Community and Neighbourhood Development (CND)

Profile on Homework Clubs: Supporting New Partnerships for the Success of Newcomer Kids

The first FST-Homework Club partnership was developed in 2006 with the Iranian-Canadian Youth Support Group (ICYSG) in the northern part of Toronto and was geared to high-school age newcomers. Space and resources were provided by the schools, volunteer English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and supportive students jumped on board and for three years, ICYSG has been running the program with great results. The success of this partnership in the Iranian community has led to a $100,000 grant from the Ministry of Education for FST to extend the model and create new Homework Clubs at Crescent Town-Oakridge, Lawrence Heights and Flemingdon Park, as well as to expand the Homework Clubs supported by ICYSG.

CND is about supporting the capacity in the community.

Like many newcomers to Toronto, Iranian families look to schools to help settle children and youth immediately upon arrival. However, newcomer children often fall behind in the curriculum and need extra support to adjust to the new culture and social setting. In the fall of 2008 the ICYSG prioritized a pressing need in their community and FST worked to support their initiative to create another innovative Homework Club in north Toronto through our Community and Neighbourhood Development (CND) program.

The new homework club is for grade school Iranian newcomers and employs two tutors who can support the particular needs of these children. Both tutors are Farsi speaking. One tutor has ESL teaching experience and the other is an Iranian newcomer high school tutor, a valuable role model for the younger children. The Program Coordinator, Lily Pourzand, who has been with the program from its inception, describes the multiple benefits of this club which provides more than academic support: “It provides the children a relaxed and safe place to learn and practice English, which gives parents peace of mind.”

Even after seven hours of regular school, children are enthusiastic about attending the Homework Club, as it provides a cultural introduction to Canada for the whole family and a space for newcomers to adapt to new traditions like Christmas or Hallowe’en. Parents are also invited to gain volunteer experience and familiarize themselves with how to work with schools. Over time, non-Farsi-speaking students are invited to the club to enable newcomers to practice conversational English; the time is mutually beneficial as other students gain sensitivity to the needs of newcomer peers and fulfill their community hours. As Kim Hinton, Manager of CND at FST, says, “We have learned a lot from this experience. Ultimately, it’s about supporting the capacity in the community.”

Building on the success of this unique model, FST has expanded its Homework Clubs over the past year to include three more communities in Toronto. Each Club works toward its own goals and implements its own workplan based on needs and population. For example, the Crescent Town Club has adopted an alternative model for its community, which uses cooking classes to teach math skills and word games to teach language. The Oromo Coalition Against Youth Alienation (OCAYA) Homework Club uses a Youth Leading Youth mentoring model.

FST’s role in all of the Homework Clubs is to support the process of collaboration with all the partners and volunteers, to support decisions through building consensus and to help promote inclusion. With the recent expansion, these clubs now support the school life of more than 300 students and involve more than 50 volunteers, enriching the whole community. FST will continue to support the Clubs in 2009/10.