Around the World with Community English

Newsletter
January 2017

Around the World with Community English!

This year our Community English program is launching expanded sessions to accommodate parents and workers. DREAM volunteers Janil Santana and Danielle Coony are leading a lively project-based class that will reach outside the classroom, focusing on English for employment and intercultural communication. US Embassy English Language Fellow Sally Kuzma is providing support and creating a new English Language Resource Corner outfitted with reference materials and conversation tables for English language learners throughout DREAM, including its A Ganar and Emprende Tu Futuro workforce development programs. English programs at DREAM are opening the door to new opportunities and global connections!

Miami DREAMs

Thanks to our gracious hostess Carola Pimentel, DREAM has launched our first official Miami event, bringing together a dedicated group of South Floridians focused on education, opportunity and the Dominican Republic. Our goal is to set up our first Miami fundraiser in 2018, and this group of DREAMers will be key to raising awareness and support.

Teacher Training with Dr. Amanda Clinton

To kick off the new semester, Young Stars and Montessori staff were fortunate to receive a week of training from Dr. Amanda Clinton, from the American Psychological Association, to kick-off the new semester. Dr. Clinton's workshops focused on strategies that can be used to help students with learning disabilities and behavioral issues improve their academic skills. With classes back in session our teachers are putting their new skills to use right away!

Spreading the Word About DREAM's Great Work Across the Ocean

Lloyd Smith, co-founder and original volunteer of the DREAM Music Program, is jamming for DREAM in England. The Volatile Agents had a gig in Dorset at the famous Mr Kyps venue and the event raised US$500 for our music program. A big thank you to Lloyd and the Volatile Agents! This is how we keep our 85 instrument students in fine musical form.

A Love of Learning Comes Alive Through Friendly Competition

S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G. That's what local youth were busy doing on January 31st, when the DREAM Project collaborated with neighboring Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) to sponsor and participate in the first ever Puerto Plata Regional Spelling Bee. Forty students from over ten different public schools, including three that work directly with our Young Stars program, were represented at the Bee. All students left the event with a certificate and dictionary in hand, ready to continue studying new vocabulary words. T-H-A-N-K-S to all who participated, and a special shout out to Event Coordinator Brady Arnold, a PCV working with DREAM in La Unión, for making this event a reality.

MLB Baseball and DREAM Care

DREAM has partnered with Entrena to work on the USAID Baseball Cares project, which aims to improve students' basic reading and writing skills. DREAM is directing the young authors clubs in seven different schools in the area of San Pedro de Macorís and Boca Chica. Over a three month period, students are immersed in the process of writing their own story with the end of goal of participating in a regional book competition in mid-March.

New Year, New Achievements to Celebrate!

Thanks to funding from USAID through the Alerta Joven youth crime and violence prevention project, DREAM has reached more than 1,160 children and youth between the ages of 11-24 in the last 2.5 years. As part of the project, 600 youth have participated in school retention programs, 107 in school insertion programs, 461 in workforce development programs and 422 in sexual health programs. In addition, 336 youth have taken HIV tests in collaboration with CEPROSH. As we complete the last two months of the project, we will be focusing on job skills training to youth in their first year of the government's Prepara tu Futuro alternative high school program while also delivering entrepreneurship programs.

DREAMer of the Month

Julio Luis

This month we celebrate Julio Luis, our dear customer service, math and writing teacher! Julio, thank you for your contributions to the A Ganar program and for always being a mentor and guide for students. We wish you the best of luck as you embark on your new adventure as Program Coordinator at Yspaniola in Batey Libertad.

Donors of the Month

A special thank you to all who gave this month, including:

US Embassy, Santo Domingo Millwoods Christian School Farmington Public Schools Steve Fuhrman

The Warburg Pincus Foundation Jared Ginsberg Sherman Murray G. & Beatrice H. Sherman Charitable Trust Michael A. Goldfarb Jordan Fox Susan Calello Cecille Hester Lesley Nicholson Kevin Kreft

North Coast Charity Golf Tournament Sanford Leavitt Grant Woods Laura James Neil Cohen Jayson Goldman Asysco, Inc.

The Wapakoneta Foundation Jon Meuser Yarrow Durbin Maria Euseeva James Cowan George S. Watson Michael Hirschhorn Adam Schless Cesar Estrella Allan Levy Anica Richardt

Luis Solorzano Matthew Dwyer Michael Adams

AT&T Employee Giving Campaign Shelby Howard Laura K. Budzyna Guy Fuchs Gary Hawley Susan Friedman Madelyn Ewing Jon Erickson Mark Cerretani Jutta Bock Christopher Lopez

A special thanks to our Shared Responsibility Partners!