12 students in our BRIDGES and Graduate + Grow summer programs, and 171 students in local summer school programs. If that wasn't enough, the team has already begun assisting students in their enrollment and/or transfer to local schools for the 2021-2022 school year — 46 students have already been helped, and around 150 more will be helped throughout the summer!
Get Involved
We hope you find all of the information here to be as encouraging and exciting as we do. If you’d like to join us in our efforts to support children and families in West Michigan, please consider donating and getting involved.