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 third Thursday every month from 11:30 - 12:30 via Teams (next meeting is Thursday, September 18th, 2025)
Workgroup Co-Chairs:
Gianna Pugliese - Community Outreach Coordinator - West Des Moines Community Schools - PuglieseG@wdmcs.org
Vinh Nguyen - Director of Education - Refugee and Immigrant Services, LSI - Vinh.Nguyen@lsiowa.org
John Windheuser, M, Ed., - ELL Coordinator - Des Moines Area Community College - jbwindheuser@dmacc.edu
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