Our Programs & Services

Our unique integration model serves as a 'one-stop-shop’ that helps new immigrants access these services directly or through coordinated referrals. The model focuses on four strategic pathways that leverage immigrants' human capital and unlock access to economic mobility, social inclusion, and civic engagement.

Our centralized model also serves to build community and establish a network among distinct immigrant communities in all five boroughs of New York City.

English Language Instruction

Free, full-time intensive English language classes that provide participants with 150 hours of English language instruction in each six-week cycle. Classes are taught by experienced instructors with Master’s degrees.

  • Our unique, full-time, immersive program enables participants to improve their English language rapidly, allowing them to fast-track into employment commensurate with their skills and experience, sector-specific training, or to continue with their post-secondary education.

    Riverside participants achieve results in weeks that would take months, if not years, in a part-time program. Our intensive six-week program is equivalent to one year in a part-time class.

  • Here’s how our program works:

    • English classes are offered in several levels for beginners to high-intermediate

    • Participants are pre-tested to determine the appropriate-level class for their needs and, after six weeks, post-tested to measure their educational gain

    • All classes are taught by highly experienced ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) instructors, who hold Master’s Degrees in TESOL, or a closely related discipline

    • Classes are five days a week, from 9 am to 3 pm, and each class lasts six weeks. Classes have approximately 20 - 24 participants

    • Instruction is focused on speaking and listening skills, with an emphasis on building practical and contextual fluency and accurate pronunciation rather than rote learning

    • Riverside’s dedicated volunteers complement classroom instruction by facilitating informal conversation sessions several times a week. Conversation provides students with authentic opportunities to communicate in a ‘real world’ situation, building their fluency and confidence

    • Our curriculum provides IT instruction and regular practice, as well as job-readiness workshops

    • Civics instruction is a core part of the curriculum, helping students integrate into their new lives in New York City. Class trips give our newly resettled participants insight into the city’s history and cultural treasures

    • Certificates are awarded upon the successful completion of each class

    After each six-week cycle, participants may move on to another class level. Continuation, however, is not automatic and depends upon several factors, including the student’s level of English proficiency and the teacher’s assessment of the student’s progress.

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Case Management & Counseling

Working with case management/counseling staff, participants develop a personalized roadmap to achieve social, economic, and civic engagement goals. They also receive direct services and referrals for early resettlement needs such as housing, legal aid, health insurance, and child care.

Workforce & Digital Literacy Training

Training on job readiness, the American workforce and norms, industry-specific terms, resume and cover letter writing, and soft skills such as etiquette, communication and listening, and interpersonal skills. Riverside also offers training on computer programs and online platforms and their applicability in classroom and workplace settings.

  • Riverside’s Workforce Development program equips participants with the skills and tools to overcome barriers and allow them to reach their full potential as workers and residents of New York City.

    The Workforce Development program offers instruction on the American workforce, industry-related terms, resume and cover letter writing, interview preparation, and soft skills such as etiquette, communication and listening, and interpersonal skills.  

    The program is offered at two levels -  one for introductory English (Levels 1-2) and one for participants with a more developed language capacity (Levels 3-5).

    Participants meet for two hours weekly for five consecutive weeks, from 3:30 – 5:30 pm.

    Riverside instructors conduct pre- and post-module assessments to document knowledge and competency gains and assist participants with immediate and long-term career and employment goals. After a five-week cycle, participants complete the program with the following:

    • An American resume

    • Cover Letter

    • LinkedIn Account

    • Prepared Interview Questions

  • Riverside's Digital Literacy Clinic helps participants build technology skills critical for college readiness, employment, and achieving personal goals. The Clinic consists of workshops led by a technology expert who collaborates with Riverside instructors to provide individualized instruction and differentiated learning in each classroom. The IT specialist also hosts weekly office hours to give the participants one-on-one assistance.

    Digital literacy workshop topics include: 

    • Remote learning basics (Zoom features, Google Classroom)

    • Computer basics (setting up an email account, navigating social media)

    • Word processing

    • Using Excel spreadsheets

    • Creating presentations, and other multimedia basics 

    The Digital Literacy Clinic is made possible with support from the SMPS Family Fund.

Networks & Community

The resettlement process can be challenging for newly arrived immigrants and refugees. To support a smoother transition, Riverside partners with community organizations to connect students and alumni with practical information, skill-building opportunities, and referrals to vital services.

  • Navigating immigration policies and laws can be daunting to a newly arrived immigrant. Riverside provides its students and alumni training on their rights when interacting with both immigration officers and police.

  • Financial literacy and access to credit are critical for immigrants and refugees navigating the resettlement process. Through a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Riverside offers financial literacy classes and individualized coaching on topics such as credit, budgeting, banking, and taxes.

Our Community Partners

Partner with Riverside

African Services Committee

Andrew Romay Immigrant Center

Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture

Catholic Charities – New International Center

Columbia University – Columbia Community Service

Cooper Union Retraining Program for Immigrant Engineers

CUNY CLIP

Edith & Carl Marks JCH of Bensonhurst

Emma’s Torch

International Rescue Committee

LaGuardia Community College Workforce Development

Make the Road

New York State Department of Labor

Per Scholas

RDJ Shelter for Refugee and Asylee Men

Rutgers Presbyterian Church

Safe Horizon

Sanctuary for Families

Shorefront YM-YWHA

Streetwise Partners

SUNY Educational Opportunity Centers

Upwardly Global

Workforce 1 Center for foreign-born New Yorkers