Education Workgroup

The RACI Education Workgroup works together to increase access and improve systems for both K-12 and Adult Education for refugee and immigrant communities in central Iowa. There is no commitment outside of the meeting time (no dues/outside time requirements), however many members have been engaged in workgroup projects in the past (parent education videos, community-based ELL course offerings, community resource guides, community engagement events, interpretation/translation trainings, etc)

This group meets on the second Thursday every other month from 3:30pm - 4:30pm via Zoom (next meeting is October 12th, 2023)

Workgroup Co-Chairs:

Gianna Pugliese - Intercultural Outreach Coordinator - West Des Moines Community Schools - PuglieseG@wdmcs.org

Vinh Nguyen - Director of Education - Refugee and Immigrant Services, LSI - Vinh.Nguyen@lsiowa.org

Meeting Notes:

Resources

School Attendance Videos for Parents

The RACI Education Workgroup has created a video series for parents to better understand the importance of school attendance.  The video is available in English, Arabic, Burmese, Hakha, Karen, Kunama, Nepali, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese.  

Back to School Resources - Fall 2022

Registration Events, Physical & Vaccine Clinics, Additional QA & Interpretation Needs. Resources Compiled from Districts: Ankeny, Des Moines, Johnston, Norwalk, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines

English Language Learner (ELL) Class Options in Greater Des Moines