Settlement Workers In Schools (SWIS)
Mission Public Schools is pleased to announce that Settlement Workers In Schools (SWIS) services are available in Mission Public Schools.
Schools are one of the first points of contact for a newcomer family, therefore the Province of B.C throughout the Ministry of Advanced Education & Labour Market Development - Immigration Branch and the Ministry of Education joined efforts to create and implement SWIS program in schools.
The majority of funding for settlement and adaptation services is provided by the Federal Government - Citizen & Immigration Canada.
The SWIS program helps newcomer or existing immigrants students & their families with settlement needs to integrate in their new surroundings in Mission and in their new country, Canada by:
- Facilitating communication between families & school staff.
- Connecting families with appropriate school, community programs & resources through referrals depending on families’ settlement needs.
Settlement services include a range of services provided to assist immigrants, refugees and other eligible clients meet their immediate settlement or on-going integration needs after arrival in Canada e.g. housing, employment, English courses, finances, healthcare, school, childcare, social insurance number, immigration issues, legal issues, counselling, driver’s licence, etc.
The SWIS program will ensure the primary focus of this school based settlement service is children and families with settlement needs.
The emphasis of the SWIS program is to facilitate settlement and integration of newcomer families through referrals/linkages to appropriate services and cross-cultural education.
What can a SWIS Worker do?
- Serve newly arrived and existing immigrants students in the K-12 system and their immediate families
- Provide information and support to deal with settlement needs e.g. school registration, how to get around, types of housing, legal rights, how to get childcare, immigration issues, etc
- Provide support for adjusting to a new society e.g. understanding school culture, classroom expectations
- Enhance cross-cultural understanding between school staff and immigrant families
- Facilitate culturally-sensitive communication between school and families on non-academic issues
- Refer students/families to school, government and community services relevant to their needs
Objectives
For children
- Newcomer students are more engaged in the school system
- Newcomer students receive valuable information about school programs, after-school activities, future education, summer employment and other community resources
- Newcomer students are accessing school and after school activities
- Newcomer students are supported in conflict resolution
For parents
- Newcomer parents are more familiar with Canadian culture and the school system
- Newcomer parents are more involved in school activities and their children’s education
- Newcomer parents are supported in conflict resolution
- Newcomer parents are more aware of community and government resources
- Newcomer parents are accessing services/programs/networks within school and community
For School
- Increase cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity of teachers and school staff
- Increase knowledge about community resources and needs of newcomers
Mission Public Schools has one Settlement Worker In Schools, Wendy Aguilar. Wendy helps school-aged children and their parents with any settlement needs the family is experiencing, from childcare subsidy applications, to immigration issues, to free English classes for adults. Wendy is an immigrant herself who got her Canadian Citizenship in 2006 and understands the challenges faced by newcomer and existing immigrants. Although Wendy speaks Spanish and English, she can communicate with other immigrants who do not speak English nor Spanish through the help of interpreters if needed. Her office is located at Mission Secondary School.
Contact Information:
Wendy Aguilar
Settlement Worker In Schools (SWIS)
Mission Public Schools
| Office: Phone: Cell: Fax: |
Mission Secondary School 32939 7th Avenue Mission, BC V2V 2C5 604.826.5137 604.302.7094 604.826.8187 |