Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, Inc.
27 Grove Hill Street New Britain, CT 06052
Phone: 860.225.2346    Email: info@paf-ct.org

The Foundation has conducted a Citizenship Education program since 2000 in collaboration with the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (CIRC), also a 501(c)3 organization. CIRC received a grant from the State of Connecticut for this purpose, and subcontracted our Foundation to run the program for the Polish immigrant community.

From 2000 to 2003, we conducted 8 citizenship training classes with an average attendance of between 25 and 40 per class (approximately 300 in total). Each course was between 8-10 weeks (varied depending on season and class size), with 2 hour classes for approximately 16-20 hours of instruction.

The curriculum consisted of general instruction in the naturalization process, help in completing the application, drills in citizenship questions, interview role-playing, and concluded with a discussion of responsibilities associated with citizenship. Also some after class one-on-one assistance with individual issues was provided, as well as translation at interviews for individuals who qualified for Polish language testing.

The location of these classes was the Community Room in the New Britain Public Library. This location was chosen primarily because it has adequate capacity to hold even a large number of people. Some of our outreach sessions brought in up to 80 people. It is also within easy walking distance from the Polish section of New Britain, and the library has a large Polish-speaking clientele drawn by a significant Polish-language collection.

Of the class participants who contacted us following completion of the course, we are aware of 138 people from 19 different towns who passed the test and were sworn in as American citizens. This number is most likely greatly understated as we depended on people to contact us upon completion of the process and did not independently follow-up with those who did not contact us.

Additionally, we funded 6 new immigration-related titles for the New Britain Public Library, and hosted several Outreach Sessions for the Polish Community dealing with Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act (LIFE Act), Immigration Changes as a result of the Patriot Act, Citizenship Training for Service Providers and Immigration and Citizenship Forums.

Citizenship Education Program - Program Sample

Christopher Podkowiak - General Instruction / Polish Interpretation
Mary Sanders – Spanish Interpretation

2007 Spring session was funded by Verizon Foundation and members of Polish American Foundation of CT ============================================

Session I: Understanding the Naturalization Process (Lecture)

Location: The New Britain Public Library, 20 High St., New Britain, CT 06051  
Date: February 24th, 2007
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Guest Speaker: Emigrational lawyer -Annette Brigsted

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Session II: The Application Process (Lecture)

Location: The New Britain Public Library, 20 High St., New Britain, CT 06051  
Date: March 3rd, 2007        
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Guest Speaker: Mr. John Weiss -former Officer-in-charge at the Hartford District Immigration Office

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Session III: Citizenship Test Preparation (Lab)

Location:  Polish American Foundation of CT – 27 Grove Hill Street, New Britain, CT 06052
Spanish Speaking Center - 29 Cedar Street, New Britain, CT 06061
Date: March 10th, 2007      
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm

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Session IV:  American History Overview (Lecture)

Location: The New Britain Public Library, 20 High St., New Britain, CT 06051  
Date: March 17th, 2007
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Guest Speaker: Ms. Linda Murray - former Hartford CIS supervisor who was overseeing all citizenship adjudications

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Session V: Citizenship Test Preparation (Lab)

Location:  Polish American Foundation of CT – 27 Grove Hill Street, New Britain, CT 06052
Spanish Speaking Center - 29 Cedar Street, New Britain, CT 06061
Date: March 24th,2007       
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm

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Session VI: Citizenship Preparation  [The Constitution] (Lab Session)

Location:  Polish American Foundation of CT – 27 Grove Hill Street, New Britain, CT 06052
Spanish Speaking Center - 29 Cedar Street, New Britain, CT 06061
Date: March 31st,2007       
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm

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Session VII: Final Session

Location: The New Britain Public Library, 20 High St., New Britain, CT 06051  
Date: April 7th, 2007                       
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm