07.06.2009 -  The University of Arkansas-Little Rock’s Citizenship Radio Training Program was born out of a desire to make citizenship information more accessible to immigrants in Arkansas. The pilot run of the ten-week course, developed by UALR’s Workplace Skills Enhancement Program, aired this past fall on three stations in Central Arkansas, Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas. The program, funded in part by a grant from Arkansas Community Foundation’s Giving Tree Endowment, features a weekly radio drama that follows the lives of three recent immigrants on their paths to citizenship.

As characters Lan, Carlos and Yoozef discuss eligibility requirements, U.S. civics and the application process, listeners can follow along in an accompanying training manual with supplemental materials and practice exercises. Denise Leeson-Provost, the program’s developer, explained that the course’s inaugural run also included facilitated group discussions at locations throughout the listening areas in weeks 5 and 10 of the program. “The people who attended said they got a tremendous amount out of the group sessions,” she said.

The results of Citizenship Radio’s pilot run have been difficult to quantify, since many of the potential citizens who benefitted from the program may still be engaged in the lengthy naturalization process. But Leeson-Provost is optimistic about the program’s potential for future impact. “For the most part, the people we spoke to in follow-up phone surveys said the material was great,” she said.

Corporations in Fayetteville and in Minnesota have already inquired about purchasing the curriculum for their employees, and Leeson-Provost has also been contacted by schools interested in using the training manual as a textbook.

Part of the appeal of the program is its portability and potential for future expansion, one of the most important criteria for ARCF’s Giving Tree Grant Program. Leeson-Provost explains that program materials — training manual facilitator guide and audio files — will be posted online so that corporations and civic organizations around the state and nation can use them to lead their own training sessions.

For more information about Citizenship Radio or to get copies of training materials, contact Denise Leeson-Provost at daleesonpro@ualr.edu or 501-569-8483.