Summer Recap
at The Refugee Center and Community School
Here's a glimpse into what has been happening this summer!
STAFF SPOTLIGHT:
Welcome, Luis Manuel Ortiz!
Luis works as a Cultural Navigator for the Refugee Center and Community School at Reynolds Middle School.
Luis has over 8 years experience working with the refugee and immigrant community through his experiences with Church World Service.
Mr. Ortiz is Puerto Rican and a Lancaster City native. He is passionate about helping individuals and communities build bridges to overcome barriers and serve as a liaison between various stakeholders. He is also a college professor and teaches multiple courses in the area. We are incredibly excited to have Luis part of our Refugee Center and Community School team!
Leap into Language
Refugee and immigrant middle school students sharpened their English Language skills over the summer during the Leap into Language program. IU13 Community Education partners with School District of Lancaster, Millersville University, Eastern Mennonite Missions, and PA Migrant Education to facilitate this highly-engaging program. Students spent five weeks studying English and networking with their peers at Edward Hand Middle School. The students also played sports, made art projects, and took field trips throughout the community to places such as James Buchanan's Wheatland. We are so happy to have served 40 students and their families during this year's program. We celebrated students' incredible hard work and dedication on the final day with a certificate ceremony, lunch and more games!
You can read the full LNP | Lancaster Online article here.
Summer Home Visits
This summer, Community School Director Cate Gorham and Reynolds Principal Aaron Swinton visited over 350 of our Reynolds' student's homes. Families are essential to student and school success. These home visits allowed us to positively engage with families and learn more about students and what supports they may need for the upcoming school year. The goal of these home visits during the summer and throughout the school year is that they improve communication and relationships between parents, teachers, and students, reduce absenteeism, and improve students’ academic performance and outcomes. The feedback from students and families was very positive and it was extremely rewarding for us to meet with our students and families throughout the community!
Shelby Miller, Community Education Newsletter Editor
