Rising achievers
Students in the Refugee School Impact program are succeeding in school and had a chance to visit Central Piedmont Community College Nov. 6 to tour the campus and explore their options for college. (Troy Hull)CHARLOTTE — Fleeing persecution and unrest, refugee students and their families from troubled regions around the world have resettled in Charlotte to find peace, stability, and hope of a better life.
Nearly 150 children from countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Venezuela currently take part in the Refugee School Impact program run by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte to help them learn English and navigate new schools and a new culture.
Most were resettled here by Catholic Charities within the past five years – and already they’re showing remarkable progress. Despite arriving with little or no English, nearly 99 percent of these students advanced to the next grade level at the end of their school year.
Lena, a teenager from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a new student in the program and is on track to advance.
“Catholic Charities is helping me achieve my dreams,” says Lena, who is interested in music and has her sights set on attending college.
On a recent field trip with Catholic Charities to Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), Lena and other students visited the college’s hands-on Makerspace, where she had the chance to check out the recording studio.
It was a heartwarming scene for the program staff.
“They loved being able to tour the facilities and see what would be offered to them if they later became (college) students,” they say. “The library was particularly engaging because in addition to the books and tutoring services offered, they have what is called a ‘Makerspace’ where students can get creative and express themselves through 3D printing, embroidering, printing and recording.”
Another student, Msafiri, also from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was eager to share about his experience. He, too, wants to attend college, he says, and liked the recording studio. He was particularly impressed with CPCC’s 3D printer, which seems to make something out of nothing.
Learning English is key to the students’ academic success, something the Catholic Charities program supports in collaboration with other organizations while also attending to the children’s social and emotional needs.
“We have a great collaboration with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System – they have English as a Second Language instruction within each of the schools,” says Laura Jones, assistant regional director of refugee services for Catholic Charities. “They obviously do a lot of work to help make these kids successful.”
Jones also notes the program’s partnership with The Nest, a private nonprofit immigration school for children who need very specific assistance.
The Refugee School Impact program includes two facilitators and two case aides working together to ensure the academic success of newly arriving students and their families.
“To achieve this goal, we provide tutoring services after school to the children along with working with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to help children get acclimated to academia in the United States,” the program staff says. “We also provide cultural enrichment opportunities for the children to help adjust to life in the United States.”
The program also operates a summer camp and gives the students a variety of opportunities to socialize with children who speak different languages but have a shared experience as refugees. The students bond as they practice English together, the staff members say.
The program also helps parents understand and get acclimated to the school system in the United States. Other Catholic Charities programs help families with case management and employment services to support their long-term success and ability to become self-sustainable.
As the relationship deepens with the families, program staff members are able to provide assistance with homework as their children adjust to new schools.
“All of this ultimately makes them better in English and then, we think, better in academics,” Jones adds.
The staff members note that college is a new concept for many of the students who would likely be first-generation college students and graduates.
They say the Refugee Student Impact program has seen many students arrive with little to no English and go on to graduate high school and continue their education at CPCC and other colleges and universities.
“Many of them want to pursue careers in challenging fields like health care,” the staff members note. “To see them dream and work toward their goals is amazing as we watch and support them while they continue their education.”
— Annie Ferguson