Marshallese youth program launches in NW
SPRINGDALE — The Marshallese Youth Initiative is an opportunity to help students develop academically, socially and generationally, according to a Springdale Chamber of Commerce official.
The first-year program launched in January and is centered on sixth-grade students at Kelly and Sonora middle schools.
“We identified this group as a good beginning,” said Ginger LaMar, the chamber’s vice president of member relations. “The program seeks to use community collaboration to increase the students’ awareness of their hometown while leveraging the support of the students’ parents and Marshallese caregivers and community members.”
The project is fully funded by a $100,000 grant from the American Electric Power Foundation, LaMar said. Southwestern Electric Power Co., a division of American Electric Power, asked if the Chamber of Commerce wanted to work with the foundation on creating the program, LaMar said.
The American Electric Power Foundation was created to give back to communities and improve lives through education, according to Shanda Hunter, senior corporate communications consultant for Southwestern Electric Power Co. The effort includes working with organizations that focus on social justice issues and positive outcomes, Hunter said.
The Springdale School District is also involved in the program. More than 13% of the district’s enrollment is of Marshallese ethnicity, according to Springdale High School Principal Jason Jones. More than 20% of Springdale High’s students are Marshallese, Jones said.
“We are thankful for the partnership with the Springdale Chamber of Commerce and the AEP Foundation. We share the same deep commitment to better our community by investing in our children,” Trent Jones, the Springdale district’s director of communications, said in a news release from Southwestern Electric Power Co.
Middle school is a great time in student development to teach the concepts the program offers, Hunter said.
“I think it’s really special because at this age, these kids are very curious and really willing to learn,” said Edison Enos, a parent liaison with the School District. “Their brains are so active and always want to learn new things. And these students are really good at learning at this age. We want them to know what is stopping them and that they have an opportunity to accomplish anything.”
The Marshallese Youth Initiative, Enos said, “will help people know that we are important, too. We want our people to know they are special, and in return they want to share their experiences and culture.”
Springdale is home to more than 12,000 Marshallese residents, the largest Marshallese population outside the Marshall Islands, according to the news release.
The 12-month initiative was designed and implemented by the chamber’s Springdale Education and Scholarship Foundation and the American Electric Power Foundation and will work with community and business partners, LaMar said. The program runs from January to December this year.
Michelle Pedro, policy director and communications specialist for the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, said the organization isn’t involved in the initiative but supports the project and the students. The Springdale-based coalition is a nonprofit advocacy group, according to its website.
“We’re all for it,” Pedro said. “We’re so happy that the Chamber of Commerce, AEP and SWEPCO recognized that these students have leadership potential, and we’re excited to see what’s going to come out of this program. We’re just really proud of them, and we hope their parents will keep pushing them to strive for more.”
About 30 sixth-grade Marshallese students at Kelly and Sonora are participating, LaMar said. The plan started with 15 students from each school, but LaMar said a couple of more students who show interest could be added. She said a core group of underserved students was identified by teachers.
Organizers hope the program motivates students to think creatively, step into leadership roles and address the challenges of the future, LaMar said.
Students were selected based on teacher recommendations, LaMar said.
“They were showing leadership skills because they were interested,” she said of the students.
The teachers asked if the program was something students would put their own expectations into, LaMar said.
“They really had good conversations with the students to find out if there was interest there, first of all,” LaMar said. “If there was interest, they kind of went a little bit further, telling them more about the program and finding out, are you still interested, knowing what you would be able to do, what you’d be able to learn. That’s when they found if the students were really interested.”
Areas of focus include helping students develop self-understanding, promoting cross-cultural leadership and building confidence through community engagement, LaMar said. Providing mentors within the students’ culture is also in the plan.
The program will showcase career paths the students can see themselves enjoying, LaMar said.
“The Marshallese Youth Initiative is the ideal recipient of the AEP Foundation’s Delivering on the Dream grant program,” Bradley Hardin, SWEPCO external affairs and government relations manager, said in the news release. “We strive to steer grants to help diversity thrive and grow in the SWEPCO service territory.”
Hardin was aware of the diverse population in the Springdale School District and reached out to LaMar to see how the organizations could collaborate on the program, Hunter said. They came up with the concept of helping Marshallese middle school students through a leadership initiative, Hunter said.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is in the western Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and Australia.
The U.S. military conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests over the Marshall Islands from 1946 to 1958, resulting in environmental and health damages from radioactive contamination. Many Marshallese migrated to this country as part of the Compact of Free Association, an agreement signed in the mid-1980s between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, allowing Marshallese to travel freely between the two, according to the news release.