RISE - Refugee Support and Education

Refugee Support and Education: Paving the way to Citizenship  This course will delve into the modern refugee experience through direct contact with refugees served by two Portland nonprofits: Refugee and Immigrant Support and Education (RISE) and the Immigrant Refugee Community Organization (IRCO). Students will work as volunteer teaching assistants in a classroom setting in Portland and Vancouver, WA community centers where refugees attend RISE pre-citizenship classes; students will also work in an after-school tutoring program for 5th-8th graders run by IRCO at five East Portland middle schools. Students will work under the direction of the professor, program instructors, and various RISE and IRCO staff. Refugees enrolled in the programs are from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. As a final product, students will develop teaching materials for RISE and IRCO. Supplemental readings and assignments will help students better understand the experience of refugees around the world and in America today.