The Revere Community School, which serves Revere and surrounding communities, received a $16,624 grant from The Foundation Trust to support its 2019-2020 initiatives addressingthe learning needs and advancing the life prospects of immigrant and refugee adults and youth who are trying to build a new life after experiencing trauma, violence and other forms of life adversity.
This is the first grant the Revere Community School has received from The Foundation Trust, a private operating foundation that supports the ongoing work of small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations that provide vital services to under-resourced populations in the Greater Boston area.
Fatou Drammeh, Coordinator at the Revere Community School said “we are honored to be among the first round of grantees from the Foundation Trust to strengthen our program and increase our impact in the community. This grant will help us support more individuals by addressing language barriers and skill building for daily life and employment and support for families in Revere. At the Revere Community School, we believe that it is important to provide an array of support services if we are to properly support immigrants to be self sufficient and lead successful lives in the United States.â€
The grant from the Foundation Trust will enable the Revere Community School to support low or moderate-income Revere parents and high school students to participate in ESOL courses and/or continue their learning to improve their academic and personal situations. The program anticipates providing scholarships to 80 individuals over two years. The scholarship program will help to ensure the quality of our program by reducing the “dropout†rate – in this case, the adult learners and youth who do not enroll or who stop coming to class because they cannot afford it.
Dr. Joseph Spinazzola, Executive Director of the Foundation Trust said “the Revere Community School is doing tremendous work to elevate and empower high-risk communities in Revere. The Foundation Trust is proud to offer this grant to help them advance educational and employment opportunities for diverse immigrants.â€
The Foundation Trust funding will also help 80 low-income families and seniors (40 per year) purchase a computer after completing 15 hours of free computer training so that they can do homework, find jobs and connect with loved ones. A free citizenship classes will also be available to up to 60 individuals planning on taking the citizenship exam in the next 12 months.
Revere Community School unites life-long learners with community and partner resources to empower its adult learners and encourage workforce development, health and wellness, community awareness, and civic participation. Established in 2013, our mission is to ensure quality, robust community-based learning opportunities for residents of Revere, where they can improve their English language skills, attend college preparedness classes, gain employment and citizenship preparation. Revere Community School is a city-funded program under the Revere Parks & Recreation department, hosted and supported by the Revere School district.
Revere Community School serves a highly diverse youth and adult student population each year. About 90% of our students are English language learners. Students come from over 30 countries and speak more than 20 languages. Each year, over 600 adults and youth attend our courses to learn new languages, new skills, financial literacy, workforce development and civic engagement. We currently offer a wide range of courses such as English for Speakers of Other Languages, High School Equivalency diploma (HISET), Spanish, computer and citizenship courses to address the learning and educational needs of the communities. To learn more about the program, please visit our website https://sites.google.com/rpsk12.org/revere-community-school/programs, and connect with us on Facebook @ https://m.facebook.com/reverecommunityschool and Twitter @RevereCommSch.
