August 15, 2024
We are continuing our Conversation Series 2024 this month! RIT had a successful first conversation in June, and the next conversation is on Thursday - August 22, 2024 (next week)! The speaker will be Kaveena Singh, RIT’s Board member and Director of Immigration Legal Services at East Bay Sanctuary. Link to register: bit.ly/rit-conversation-2024
Refugee & Immigrant Transitions are happy to share with you some news about our San Francisco Youth Services! Building on our long-running Classroom Support program at San Francisco International High School, we are excited to now be providing the same service to middle schoolers.
This program places staff, volunteers, and interns directly in classrooms, to ensure newcomer students get extra care and academic support (including in their own language as needed). In the past, RIT has prioritized this service for High school students, as it’s a sensitive period given the pressures to graduate by a certain age (regardless of interruptions to formal schooling or students’ educational background in their country of origin).
However, our staff and partners have been sounding alarms about a growing need to expand this program to middle schoolers, as we observe an increasing number of students not completing middle school. In Spring 2024, RIT did a pilot Classroom Support program at Visitacion Valley Middle School. And this Fall, thanks to a new 5-year grant from San Francisco City & County’s Department of Children, Youth & Their Families (DCYF), we’ll be able to continue and expand this service! Our team will work to ensure the students receive extra support, catch up academically, and successfully move on to High School.
In other news, RIT is delighted to announce a new partnership for Youth Leadership with the Inspiring Multicultural Understanding (I M U) Peace Club at San Francisco International High School. This partnership is supported by a second 5-year grant through DCYF.
In RIT’s Wellness Ambassador program at SFIHS, youth develop strong positive identities as refugees and immigrants, ambassadors, and change agents. We are hoping that they will also extend their own sense of belonging beyond their primary cultural, language, and ancestry group to a larger multicultural experience through collaborating with youth from other backgrounds.
I M U Peace Club’s vision is a world community where we express our true selves and celebrate each other across languages and cultures. Through celebrating different cultures and collaborating with their peers, youth develop a pan-newcomer identity and see themselves as leaders for peace and inclusion. The club started 15 years ago, and over the years thousands of students have participated in their program.
RIT staff members attended one of the I M U Peace Club sessions where we shared and learned about each other’s cultures.
And lastly, RIT is excited to once again host a DreamSF fellowship recipient in our San Francisco Youth Program. Established by the City & County of San Francisco, these fellowships are designed for immigrant students and aspiring professionals to gain vital experience and contribute to the community. We are stoked to have DreamSF fellows assist in RIT’s educational program, as they share experiences with our students and are great role models.
This year's RIT Dream Fellow, Sheymi!
RIT will also continue our other services in San Francisco, such as Adult English Language classes in the Mission district, case management services for newly arrived Ukrainian families, and home-based tutoring/mentoring. We are so grateful to our amazing supporters without whom these programs would not be possible.
Volunteer Corner:
Over the summer, 21 prospective volunteers attended RIT volunteer orientation. We are looking forward to welcoming new volunteers to our educational programs. If you or someone you know are interested, please apply: reftrans.org/apply.
