Mayor's Office of New Americans Newsletter | August 2016 | Issue 15

Nashville.gov sent this bulletin at 08/01/2016 09:00 AM CDT

August 2016 | Issue 15

Community Events Calendar

August 13th Parent University (See Details Below)

August 20th TFLI Language Sampler (See Details Below)

September 24th TIRRC Citizenship Workshop (See Details Below)

Language Trivia

"Welcome to Nashville" in Spanish is...

Bienvenido a Nashville

and is pronounced "byehn-beh-NEE-doh ah Nashville"

New American Spotlight

Jacky Gomez was born in Chihuahua, México and came to the United States in 1998 after her Mother decided to get a fresh start. She is now a student at Lipscomb University majoring in Social Entrepreneurship. She is employed by the YMCA Latino Achievers program where she mentors and encourages Latino high schools students to graduate and pursue post-secondary education. Jacky decided to further her community involvement by joining MyCity Academy because she wanted to network with fellow New Americans and learn more about her community and Metro Government. Jacky shared that her favorite part about living in Nashville is “…the diversity. That leads to great people and amazing food! I also love that although we are a relatively small city, Nashville has many new and exciting things to offer its residents.” We are proud to have her as a member of the MyCity Academy!

Nashville Facts

Nashville has been welcoming immigrants since the late ‘70s and ‘80s. In 2012, Nashville had the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S. There are about 140 languages spoken in Metro schools. With 15,460 speakers, Spanish is the 1st language spoken in classrooms. 3,000 students speak Arabic and 1,100 speak Kurdish. Somali, Vietnamese, Nepali and many other languages are spoken every day in schools.

Mayor Barry Welcomes Colombian Musical Exchange

Mayor Barry welcomed delegates and dignitaries from Colombia in early July, including Mayor of Mompox Nubia Quevedo, to celebrate the musical and cultural exchange with the department of Bolívar in Colombia called Armonías and the From the Heart International Education Foundation of Nashville. Young students from Santa Rosa and Mompox came to Nashville for two weeks to join Nashville students to collaborate on a new CD. In recognition of this memorable exchange, Mayor Barry signed a proclamation emphasizing the importance of forming relationships across borders and cultures to strengthen the entire cultural diversity in our community.

MyCity Academy

On July 21st, MyCity Academy participants visited Glencliff High School where they heard from Metro Nashville Board of Education Chair, Dr. Sharon Gentry; Executive Director of STEM Prep Academy, Dr. Kristin McGraner; NAZA Southeast Zone Director, Morlunda Lattimore; Director of Family and Community Partnerships, Molly Sehring; Parent Ambassador, Jose Sauceda; Network Lead Principal, Bill Warren, and Education Rights Project attorney, Beth Cruz. Participants learned about the different education programs that are available through Metro Schools and specifically ones that benefit New Americans. Participants shared afterwards that they were impressed by the many entities that work together to serve every child's unique needs.

World Refugee Day Celebration!

In observance of World Refugee Day, Mayor Megan Barry kickstarted Nashville's celebration with a proclamation and reading to refugee students from the Nashville International Center For Empowerment (NICE). The event highlighted the importance of reading and the prevention of the 'summer slide' or tendency for students to lose gains made during the previous academic year. This can be especially significant to refugee students, whom often speak their native language all summer.

The festivities continued with a festival at Coleman Park. Those in attendance enjoyed a range of entertainment from Zomi dancers to the Nashville Children's Theater puppet show. The day provided an opportunity for all community members to become acquainted with local resettlement agencies, non-profit organizations, and neighbors alike. Refugee families also enjoyed sharing their culture through food, and people gathered from around the community to enjoy the delicious cuisine together.

Special thanks to Metro General Services, Parks and Recreation, Water Services, Public Works, Police Department, Fire Department, and Human Relations along with all of our community partners for all of their hard work and support.

Mayor’s Dialogue on Race and Social Justice

On July 23, Metro Nashville gathered community leaders for an important discussion on racial and social injustice, and what steps we need to take to move forward. To keep the conversation going, the Mayor's Office invites the Nashville community to partake in an open dialogue on September 10. . Special thanks to Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management, all of the community partners, and Metro departments involved.

Register for Parent University Conference

The Metro Schools Parent University Conference is just weeks away - Saturday, August 13, 2016 from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM at Trevecca Nazarene University. We are excited to partner with Trevecca and Alignment Nashville, Oasis Nashville, and many other organizations to bring MNPS families and the greater Nashville community together with district and city leaders for training and discussion all focused on student success and academic achievement.

Join us for powerful Parent Workshops, Group and Panel Discussions, Health and Community Resource Booths, Breakfast and Lunch, and Door Prizes throughout the day - designed to engage and empower all families. This year’s conference theme is “Building Purposeful Community and Opportunity for Our Youth”. The conference is FREE of charge, but you must register beforehand.

Be sure to Register Here to reserve your spot!

Community Events

The Tennessee Foreign Language Institute will be hosting a sampling of foreign languages on Saturday, August 20th! Attendees will have the opportunity to try three different foreign languages in 30-minute lessons with short breaks for coffee, snacks, and questions. Choose from Spanish, German, Arabic, French, Japanese, & Mandarin Chinese. Tickets are $5 until August 13th and $10 through August 20th. Purchase your ticket HERE.

Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition will be hosting a citizenship workshop on September 24. The workshop will run from 9 AM to 12 PM and be located at Casa Azafran, 2195 Nolensville Pike. The session will illustrate the basics on how to properly navigate the application for naturalization and fee waiver. Be sure to Register Here beforehand.

Thank you Gateways for Growth Partners!

Gateways for Growth Immigrant Integration Fellows are close to completing their summer fellowship in which they were tasked with interviewing Metro immigrants and refugees, analyzing their results, and creating a comprehensive list of recommendations for the Mayor's Office of New Americans to review for enactment regarding immigrant and refugee community concerns.

Thank you to our local funders: Frist Foundation, Maddox Charitable Fund and HCA Foundation. Thank you to our National Partners, Welcoming America and Partnership for New American Economy, to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, TCASN, and all of our community and training partners for the integral role they played in this process. Lastly, a big thank you to all of our willing interviewees for taking the time out of their day to be interviewed for the betterment of the Metro Immigrant and Refugee community.

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