South Side

English learners spread the word

Balvaneda Espinoza is a success story. Because of volunteers provided by Child-Parent Centers, Espinoza, 43, learned to speak English against the odds, she said. "I studied English for three years before I felt confident enough to speak," said Espinoza a mother of three, with a teaching degree, who moved here from Mexico in 1997. Classes met twice a week for an hour and a half, but Espinoza never stopped practicing. Today she is going to school at Pima Community College part time and working full time for Project Head Start, a program introduced by the federal government in 1964 to assist low-income families with preschool-age children. Espinoza started class with eight other parents, but by the end of the first semester, she was the only student left. "My tutor was coming just for me," Espinoza said. "Then she offered to continue lessons in my home. Now we are friends." Of Pima County's 18-or-older population, 3.7 percent or 31,219 people, either cannot speak English at all or can't speak it very well, according to the Arizona Department of Education's Web site. Frustrated at parent-teacher conferences, Espinoza was motivated by her children, only son Jorge, 3, was enrolled in Head Start, and wanted to be a part of their education by learning the meaning of every word, she said. "I always tried to read in English," Espinoza said. "That helped me more. I would read the dictionary and my daughter would say, 'Mommy, you're never going to finish that book.' " Mary Bolen, Head Start center manager and Espinoza's boss, agreed Espinoza was interested in learning. Espinoza started as a parent-volunteer and later was hired as co-teacher for the 3-year-old class, Bolen said. Most of the lower-income families eligible for the Head Start program don't speak English, Bolen said. Espinoza wanted to learn to speak English to benefit her children. While children are in Head Start, parents are required to volunteer in the classroom and to attend English as a Second Language classes or General Educational Development classes, Bolen said. Dee Durazo, adult literacy specialist for the centers, said Espinoza and other parents like her want to learn how to talk with teachers, doctors, and go to the store without having to ask their children to translate. Child-Parent Centers, 602 E. 22nd Street, offer several adult education classes - English as a Second Language, Project for Homemakers in Arizona Seeking Employment, a job training program at the University of Arizona, GED - a high-school-equivalency diploma, and basic computer skills. Tackling reading, writing, social studies, math and science to earn a GED is difficult for people who can't speak English, so providing language classes became a project priority, Durazo said. There are two extremes with English-language learners, Durazo said. They are either professionals with degrees, like Espinoza, forced to clean houses for income because they can't speak the language, or they have little or no education and are illiterate and need to learn to read and write. A GED can give people the opportunity to earn a high-school-equivalency diploma - a credential that can lead to employment opportunities, advancement and further education. While waiting four years to get permission to work in the United States and eight years for legal residency, Espinoza volunteered and studied English, she said. Espinoza continues to pursue her educational goals and as a result will be graduating from Pima Community College in the spring with an associate's degree in child development, she said. "People are eager to learn and really want to get out of poverty, provide for their families and become taxpayers," Durazo said. Karen McClure, 54, has taught English as a Second Language at Head Start since 1999. Most of McClure's students speak no English and can't read or write, but by the end of the second school year they are ready to begin their GED studies, she said. One typical student learned to speak English to earn his citizenship; another is attending Pima Community College. "I get to see the difference I'm making in these people's lives and it's rewarding," McClure said. Ann Geiger is in her second year of teaching English on Tuesday mornings and has as many as 10 students in each class. Geiger tries to make the classes relevant by having students practice writing notes to their child's teacher and learning new vocabulary words. Blanca Durand, 30, is one of her students and a Head Start mom. She has been in the United States for five years and began English lessons three months ago, she said. She plans to continue taking English classes at Pima College next year. "I understand English but can't speak English," she said. "This class has helped me not to be embarrassed and to practice."