The Community Education Newsletter

March 2, 2020 Student Spotlight

Sophealin Hul arrived in the United States from Cambodia and joined high school equivalency classes at CareerLink a few weeks later. In these past six months, she has passed three subject tests and plans to take her final test, math, by the end of February. Congratulations, Sophealin! Read her full story in our blog. Check out our New blog! Read all of the latest and greatest news about Community Education! Community Ed Blog Want to register for classes? We want to make things easy for you! Click on the button below to begin class registration! Register for Classes! Check out Tim Talk at the bottom of the newsletter for important updates.

The Refugee Center

Career Pathways Salim Amani is a “go-getter!" It is no surprise that he recently received his CDL license after five weeks of intensive classes in Mount Joy. From the time Salim registered for our Career Pathways English-Learners program, he knew what he wanted to do and has remained focused on his goal. On January 27th, after balancing work and classes, his dream came true as he received his CDL certification. He is currently applying to different trucking companies for a permanent job with assistance from his training provider, Lancaster County Career and Technology Center. With these new credentials, Salim hopes to get a better job and be able to provide for his family without as much stress as he used to have. Our Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds is extremely proud of Salim for his determination! Cultural Navigator On January 21, 2020, Cultural Navigator Loice Byler was offered the opportunity to give three presentations about Swahili culture to 64 teachers at the School District of Lancaster’s Professional Development Day. In her own words Loice explains, "The focus of my presentation was to help the teachers, who are already doing a great job, understand where their Swahili speaking students are coming from and what kind of barriers are needed to overcome to be successful in their classrooms." Read the full story in our blog.

RCCSR Open House On Thursday, February 13, 2020, the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds (RCCSR) had an Open House to invite community partners, stakeholders, and others to the recently renovated offices at Reynolds Middle School. We send a big THANK YOU to Sunnyside Pastries, Twin Valley Coffee, and Hostetter Realty for their generous donations of coffee and paper supplies. Thank you very much for helping to make our open house a success! IU13 | CWS Unite On Wednesday, February 19th Cultural Navigator Luis Manuel Ortiz and Church World Services’ Refugee Community Organizer, Matthew Johnson, met with PA State Representative Hinkernell (Chair of the Professional Licensure Committee) and his Legislative Affairs advisers to discuss the need to contextualize and reform professional licensure in terms of how it affects the immigrants and refugees who are keeping PA’s economy vibrant. In addition, they had a meeting with Senator Toomey’s Central PA Coordinator about what work Sen. Toomey can do on the Federal Level. 

Lancaster County

ESL McCaskey students have the opportunity to continue working on skills at home with Supplemental Distance Learning. Teacher Kevin Boll works with ESL students to learn how to use USA Learns on their devices.

Capital Field Trip On Wednesday, February 5th IU13 Community Education and the Literacy Success Center English as a Second Language (ESL) and High School Equivalency (HSE) students toured the state Capitol in Harrisburg, PA. They met with elected officials while advocating for adult education services!  Check out the pictures on Facebook.

Pre-LPN Classes In addition to English as a Second Language and High School Equivalency classes at PA CareerLink of Lancaster County, IU13 Community Ed offers a Pre-LPN class that focuses on the content and thinking skills that are required to pass the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) (or the nursing school entrance exam).  Instructor Liz Woratyla reports that at least 12 former IU13 students graduated from nursing school in 2019, and 8 pre-LPN students passed the TEAS test this fall and will be starting nursing school in 2020. Citizenship The Citizenship classes in Lancaster are in full swing. Our program stresses the importance of inclusion in society as citizens. As a way to build this feeling, the teacher and students joined together in a presentation related to Flags Around the World. The teacher introduced the topic by presenting the information contained in the civics part of the naturalization interview related to the U.S. Flag. Then, students spent time drawing their own country's flag and presented its symbolism. A world map was projected during the presentations to locate different countries. This approach reinforces the meanings of our flag, creates an understanding of each other's past, and helps them cheer each other on through the process of reaching their new goal of US citizenship.

Lebanon County

Governor's Achievement Award In late 2019, the Lebanon Youth Program nominated Linsey Bogantes for the 2020 Governor’s Achievement Award, and we would like to share her nomination story! Linsey Bogantes is a devoted mother, wife, and student. She loves learning and has persisted throughout life’s challenges. Attending the High School Equivalency classes and being referred to the WIOA program was the entryway to Linsey being a life-long learner. With each step she takes and each gain she makes, she always wants to go further and better herself more. Once Linsey receives her HSE diploma, she plans to work as a para-educator at the IU13, continuing to make a difference in the lives of children. Read her full story in our blog.

HSE  Field Trip The HSE class at Lebanon recently toured the Lebanon County Municipal Building to gain a better understanding of local government. The first tour stop was at the Voter Registration Office. The class had a demonstration of how to cast a ballot and learned that a new law concerning absentee voting will take place during the April primary. Their next stop was at the Department of Emergency Services. Students were inspired by the dedication of the staff who work at the 911 call center. The last stop was in a courtroom where a mock trial was taking place. The judge took time to impress upon students the importance of education. Overall, everyone learned about many positive ways that our county government officials manage their departments and serve the public.

ILA Alison Mesquitta offered hands-on literacy activities for families attending Northwest Elementary School’s recent Play & Learn event. Debra Smith led an Interactive Literacy Activity at One Cumberland Street that featured measuring snow, creating your own snowman from shaving cream and glue, sequencing the events in “A Snowy Day,” and making snowman sandwiches for lunch!

Tim Talk IU13 Community Education Program Director

A Word From Tim: I am sad to announce that Donna Dencler, our Lebanon supervisor, will be retiring at the end of June. For over a decade, Donna worked for IU13 Community Education as a caring teacher, a highly-competent professional development specialist, and most recently, as a thoughtful and dedicated supervisor. She will be greatly missed! A job posting will be listed soon, so if you know any good candidates, please ask them to apply.

Upcoming Activities Lancaster March 06, 2020 Citizenship Classes* March 10, 2020 High School Equivalency Classes (GED | HiSET)* March 20, 2020 Evening ESL Classes* March 30, 2020 Daytime ESL Classes* Lebanon March 09, 2020 Daytime ESL Classes* March 10, 2020 Evening ESL Classes* March 10, 2020 High School Equivalency Classes (GED | HiSET)* *NOTE: Dates indicate first day of class; registration and orientation required to attend. Contact us for more information.

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 a newsletter? Click here or scan out QR code below!

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