New Vermonter Education Program

Program Description

The New Vermonter Education Program (NVEP) provides temporary housing, English language, and cultural orientation programming for refugees in southern Vermont in partnership with the Ethiopian Community Development Council, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, and the Tutorial Center in Bennington, Vermont. NVEP has supported numerous refugees from Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guatemala, Ukraine, and Yemen.

Short-term housing includes the use of up to seven residence halls on the World Learning and School for International Training’s campus, including newly renovated kitchens through funding from World Learning and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, a welcome center for initial welcoming and intake, a library, and a prayer room.

Programming includes World Learning and School for International Training’s English language and cultural orientation program which offers three mixed-level English classes based on levels of literacy to encourage collaborative and communicative learning. There is an additional focus on English in the workplace, creating a full-circle program linking language and skills learning directly to job training and professional opportunities. Since its inception, NVEP attendees have shown significant improvement over the course of their participation.