The north center’s location off Interstate 10 in the South Texas Medical Center neighborhood, which has many residents from South Asia, is close to where Catholic Charities settles refugees under a contract with the State Department. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Varshik Manda, center, plays with Avery Arredondo, left, and Omar Maswadi, right, in class at the Pre-K 4 SA North Center last spring. I’m happy to tell them about the ESL and college-placement classes that transformed my life, and to connect them with employers. Learn More about San Antonio's Immigrant Community. For the 4-year-olds in refugee families, preschool — whether at Northside campuses or the Pre-K 4 SA center — is often the first exposure to an English-speaking setting without someone sitting next to them who understands their native languages. Against another wall, Mexican handmade dolls sat in a woven basket. Though the resettlement numbers have decreased in 2011, a large population of refugees remains. My two daughters, ages 10 and 4, are thriving in school. Her parents spoke only Spanish, and she learned English in her prekindergarten class. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. Refugees in San Antonio challenge, enrich preschools Krista Torralva July 7, 2019 Updated: July 8, 2019 6:19 a.m. Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Reddit Pinterest I love assisting fellow refugees, providing social and legal services and helping them integrate into the community. Niko Rodriguez, right, walks past other kids playing in a class at the Pre-K 4 SA North Center last spring. For the Caller-Times, she co-led an award-winning series about domestic violence. About half of Varshik’s class spoke another language before learning English. Teacher Alejandra Sanchez reads a book to her students with Trevor Steen sitting in her lap at the Pre-K 4 SA North Center last March. Alejandra Sanchez, a teacher at the Pre-K 4 SA North Center, listens to her students in class last spring. I subsequently found a job at Catholic Charities, where I received several promotions. Since he took his post, Mr. Gallegos has been working with community stakeholders, city departments and faith leaders to ensure that San Antonio’s immigrants and refugees successfully integrate into the city. Many of them started the school year with little or no English vocabulary. The nonprofit organization partners with apartment complexes to house refugees who are in the country legally but arrive without any usable rental history, jobs or Social Security numbers, said Paula Torisk, senior director of refugee resettlement services. Lilyann Cazares-Mezquiti, a teacher at Pre-K 4 SA North Center, plays with two girls as Gabriel Carlos builds with blocks in 2019. On the floor were cushions for on-the-ground seating, a common element in Southeast Asian households irrespective of religion. San Antonio city, Texas. At the start of class one morning, each child was tasked with listing aloud words that rhymed before announcing their plan for the rest of the morning, an exercise in vocabulary. Within days, people from a nearby church were carrying heavy furniture into our home and bringing us food and other necessities. This support, which so many immigrants and refugees have received here, is why the Cities Index, a new report from the bipartisan nonprofit New American Economy, recently named San Antonio a highly livable city for immigrants. Local San Antonians not only helped me to rebuild my life, but they introduced me to English language education programs that have enabled me to flourish. The office has hosted citizenship clinics, created resource guides, and obtained grant money to assist immigrants with legal services. In the beginning, Varshik didn’t want to go to school, said his father, Prasad Manda. The parents also share a desire to preserve their children’s native language so they can communicate with family members back home. The refugees we work with are hired very quickly; San Antonio employers tell us that they are extremely diligent and dedicated workers. Cazares-Mesquiti understands. On ExpressNews.com:Refugee students prepare for college at Camp Discover. She has worked with the resettled refugee population in San Antonio since 2008, teaching ESL, citizenship classes, and addressing their psychosocial needs. His wide brown eyes watched as they spoke, and that’s how he learned what to call objects in the classroom. Varshik was very quiet during activities last fall, said his teacher, Lilyann Cazares-Mesquiti. Refugees pay welcoming San Antonio back Einas Albadri November 17, 2018 GMT Within days, people from a nearby church were carrying heavy furniture into our home and bringing us food and other … For English-speaking children from Texas-born families, that might be a Spurs or Dallas Cowboys jersey. Students walk down a hall at the Pre-K 4 SA North Center on their way to play outside last spring.