BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Bowling Green Neighborhood and Community Services Director Brent Childers last week welcomed the sixth cohort of Academy for New Americans participants, sharing the vision and purpose for this program. Thirty-five applicants were selected to participate, representing 13 different countries and ethnicities and speaking 19 different languages collectively.
The Academy for New Americans is a free leadership-training program sponsored by the City of Bowling Green that empowers New Americans to understand and participate in City Government. The purpose of the program is to provide New Americans the tools necessary to successfully navigate City services, community information and resources in order to become key stakeholders in assisting their respective ethnic communities and neighborhoods.
The first ever in the State of Kentucky, the Academy for New Americans follows national efforts to support the linguistic, economic, and civic integration of our city’s newest Americans. The Academy for New Americans has graduated 118 participants since 2016.
The success of the Academy has created a ripple effect statewide. The Kentucky League of Cities selected the City of Bowling Green as a 2017 Enterprise Cities Award recipient for the academy program. The Enterprise Cities Award recognizes outstanding projects and programs in Kentucky cities. The awards celebrate cities and allow KLC member cities of all sizes to be inspired by, learn from and replicate successes happening in other Kentucky communities.
“The Academy for New Americans has become a national model,” added Jeff Meisel, Bowling Green City Manager, “it has been replicated in Metro Louisville Government and featured in national conferences.”
The program is led by the International Communities Liaison Division in the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services. The Academy consists of day-long sessions held once a month, ending with a graduation after the last session of the Academy in June.
