Catholic Charities Partners with San Bernardino City Unified for Citizenship Education

Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside County, in partnership with San Bernardino City Unified School District, recently received a two-year, $250,000 Homeland Security grant to assist people who are on the path to U.S. citizenship. The grant will allow the San Bernardino Adult School to offer free citizenship preparation classes over the next two years. Those classes serve legal permanent residents who are seeking to become naturalized U.S. citizens. The San Bernardino Adult School has been providing citizen preparation classes to the community for decades, said Vice Principal Jesus Galdamez, who was instrumental in helping the District and Catholic Charities secure the grant. “Our partnership with Catholic Charities will greatly benefit our community,” Galdamez said. “U.S. citizenship is essential because it’s necessary to qualify for some jobs and because it gives people the right to participate in our democracy by voting.” A new citizenship preparation course will begin on Nov. 3. Registration for that class will take place at 8 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 24 at the San Bernardino Adult School, located at 1200 North E Street in San Bernardino. For more information about the free citizenship classes or other courses offered, please call the Adult School at 909-388-6000. Catholic Charities will provide assistance to those completing the U.S. citizenship application, as well as fee waivers for people who qualify. For more information about Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside County, please call 909-880-3625.