Community Partners

BOCES is a statewide organization run by the state that allows school districts to save money by pooling resources with other school districts. Their program for BOCES Consortium of Continuing Education helps educate and train adults and prepare them for the future. Their classes help to educate refugees and immigrants through teaching basic English and also through job training courses.

            In the morning and afternoon, Carola teaches two well-attended classes five days a week. An evening class is taught by Bob three days a week.  Both afford coaches the opportunity to work one-on-one or in small groups of learners.

          The experience at BOCES will be different than the experience at the Refugee Center.   Learners are not divided by ability.  Therefore you will have learners with larger knowledge of the English language in the same classroom as learners who may just be learning English for the first time.  Typically, though not all of the time, learners as BOCES have been in the United States longer than those at the Refugee Center.

The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees (MVRCR) is an organization dedicated to the well-being of immigrants and refugees in the Utica area. The MVRCR helps to foster a feeling of community among the refugee and immigrant population by teaching refugees practical life skills that enhance their ability to integrate into society. They offer services to help immigrants and refugees adapt into their new neighborhood, such as Resettlement, Immigration and Naturalization, English as a Second Language and employment, along with many others.

         The Adult Learning Center works with Project SHINE in helping to educate these new arrivals through coaching and teaching both educational and cultural topics. The MVRCR works hard to provide refugees with the skills to build a new life in Utica, from the workplace to interacting in their community.

         There is an on-site classroom where basic English skills are taught five days a week, twelve months a year by experience ESL teachers from the Utica City School District. Coaches work in these classrooms with instructors Shannon, Bethany, David, John, and Jennifer. Coaches work on a variety of topics ranging from beginning English (alphabet and phonics) to more advanced writing and speaking classes.