Announcement
The IRC in NY’s partnership with the New-York Historical Society led to a very successful IRC Immigration Opportunity Center Citizenship Program*!
At the IRC in NY ONA Immigration Opportunity Center, the IRC focused on immigration application assistance, legal consultations, community workshops, and citizenship exam preparation.
To support applicants, New-York Historical joined the IRC in NY in their efforts. New-York Historical’s Education Department offers naturalization exam preparation to communities across New York City. Under their Citizenship Project, they leverage Museum and Library collections to provide inquiry-driven, object-based pedagogy to engage participants in interactive learning.
In the IRC’s ONA Citizenship program, New-York Historical educators tailored their teaching techniques on object-based learning to the linguistic and cultural identity of participants. Typically, courses at New-York Historical are 6 weeks. However, for this IRC ONA Citizenship program, it was vital to cover the 100 civic and history questions in a longer, more digestible format of 10 weeks.
Through interactive small-group learning facilitated by expert educators, participants engaged with principles of American history, civics, and government. This approach made questions on the USCIS Naturalization Test both concrete and meaningful. This was very useful to participants who either struggled with the exam or were hesitant to begin studying. In this open environment, students took turns in breakout rooms to engage in interactive object visual learning.
The seminar classroom is designed to be inviting, helping them to make connections between their country’s histories and revolutions to the ones that took place in America. Because of this, many students shared how they are able to learn the material more naturally in the classroom.
For many remote learning can be a challenge, but New-York Historical and IRC in NY assisted clients with setting up Zoom and adjusting to the class structure. Additionally, NYHS’ Senior Citizenship Educators have a background in teaching ESL, American history, and object-based inquiry pedagogy. These levels of expertise contributed to a comprehensive and safe learning environment.
Learners were especially excited that at the end of the course, they would receive a practice interview for the test. To prepare students for this, New-York Historical’s educators integrated English vocabulary used often in the N-400 exam into lessons, ultimately supporting students’ memorization and comfort with the material.
COHORT SUCCESS
The IRC in NY would like to take a moment to celebrate this year’s cohorts and their success. The average pass rate of naturalization questions (pre-program) was initially 4/10.
After the course, it is now 8/10! This success speaks volumes to how the course’s 10-week structure supports diving deeper into the material and increases more practice opportunities.
Moreover, the IRC ran topical workshops for participants to stay informed about civic and community engagement opportunities and/or Immigration Law/Federal Immigration Policy. IRC workshops discussed included: naturalization eligibility criteria; how to request waivers for certain USCIS applications; derivative citizenship for minor children; immigration 101 Q&A; immigration options for Ukrainians. Naturalization presentations were in English, Spanish, or Mandarin, as needed. The Immigration team also provided direct referrals to workforce development opportunities to the IRC in NY Economic Empowerment Program.
In this program, the Immigration team was able to successfully assist around 100 clients on legal consultation days.
Online Classes at New York-Historical
Photo: New York- Historical Society
This program has helped lawful permanent residents apply and prepare for their Naturalization Interview by assisting with applications and citizenship exam preparation. The IRC in NY is grateful for the support of the New York Department of State's Office for New Americans for this grant, a first for the IRC in NY Immigration Department! The IRC in NY’s Immigration Department is also thankful for New-York Historical’s partnership and vital contribution to the Citizenship program.
This upcoming May 2023, the IRC in NY will continue to partner with New-York Historical on the second year of the IRC's ONA Immigration Opportunity Center grant. The goal is to continue to offer rounded support to naturalization applicants from screening for eligibility to applying, and finally to preparing for the exam.
*The Citizenship program is funded by the Office of New Americans (ONA)’s Immigration Opportunity Center grant.