Deputy Superintendent Action Item

DATE:	Tuesday, December 4, 2018
TO:	School Board Members
FROM:	Jeff Eakins, Superintendent
SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS
Approve the Coptic Orthodox Charities’ (COC) Tampa Bay Citizenship Program Subcontract with the Career Recruitment and Instruction in Basic English (CARIBE) Refugee Program of Hillsborough County Public Schools Adult Education as the Lead Citizenship Education Program Provider from December 2018 Through September 2020 (Workforce Connections)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
According to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in 2014, Florida was home to 1.25 million Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), 830,000 (67 percent) of whom were eligible to naturalize. It had the fourth highest number and percentage of LPRs eligible to naturalize of all US states.  Further DHS data showed that from 2004 to 2016, approximately nine percent of the immigrants who gained LPR status in Florida resided in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region where COC provides services. Based on this data, there are an estimated 75,000 LPRs in Hillsborough and surrounding counties eligible to naturalize. With this United States Citizenship and Immigration Service grant, over a two-year period, COC and its sub-awardee partner, CARIBE Refugee Program, will enroll and instruct LPRs in Citizenship English for Speakers of Other Languages.  COC will provide Naturalization Eligibility Screening Services to the same students and submit N-400s with G-28 Naturalization Applications, and provide case management throughout the application process. This project aims to prepare LPRs for their Citizenship test and assist in their naturalization application so that they can become US citizens. Since 2001, COC has assisted over 750 LPRs to prepare and submit N-400 applications with G-28, resulting in 748 who have become naturalized US citizens. Since 1999, CARIBE has enrolled over 600 LPRs in citizenship classes, about 95 percent of whom subsequently became US citizens.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• Provide a student-centered learning environment that engages every child • Recruit, support, and retain a highly effective and diverse workforce • Develop, recognize, and reward employees • Develop a culture of respect, trust, and collaboration • Engage and communicate with families and stakeholders • Continuously improve processes and systems • Establish a strong foundation of financial stewardship • Demonstrate "best practices" in all aspects of safety: student, employee, visitor, facility, transportation, and health • Construct and maintain facilities that create an environment conducive to teaching and learning
FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted:  Yes)
Through a Cost Reimbursement method of payment, COC will reimburse up to $67,168 ($33,584 per year) of expenses associated with the management and provision of citizenship education services by the CARIBE Refugee Program.
EVALUATION
The coordinator of the CARIBE Refugee Program will be responsible for reporting progress in meeting grant deliverables and performance targets set forth in this grant to the funding agency. The deliverables for this contract include a minimum of 225 student enrollments in a citizenship preparation course, with at least 80 percent (180) of enrollees completing the course and at least 80 percent (144) of students completing the course demonstrating education gains as evidenced by increased standardized test scores.
SUBMITTED BY:  Josalyn Michelle Loango, Director of Adult Education

Warren S. Brooks		Gretchen Saunders
Workforce Connections Officer, Workforce Connections (813) 231-1860		Chief Business Officer (813) 272-4270
		C 6.07
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20181204_911 (Board Meeting followed by Public Hearing) * Section C Item# 6.07