Bienvenida! A New Welcome Center Is Making New Residents Feel Right at Home
You’re in a new place. You don’t speak the language. You enroll your children in a local school, but it’s hard to communicate with their teachers. You live here now, but it doesn’t feel like home. Yet.
The good news is Johanna Jaramillo is laying out the welcome mat. Johanna is a teacher at Knollwood Elementary School in Salisbury, North Carolina. She leads ESL classes for primarily Spanish-speaking students and is planning to create a hub at Knollwood to help their families acclimate to their new neighborhood. At the center, parents will receive flyers with information about local and school resources, gift cards to help them get gas, clothing, and supplies, and advice and mentorship. Johanna hails from Colombia, so she knows what it’s like to have to get comfortable in a town that doesn’t feel familiar. Her hope is that her project will help parents feel connected to their kids’ new school and prime their children for success.
Our grant will help Johanna print flyers, set up the space for her center, and buy gift cards. We hope other teachers and active citizens see her example and start welcome centers in their own communities. (Check out Hello Neighbor to get involved!) Now that would be awesome.