VICTORIA – A $1.7-million pilot project will help vulnerable immigrant and refugee youth adjust and succeed in their school life, their community and eventually the workplace, announced Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development.
“The Immigrant Youth in Schools Pilot program will provide at-risk immigrant and refugee youth with the relevant skills, enhanced settlement support and educational approaches to ensure they have a positive educational experience,” said Stilwell. “Our government knows the important role immigrants and refugees play in our province and how important it is they feel supported in their new home and in their new schools.”
Eleven school districts will each design a 20-month pilot for in-school support services, like individualized counselling and training courses to help students overcome learning and school adjustment issues and develop connections to their school and their community. The pilot targets vulnerable groups such as older immigrant students arriving with limited English language or formal education, students who have significant social and communication barriers, and students who are struggling with mental and emotional issues as a result of traumatic experiences before arriving in Canada.
School districts delivering the program include Abbotsford, Burnaby, Richmond, Delta, Victoria, Surrey, Vancouver, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Peace River North and Nanaimo-Ladysmith. The districts will provide specialized services for these immigrant and refugee students. The pilot began Jan. 1, 2010.
The pilot will complement the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program. Under the SWIS program, settlement workers help immigrant and refugee children adjust to school culture. The workers also increase parent involvement in their children’s education, while helping to build awareness of community and government resources. The SWIS program started in 2007 and has expanded to 21 school districts across B.C. The Immigrant Youth in Schools Pilot program addresses the needs of a specific group of immigrant youth in Grades 8 to 12 who are at risk of dropping out or not achieving their full potential.
“The Immigrant Youth in Schools Pilot program will help vulnerable immigrant youth achieve their best in their new schools and in their new home in B.C.,” said Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education. “We have a goal of making B.C. the best-educated, most-literate jurisdiction in North America, and programs like this one will help us reach it.”
“The Government of Canada is committed to helping newcomers succeed,” said Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. “Young people who are new to this country face their own unique challenges. With this funding, young newcomers to British Columbia will have access to improved services in their schools that will ease their transition to life in Canada and strengthen the community as a whole.”
Government funding is provided by the Government of Canada through the Agreement for Canada-British Columbia Co-Operation on Immigration.
The Province administers the Settlement Workers in Schools program through WelcomeBC, which supports immigrants and their families in succeeding both economically and socially. WelcomeBC is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia and helps immigrants in B.C. access services under one umbrella to assist them in better adapting to life in their new communities and builds on the province’s history of welcoming newcomers and creating inclusive communities.
More information can be found at www.WelcomeBC.ca.
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