Newsletter Winter 2014
January Intensive Class +
CALTA21
In January, literacy
“CALTA21 helped me
express my ideas
without…fear and
explore my identity
through art.”
students had an opportunity to take January Intensive courses.
These free courses, which were held for a total of 44 hours, aimed to provide a rigorous approach to
increasing level of fluency and bettering reading and writing comprehension skills. The students, who
came to four hour sessions, were exposed to a plethora of innovative lesson plans. One of the classes
used Cultures and Literacies Through Art for the 21st Century, a curriculum created “to empower adult
immigrant English language learners (ELL) while strengthening their literacy and critical thinking skills
through visual literacy and simultaneously assisting them in enriching their social and cultural capital.”
(www.calta21.org)
Each day, students began the class by evaluating
works of art and constructing open-ended questions such as
“what is going on in this picture?” The instructor would then
paraphrase each student’s comment. This gave the facilitator
the opportunity to incorporate vocabulary, thereby creating a
list of new keywords. Through facilitated discussions about
art, the students honed their observation skills, found
personal meaning, learned new vocabulary and built
collective knowledge. Students’ comments are evidencebased and they ground their opinions in the image. The
Curriculum, “Identity, Portraiture and Photography”
incorporates students’ personal stories, offering them the
opportunity to learn language through a very familiar story:
their own.
The curriculum is taught in the classroom and with a
partnering museum. While at the museum, students conduct
self-curated tours for their families and peers, learning about
New York City’s cultural resources while actively engaging in
their new home’s cultural life. They facilitate discussions in
front of original works of art and practice speaking in public,
thereby strengthening intercultural dialogue as a means of
developing civic engagement.
Above: January Intensive CALTA21 Students
take a tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Newsletter Winter 2014
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
In addition to classes and services offered to New York City adult immigrants, the QCC Adult
Literacy program is now offering free English as a Second Language Classes to Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrival eligible students and those in the application process.
The QCC Adult Literacy Program Services Include:



English as a Second Language Classes
Referral to Legalization Assistance (Referrals to
help apply for DACA)
College and Career Planning
Are You Eligible for DACA?
 Are you an immigrant to the United States?
 Are you between 16 and 32 years old?
 Did you come to the U.S. before you were 16 years old?
 Are you currently undocumented?
If you answered YES to all the questions, you may qualify for deferred action! This is a program
that offers temporary protection from deportation and allows you to work and live legally in
the US for two years with the possibility of renewal. You can also get a social security number
and a driver’s license.
CUNY has received City Council funding to help provide educational, legal and other related
services to people who may qualify for DACA. We may also help you meet the education
requirements, if necessary.
For more information about our program and DACA, please contact:
Anida Pobric: Apobric@qcc.cuny.edu
Visit our website: http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/academicliteracy/Literacy/index.html
Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/QCC-Literacy-Program/175937059107146
Queensborough Community College
QCC Adult Literacy
222-05 56th Ave
Bayside, NY 11364 (Humanities Building Rm 324)
718-631-6363
CUNY Center for Higher Education
39-07 Prince Street
Flushing, NY 11355 (2nd FL)
718-640-9200
Newsletter Winter 2014
This program has been made possible through The New York City Literacy Initiative financed by the Office of the Mayor of New
York City and The New York State Department of Education through the Workforce Investment Act