New opportunity for citizenship educators!
free collaborative learning network--monthly sessions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
[10/13/2023]
CONTACT:
Maura Lewiecki, Team Leader
Naturalization Network and USAHello Announce
New Professional Development Program for Citizenship Educators
Albuquerque, New Mexico, – [Naturalization Network and partner USAHello] are launching a new program to provide professional development to Citizenship Educators at no cost using Project ECHO®’s revolutionary guided-practice model that reduces disparities in underserved and rural areas around the world.
Often working in isolation, citizenship educators rarely, if ever, have the opportunity to learn about best teaching practices, how to develop new skills for working with diverse and underserved students or to even network with and learn from one another. Working with Project ECHO enables us to share expertise with this unique and underserved group of professionals by providing a collaborative learning network in which skills and information are shared in interactive and supportive monthly sessions.
Founded at the University of New Mexico in 2013 out of a need to expand access to hepatitis C treatment, the ECHO model has been adopted to create virtual tele mentoring to support providers around the world on diseases as diverse as diabetes, substance use disorder, bone health, rheumatological disorders and many more. Since then, the model has expanded to democratize knowledge in education by connecting teachers and school leaders with experts who can address needs specific to the culture and students.
The new ECHO for Citizenship Educators will take place every second Wednesday of the month at: 1pm ET,12pm CT,11am MT,10am PT, beginning 11/8/2023, and will feature experts in adult education, English as a second language, working with immigrant populations, emotional support as well as dealing with the stress and anxiety of the interview and exam. Citizenship Educators who are working with students are encouraged to attend these sessions in which they will receive training and mentorship.
The ECHO Model is the ideal vehicle for citizenship educators because it moves knowledge, not people, thereby providing professional learning development to their teachers at no cost, a boon to community-based organizations with tight budgets. “I wish I could have spoken with a mentor or resource person to get clarification on the 100 civics questions used in the naturalization exam. Online resources were not very helpful.” David Lopez, Citizenship Tutor, New Mexico
ECHO for Education in New Mexico began its first program in 2017 and by the end of 2023, it will have grown to 32. Data analysis shows that for every educator trained in a New Mexico ECHO program 69 students are impacted. This force multiplication is how the ECHO Model builds capacity thereby democratizing knowledge.
Participants can register for this program at no cost: https://iecho.org/public/program/PRGM1691784919319FMN0W51OZE
Naturalization Network and USA Hello
Naturalization Network was created specifically to provide ECHO for Citizenship Educators so that this isolated and underserved community of dedicated educators. Partnering with USAHello enables the program to apply for funding and to amplify the organizations’ efforts to assist people in their quest of naturalization to the United States.
About Project ECHO
Founded in 2003, Project ECHO is a global nonprofit that empowers practitioners and professionals in rural and underserved areas to reduce disparities and improve the well-being of people in the communities where they live. ECHO’s free, virtual mentoring model addresses some of the world’s greatest challenges in health care, education and more, with a mission to touch 1 billion lives by 2025.
Posted: to Citizenship News on Fri, Oct 13, 2023
Updated: Fri, Oct 13, 2023
