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Story by Julia DiGiacomo
RISE AmeriCorp’s new host site, Jewels Academy, is sparking interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for girls from underrepresented communities. Through math tutoring and 8–10 STEM workshops per year, girls are learning skills to help them succeed in high school, university, and future STEM careers. Jewels Academy’s upcoming project is the “Young Emerging Scientist Virtual App Camp” for 4th through 9th grade girls. The week-long day camp will take place three times over June and July to reach a wide range of students in Des Moines. The main focus will be the design and creation of an app that students can access on their phones. Jewels Academy’s new RISE AmeriCorps Member Elise Baty will help organize and facilitate the summer camp along with staff. She will help girls troubleshoot technological issues and help them develop business plans for their newfound apps. “I'm most excited that our new RISE member is interested in becoming a teacher eventually,” Jewels Academy Program Director Joy Castro said. “So I'm just excited that she gets the opportunity to work with kids and learn the ropes of teaching with hands-on experience.” Although the programs are open to all girls in 4th to 12th grades, Jewels Academy’s mission emphasizes the importance of bridging the gap in STEM training for girls from marginalized communities, such as low-income and racially diverse students. Jewels Academy’s programs are accessible to students from different socioeconomic backgrounds with the help of scholarship aid. The week of science training can ignite new passions for girls and young women searching out their path in the world. Castro said her favorite part of the summer camps is watching the students become increasingly excited about science and math. “When the students start the program, they might not be as into computers and science and STEM, but when they leave they say, ‘Oh I actually really like that. I think I want to pursue this in the future,’’' Castro said. “Just seeing their attitudes change about STEM is always one of the most exciting parts of the program.” Oakridge RISE Members Support Immigrants with ESL Classes, Job Readiness, and Vaccine Outreach5/17/2021
Story by Julia DiGiacomo RISE AmeriCorps members at Oakridge Neighborhood in Des Moines have spent the first chunk of 2021 improving the lives of immigrants and refugees through ESL classes, a job readiness course, and education about the COVID-19 vaccine. Oakridge Neighborhood in partnership with DMACC provides English class sessions to help immigrants and refugees better navigate daily life in Iowa. RISE AmeriCorps Member Halima Ali’s role is assisting with teaching and helping students who speak Arabic. She’s built off a year of previous experience assisting with the ESL classes as a Workstudy student at DMACC.
Halima’s brother and fellow RISE AmeriCorps Member Mo'ad Ali also joins to assist with class sessions when he has time away from Oakridge Neighborhood’s culturally diverse preschool, Oak Academy. Together with DMACC and Oakridge staff, they break up the class of about 15 into groups according to English level for more individualized assistance. Halima says she’s enjoyed watching her students become increasingly confident in their English. She’s also received positive feedback from students at the end of class terms, with reports that they’re excited to be improving English. “They say they are so happy and can see improvements in themselves,” Ali said. “We can see that too in them. It’s so great to see them be happy and see a difference from where they started and where they are now.” Eight of the ESL students were recruited to join Oakridge Neighborhood’s first Workplace Skills 101 course in March. The eight hours of training were aimed at immigrants and refugees who are largely unfamiliar with the details of the American workplace. Topics included workplace safety, employee rights and responsibilities, workplace terminology, and other useful information like pay stubs. RISE AmeriCorps members and staff helped interpret for students in four languages: Arabic, Swahili, Tigrinya, and Kunama. Halima helped the students who spoke Arabic follow along with content. “The students all successfully completed the program and they were so excited to finish,” Halima said. “We also have plans to open another similar program in the future for the public, not just the Oakridge residents.”
RISE AmeriCorps members were also instrumental in translating and delivering vaccine facts to immigrants and refugees so they could make informed decisions. Oakridge Neighborhood’s outreach included calling clients and creating surveys to gauge thoughts on the vaccine. They then cleared up misconceptions and dispersed translated vaccine information from the CDC and local health departments.
Halima said that learning the facts in their language as well as hearing about others in their community getting vaccinated helped encourage many clients to seek out the vaccine at their clinic. At least 240 people were vaccinated with Pfizer at Oakridge Neighborhood and UnityPoint’s vaccine clinic. They’re now nearly fully vaccinated and protected against COVID-19 after the two doses on April 10 and May 1. “To be honest, at first [clients] were like ‘no no no’ to the vaccine,” Halima said. “But by the end of our efforts, we ended up having waitlists for the vaccine. |
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