Loading ...ACCESS' innovative program for refugee and immigrant parents chosen for new book series
ACCESS to School, edited by former Detroit Free Press religion reporter David Crumm, is first book in Bib to Backpack series by United Way of Southeastern Michigan
ACCESS, the largest Arab American community nonprofit in the nation, celebrated today the launch of ACCESS to School, a book detailing an innovative, two generation approach to school readiness for local refugee and immigrant families. Edited by former Detroit Free Press reporter David Crumm, the book, the first published by the ACCESS Youth and Education Department, details a groundbreaking program that works to empower immigrant and refugee parents in their children’s educations.
“We’re incredibly proud that ACCESS to School was chosen for the Bib to Backpack book series,” said Anisa Sahoubah, ACCESS Youth and Education Director. “Immigrant children are set to make up half of all American public school students by 2040; we believe that programs like ours, which work to empower refugee and immigrant parents to actively support their children in the American school system, are necessary today and will be absolutely essential in the future.”
The ACCESS to School program, which is housed at Priest Elementary and Middle School in Southwest Detroit, is comprised of four core services: English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, parenting education, interactive parenting and child learning instruction, and intensive case management. Families are also evaluated and referred for health, employment, housing and legal services. Nearly 400 parents and children have received services, provided in English, Spanish and Arabic, in the last two years.
“The program helped me trust myself in doing what is best for my children,” said Thoraya al Haggam, a recent Yemeni immigrant, mother of two young children and graduate of the ACCESS to School program. “It showed me how to deal with problems with my kids, and how to practice numbers, letters, shapes and colors at home – they’re both in school now and doing so well.”
The book is the first to be published in the Bib to Backpack series, created by the United Way of Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM). Edited by veteran reporter David Crumm, the series aims to educate service providers, education professionals and nonprofit organizations about innovative local programming in the hopes that programs can be replicated elsewhere.
“In an year when Americans are hotly debating the value of immigration, and we are hearing some toxic language about immigrants themselves, this book is a powerful reminder of the way immigrant families are working hard to build healthy American communities for their families,” said David Crumm. “ACCESS to School stands in a long line of community-based solutions to helping recent arrivals quickly become a contributing part of America’s diverse fabric of life.”
Books are being provided at cost and will be available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
To view photos from the event, click here.