Teaching America

QUINCY — Folks who would like to prepare to become U.S. citizens can get some help through the Quincy Public Library, according to an announcement from NCW Libraries. 

There is no charge for the classes. The space for the classes is supplied by NCW Libraries, and Hand in Hand Immigration Services, a Wenatchee-based nonprofit, will provide the instruction, content and materials. The classes are offered in both English and Spanish. 

“The only prerequisite is a willingness to learn,” said Julie Mitchell, a volunteer with Hand in Hand who teaches the classes in English. Classes are also available in Spanish, according to the announcement. 

Participants will learn about U.S. history and how our government works, in preparation to take the U.S. Citizenship Test. 

The classes are structured informally, Mitchell said. Participants can attend when they’re able to, and if someone comes in late or needs to bring someone to help them, it’s not a problem. 

“It’s not school,” she said. “These are adults I’m teaching. They can arrive late; they can leave early. You can bring relatives or friends to help you out during the class if your English isn’t good enough.” 

The class centers around the 100 questions that make up the U.S. Citizenship Test, which cover U.S. history and geography as well as the workings of the government. That last part, Mitchell said, is the trickiest. 

“I was in Montana a couple of weeks ago with some friends,” she said. “They’re both American citizens, and one of them is a war hero. I administered the test to them, and they barely passed. Most Americans couldn’t pass it, I think.” 

The citizenship test is administered orally, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. A USCIS officer asks the applicant up to 10 of the 100 civics questions, and the applicant must answer at least six of them correctly. Hand in Hand’s citizenship class teaches the answers to the 100 questions, but not necessarily in the sequence they’re found on the test, Mitchell said. 

“The lessons are grouped so they make more sense,” Mitchell said. “Like Washington the president, Washington D.C., Washington state, who’s on the one-dollar bill, who’s on the quarter? A lot of it comes up and we only teach what they need to know … They really don't need to know all the details of, say, Benjamin Franklin, but enough to know who he was and what he did.” 

“While they are learning and studying about civics, they are also building a community with their instructors and others attending the classes,” Claudia Bovee, Latino services manager for NCW Libraries, wrote in the announcement. “They encourage each other and celebrate their collective successes. Many of them bring friends or family members into our spaces, creating a positive ripple effect of information-sharing. For some people, these classes represent their first opportunity to embark on this journey to citizenship.” 

Mitchell, who is herself a UK citizen, has volunteered with Hand in Hand for four years, she said. She took a course in September with the USCIS in September to gain some insight into the process and the test. Besides teaching the test material, she said, she also helps her students prepare for the citizenship process itself, which she said can be intimidating. 

“I do mock interviews with them and go over absolutely everything, from entering the building to the end, taking the oath,” she said. “That takes away some of the unknowns.” 

This isn’t the first time NCW Libraries and Hand in Hand have worked together on citizenship classes, according to the announcement. Information sessions and citizenship classes have been offered at NCW Library locations in Moses Lake, Peshastin, Leavenworth, and Quincy. At least three of the students who took classes in Moses Lake have since become U.S. citizens, NCW Libraries wrote. Several more students have pending appointments for their naturalization interviews. 

“I’ve been doing this for years, and I have not yet had a student fail,” Mitchell said. 

The class runs for 10 weeks, but students don’t have to start at the beginning, Mitchell said; they can come in at any point during that time. 

“I had one student arrived in yesterday and in the class, he came up to me and said, ‘I'm lost,’" Mitchell said. “And it turns out he doesn't work on a Monday, so I'm going to go in earlier next week and spend an hour with him, just going over what he missed and maybe helping him a bit more.” 

“This partnership has been transformative in many ways. It has broken down barriers to citizenship while also strengthening community bonds,” Bovee wrote. “People at different stages of their citizenship journey gain a deeper understanding of their eligibility and the steps required to achieve their dreams.” 

The end result more than justifies the effort, Mitchell said. 

“My students, I'm so humbled that they walk through that door and they're so committed to what they do,” she said. “It makes everything worthwhile. It really does.” 

Citizenship classes 

Spanish  
Thursdays 4:30-5:30 p.m.
English
Mondays 4:30-5:30 p.m.
(with two additional Tuesdays to make up for holidays) 

Quincy Public Library
208 Central Ave. S. 

More information:
www.ncwlibraries.org
www.handinhandis.org

Could you pass? 

1. 2. What does the Constitution do?  

2. 3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?  

3. 4. What is an amendment?  

4. 5. What do we call the first ten amendments of the Constitution?  

5. 6. What is one right or freedom in the First Amendment?  

6. 7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?  

7. 8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?  

8. 9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?  

9. 10. What is freedom of religion?  

10. 11. What is the economic system in the United States?  

11. 12. What is the “rule of law”?  

12. 13. Name one branch or part of the government.  

13. 14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?  

14. 15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?  

15. 16. Who makes federal laws?  

16. 17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?  

17. 18. How many U.S. Senators are there?  

18. 19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?  

19. 20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?  

20. 21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?  

21. 22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?  

22. 23. Name your U.S. Representative.  

23. 24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?  

24. 25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?  

25. 26. We elect a President for how many years?  

26. 27. In what month do we vote for President?  

27. 28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?  

28. 29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?  

29. 30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?  

30. 31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?  

31. 32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?  

32. 33. Who signs bills to become laws?  

33. 34. Who vetoes bills?  

34. 35. What does the President’s Cabinet do?  

35. 36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?  

36. 37. What does the judicial branch do?  

37. 38. What is the highest court in the United States?  

38. 39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?  

39. 40. Who is Chief Justice of the United States now?  

40. 41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?  

41. 42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?  

42. 43. Who is the governor of your state now?  

43. 44. What is the capital of your state?  

44. 45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?  

45. 46. What is the political party of the President now?  

46. 47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?  

47. 48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them. 

48. 49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?  

49. 50. Name one right only for United States citizens.  

50. 51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?  

51. 52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?  

52. 53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?  

53. 54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?  

54. 55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?  

55. 56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?  

56. 57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?  

57. 58. What is one reason colonists came to America?  

58. 59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?  

59. 60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?  

60. 61. Why did the colonists fight the British?  

61. 62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?  

62. 63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?  

63. 64. There were 13 original states. Name three. 

64. 65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?  

65. 66. When was the Constitution written?  

66. 67. The Federalist Papers supported passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers. 

67. 68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?  

68. 69. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?  

69. 70. Who was the first President?  

70. 71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?  

71. 72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s. 

72. 73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South. 

73. 74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War. 

74. 75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?  

75. 76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?  

76. 77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?  

77. 78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s. 

78. 79. Who was President during World War I?  

79. 80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?  

80. 81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?  

81. 82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?  

82. 83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?  

83. 84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?  

84. 85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. Do?  

85. 86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?  

86. 87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.  

87. 88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.  

88. 89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?  

89. 90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?  

90. 91. Name one U.S. territory. 

91. 92. Name one state that borders Canada. 

92. 93. Name one state that borders Mexico.  

93. 94. What is the capital of the United States?  

94. 95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?  

95. 96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?  

96. 97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?  

97. 98. What is the name of the national anthem?  

98. 99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?  

99. 100. Name two national U.S. holidays

SOURCE: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

    Norma Gallegos, left, program director for Hand in Hand Immigration Services, and Claudia Bovee, Latino services manager for NCW Libraries, attend a citizenship ceremony at Wenatchee Public Library in June.