Citizenship Mentoring Group

Citizenship Mentoring Group

Citizenship

A League History | Help Needed | Citizenship Mentoring Group | Citizenship Tutoring | What do you know about the constitution? |

Capital Region Refugees and Immigrants Need Our Help

The Capital Region Refugee Roundtable is an organization of at least 50 different NYS agencies and non-profit groups in the area who work with the refugee, immigrant, and undocumented community here. The discussion at their last meeting dealt with concerns about how the newly-elected president’s administration plans to deal with this vulnerable population.

In the coming months, there may be a need for volunteer help with many of these groups. If you find that you have a few extra hours in your day, please consider volunteering your time. You can find out more information on the website for the Capital Region Refugee Roundtable:

www.capitalregionrefugees.weebly.com

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A League History - The Citizenship Mentoring Group

The Citizenship Mentoring Group was formed by members of the League of Women Voters of Schenectady County in the Spring of 2017. The League had already shown an interest in immigration issues, and we chose this project as a way to celebrate the upcoming anniversary of Voting Rights for Women. We formed a small committee made up of Cheryl Nechamen, Johanna Petersen, Judy Middelkoop, Connie Young, and Ann Hatke. We met with the local field office director of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, the program coordinator of the Office for New Americans (a NYS program that assists those applying for citizenship), and spoke with immigration officers at USCIS (Department of Homeland Security – Immigration Services). We received an enormous amount of advice and information from these people, and USCIS continues to provide us with free citizenship preparation materials. We also began researching all facets of the citizenship process, how to work with adult learners, and best practices for this type of instruction. We designed our program, including most of the forms and study materials that we would use. Then we began the process of advertising at libraries, mosques, the Annur Islamic School, and Washington Irving Adult & Continuing Education Center which has a number of immigrant students.

Although Schenectady has a large immigrant community, there were no specific programs to help this group prepare for US citizenship. We wanted to offer class sessions and also have a group of tutors who would be trained in citizenship preparation and could work one-on-one with students. We needed a site for our classes and a place where our tutors could work with their students, and we found the perfect spot at the Phyllis Bornt Library and Literacy Center. This branch of the Schenectady library system was not only located in an area where many immigrants have settled and close to a bus stop, but it also had a dedicated staff who were fully behind our plans. Our first class session began in October 2017, and was taught by Cheryl Nechamen. Our tutors began working with students. The following year, Ann Hatke became the instructor of the classes, and we began four year-round class sessions of eight-weeks each. We wanted to be able to offer this program free of charge and open to the public, and we are pleased to have received generous grants from LWVUS every year since 2018.

Currently we have taken a hiatus from the classes but continue to offer tutoring. In fact, we will be holding a tutor training session on September 24 which will be open to League and interested community members. (Please see more information about the training in this issue of the Bulletin). To date, the program has served a very diverse group of students of all ages from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, Singapore, St. Lucia, Turkey, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia and Vietnam.

In 2018, we also added another component to the program when a group of League volunteers began to attend Schenectady’s monthly naturalization ceremonies. There we were able to provide voter registration forms to the new citizens and help them to complete the forms, answer questions, and give them written voter information. Sadly, the pandemic closed these ceremonies and we have not been allowed to assist in any way since then. However, we have been in frequent contact with the Schenectady County Clerk’s Office to find a way to return to the ceremonies, and we plan to be successful.

Ann Hatke

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 The Citizenship Mentoring Group - Schenectady, NY

 

 

 

 

 

The Citizenship Mentoring Group was formed by members of the League of Women Voters of Schenectady County in the Spring of 2017. Our League had already shown an interest in immigration issues, and we chose this project as a way to celebrate the anniversary of Voting Rights for Women. We formed a small committee, met with the local field office director of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, the program coordinator of the Office for New Americans (a NYS program that assists those applying for citizenship), spoke with immigration officers at USCIS (Department of Homeland Security – Immigration Services). We received an enormous amount of advice and information from these people, and USCIS continues to provide us with a multitude of free citizenship preparation materials. We also began researching citizenship preparation, how to work with adult learners and best practices for this type of instruction.

Although Schenectady has a large immigrant community, there were no specific programs to assist this group as they prepared for US citizenship. Our program operates year-round with one -on-one tutoring for individuals who are interested in pursuing US citizenship. In the past, we have also offered year-round citizenship preparation Saturday classes at the Phyllis Bornt Library and Literacy Center that is a branch of the Schenectady County Library System. We are currently taking a break from the classes, but we will make information available when they resume.

The program is free and open to the public with registration. Students each receive two citizenship preparation books, including Preparing for the Naturalization Test, a USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) publication, Citizenship-Passing the Test-Civics and Literacy by Lynne Weintraub, as well as a variety of printed materials at no cost. So far, the program has served a very diverse group of students from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, Singapore, St. Lucia, Turkey, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia and Viet Nam.

The Citizenship Mentoring Group tutoring program provides volunteers who have received a two-hour training in the naturalization process, the citizenship interview and exam, and how to prepare students for this important step. They are also provided with the citizenship preparation teaching materials. Volunteering in this program is not limited to members of the League of Women Voters, but is also open to interested members of the community. Volunteers are kept updated with new teaching ideas and other information, as well as any new information from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

For additional information about this program, please contact:  Ann Hatke at lwvcitizen [at] gmail.com

08/2024

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Citizenship Tutoring - Citizenship Mentoring Group

Are you interested in becoming a US Citizen? Would you like help learning what you need to know to pass the Citizenship interview and tests?

The League of Women Voters of Schenectady County offers free one-on-one tutoring (one teacher with one student) to help you prepare for US citizenship. You will learn about the citizenship process, the parts of the interview, and the civics questions that you will be asked to answer during your interview as well as the reading and writing sentences that you will be asked to read and write.

All materials will be provided at no cost. Tutors normally meet for one hour each week at the Phyllis Bornt Library, and Literacy Center, located at 948 State Street near downtown Schenectady. You may also choose to meet at any of the other Schenectady County libraries or another public place. If you have already applied for citizenship and need immediate assistance before your upcoming interview, we will try to work with you to add additional tutoring sessions each week if necessary.

Citizenship students and their tutors work together at a time and day of the week that is agreeable for both of their schedules. As the tutors take time to prepare your practice sessions, we ask that you arrive on time and always notify your tutor if you are unable to meet for your session.

For additional information about this program, please contact: Ann Hatke at lwvcitizen [at] gmail.com    08/2024

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 What Do You Know About Your Constitution?

Immigrants who want to become citizens must answer civics questions as part of the naturalization test. The civics test is an oral test and the USCIS Officer will ask the applicant up to 10 of the 100 civics questions. An applicant must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass the civics portion of the naturalization test. Below is a sample of the civics questions that relate to the Constitution.

  1. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution.  What are these words?
  2. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
  3. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
  4. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
  5. How many U.S. Senators are there?
  6. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
  7. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
  8. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
  9. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states? 
  10. What is the highest court in the United States?
  11.  Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
  12.  Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
 

Answers to U.S. Constitution Quiz

  1. We the People
  2. The Bill of Rights
  3. Twenty-seven (27)
  4. The Senate and House (of Representatives)
  5. One hundred (100)
  6. Six (6)
  7. Four hundred thirty-five (435)
  8. Two (2)
  9. Based on the state’s population
  10. The Supreme Court
  11.  Choices listed: ▪ to print money ▪ to declare war ▪ to create an army ▪ to make treaties
  12.  Choices listed: ▪ provide schooling and education ▪ provide protection (police) ▪ provide safety (fire departments) ▪ give a driver’s license ▪ approve zoning and land use

Want to learn more about the Citizenship Test?  The 100 Civics (History and Government)

Questions for the Naturalization Test and suggested correct answers can be found at:  https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf 

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