December 2021 | Vol. 18 Iss. 12
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OLYMPUS HIGH AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM HELPING REFUGEE, IMMIGRANT STUDENTS THRIVE
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By Rachel Dalrymple | r.dalrymple@mycityjournals.com
A
n after-school program that supports refugee and immigrant students and helps them achieve academic success is thriving. The program serves students at Olympus High School, Evergreen Junior High, Millcreek Elementary and Sunnyvale Neighborhood Center, where the program first began in 2012. The program enrolls 100-125 students per year across each of the schools. Peter Frost, director of Youth Services at Asian Association of Utah, oversees the after-school program. “All the programs are designed to meet the needs of refugee and immigrant students, although the programs are open to any youth that wants to participate. It’s open to anybody, and all programs are free,” he said. Frost explained that many refugee and immigrant students arrive in Millcreek without the same level of formal education as their peers in the same age
group. When children arrive in the area and enroll in school, they’re placed with other students their age, regardless of their education level. “So not only have they not had the opportunity to learn English yet, but also their basic skills and math and science and other areas,” Frost said. “So our program is designed to help make up some of those educational gaps.” The program includes an hour of tutoring to help students with their homework and other assignments from school. Following that, the students participate in games and activities to learn about the social and emotional aspects of life. They learn general life skills, including what it means to be polite, how you can resolve conflict and other important social skills. Frost explained how the students have fun, too. “On top of that day-today programming, we try to cut loose and have a little bit of fun. We go to
the local parks. We go on a hikes in the mountains and to Jazz games. We visit museums. We do stuff like that so the students have an opportunity to see what the community is all about.” Over the years, the program has helped many students achieve academic success. Students enrolled in the after-school program typically see a 2-3% increase in GPA. “We work closely with the school staff. Teachers and administrators in the school help us know if a student is facing a particular gap. Then we can try to Continued page 5 The ribbon for the newly renovated Sunnyvale Park on the west side of Millcreek near the Sunnyvale Neighborhood Center, the location where the after-school program began. (Rachel Dalrymple/City Journals)bay)
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