current partners
elementary, middle, and high schools
ICO volunteers work through partnerships with selected elementary, middle, and high schools and agencies serving youth in the Tucson area. Our youth range in age from 8 to 20, and represent diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. ICO provides food, transportation and leaders trained in first-aid, CPR, environmental education and youth leadership.
- Desert Sky Community School: It is based on the child development theories of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, and will consider the whole child, including the academic, aesthetic, social, and emotional development of the student. A classic academic education is integrated with the arts and music at all grade levels. desertskycommunityschool.org
- Flowing Wells Junior High: We have the pleasure of teaching your 7th and 8th graders every day. We've been here since 1976 and our teachers look forward to each year they have to spend time with your children. We want students to know and believe that learning is fun and the right attitude brings success. With just around 800 students, our teachers stay attentive as they teach each one of your children. fwjh.flowingwellsschools.org
- Gallego Elementary: A Sunnyside School District, Gallego Basic Elementary is an alternative, district-wide “magnet” school, not a neighborhood school. sunnysideud.k12.az.us/school/gallego-basic-elementary-school
- Grijalva Elementary School: A Tucson Unified School District, Grijalva is a K-5 school with a bilingual strand at each grade level. Grijalva is a Performing school per AZ LEARNS and met AYP per federal guidelines. It is a Title 1 school wide type III school. Grijalva Elementary is named after Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva. edweb.tusd1.org/Grijalva
- Life Lessons: A day program for youth with autism. 2625 E Blanton Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85716 / 520-327-0777. - Los Amigos Elementary School: One-to-One computing grades 3–5; Two-to-one computing grades K-2; Tablet computer labs for Early Childhood programs; Optimized school environment for learning. It is part of the Sunnyside Unified School District. sunnysideud.k12.az.us/school/los-amigos-elementary-technology-academy
- Los Ninos Elementary School: A Sunnyside School District, they offer full-time art teachers, counselors, music teachers, parent involvement assistants, physical education teachers, registered nurses, librarians and safety monitors. Of the district’s 1,000+ classroom teachers, 95 percent meet the Arizona Department of Education’s criteria as “highly qualified.” Additionally, all Sunnyside schools have achieved North Central Association accreditation. Each of our schools has a distinct personality. It is part of the Sunnyside Unified School District. sunnysideud.k12.az.us/school/los-ninos-elementary-school
- Maxwell Middle School: Opened in 1975, it was named after Morgan Maxwell, African-American community leader and principal of Paul Lawrence Dunbar School for 28 years; he helped broaden educational access for African-Americans. It is part of the Tucson Unified School District. edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/maxwell
- Miles Exploratory Learning Center: Miles is a unique and diverse, Pre-K to 8th grade educational environment. Multi-age classrooms provide teachers with choices to accelerate students above grade level, meet their individual needs, and help them develop socially. Students exit with critical thinking skills and a strong sense of themselves and the world around them. It is part of the Tucson Unified School District. edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/miles
- New Beginnings: Our mission is to help homeless women with children by providing the housing, supportive services and opportunities for growth that will create financially independent families. nbwctucson.org
- Safford K-8 Magnet School: At Safford K-8 we are developing active, inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring lifelong learners who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/safford
refugee groups
ICO volunteers currently work with one refugee group in the Tucson area. Youth range in age from 8 to 20, and represent diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. ICO provides food, transportation and leaders trained in first-aid, CPR, environmental education and youth leadership.
- International Refugee Comittee: The IRC provides opportunities for refugees to thrive in America. Each year, thousands of refugees are invited by the U.S. government to seek safety and freedom. Forced to flee conflict or persecution, many have survived for years against incredible odds. They step off the plane with next to nothing but their dignity, hope and determination. In Tucson and many other regional offices across the country, the IRC helps them rebuild their lives. www.rescue.org/us-program/us-tucson-az
- Owl and Panther Project: Provides a refuge within a refuge. Participants are mostly children and young adults who grapple not only with their past experiences but with the challenges of living in a very different world. They also find ways to share their ideas with the community, and to help others. www.owlandpanther.org
The group developed from Tucson's Center for Prevention and Resolution of Violence (CPRV), which treats people struggling with pain, poverty, loss of community, and/or family problems. In 1995, refugee parents asked CPRV to provide special support for their children. At first, activities focused on tutoring and summer school. Participants also met to celebrate different cultures and to learn skills to ease their transition into life in the United States.
- Tucson International Alliance of Refugee Communities, Inc. (TIARC): Our mission is to promote the integration and development of refugee/immigrant communities and mutual assistance associations (MAAs) in our community.
Members of Vietnamese, former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia, Laos, and Angolan refugee communities organized TIARC in the summer of 1995, with the assistance of Pima County Adult Education Program. The group came together with the purpose of helping refugees adjust to their new lives in the USA.
Today Tucson International Alliance of refugee communities is serving refugees from Vietnam, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Cuba, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Former Soviet Union, Sudan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Romania, Liberia, Burundi, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Burma, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kosovo and we are looking forward to serve refugees from Burma and Bhutan as they come to Tucson.
Our services include interpretation and translation, driver training, English as second language classes, computer classes, notary public, citizenship classes for refugees 60 years of age or older, case management for our elderly clients, and we offer help with finding new jobs to refugees. TIARC is a non profit 501(c)(3). www.aztiarc.org