Open Doors for Multicultural Families Summer YJRT video

Last night was the end of summer celebration for the Summer Youth Job Readiness Training program conduct by Open Doors for Multicultural Families at the STAR of Seattle. This project is part of the SUmmer Youth Job Readiness Training program funded by the City of Seattle Department of Human Services.
The project provided computer, job readiness, teamwork, and other training for 20 youth. Each youth and his or her parents speak one of four target languages, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, or Somali. To qualify for this program, students had to be enrolled in both Special Education and the Seattle Public Schools English Language Learners (ELL) program.

An end of summer celebration was held last night.

--Every student stood and gave a short speech including introducing themselves and saying something about their experiences and goals. Two students had a teacher or family member interpret but everyone else spoke in English. Some of the speeches were brief but several mentioned job-related concepts like teamwork or goals including being a pet sitter, playing soccer, or just listening to Somali music.
--Teachers reported that 3 students now help parents or other family members with computers.

--Teachers reported that a number of stuents learned how to ride the bus independently rather than having to rely on paratransit or community shuttles.
--The students, staff, and volunteers from Open Doors and the STAR Center all contributed toward a wonderful sense of community!

--Project creators expect that the video produced as part of the project  will help educate many people in the immigrant and refugee communities represented about what their special needs youth can accomplish.