Helping Newcomers Thrive Through School and Youth Programs
Strong families and confident youth are essential to building inclusive communities.
2024-2025 marked an exciting period of growth for the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) Program, with the addition of new family support programming. This program is designed to increase support for newcomer parents of children in the middle years (7-13) and those preparing for kindergarten and entry into the early grades. Through this initiative, families gained access to information and guidance to better understand the Canadian education system and register children for school, and local resources for families of young children, and positive parenting strategies.
With these expanded services, the SWIS Program was able to deepen its impact, supporting over 1,100 parents. We broadened our reach across both the North Vancouver School District and West Vancouver Schools, connecting with more families and school staff than ever before. Our team took part in elementary school coffee mornings, English language learning nights, and early years fairs, creating multiple touchpoints for newcomers to feel welcomed and informed.
Throughout the year, our SWIS team supported over 500 youth with interactive workshops that built leadership skills, encouraged equity-focused thinking, and fostered new social connections; as well as offered dedicated sessions to guide students through the admissions process for college and university. For younger children, we offered hands-on learning opportunities through science and nature activities, and the Expressions! program gave newcomer children a creative outlet to share their settlement journeys through art.
A highlight of the year was co-hosting a powerful event with Harrison Mooney, author of Invisible Boy, which brought together more than 400 high school students for an honest conversation about identity, belonging, and racial justice.
Our team delivered presentations to educators and community groups, offering insights into global education systems and the experiences of newcomer families transitioning to local schools. We also shared our learning on a broader stage through our participation in an AMSSA (Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC) panel exploring cultural exchange through art.
