Over 70% of Latinos age 25 and over in Forest Grove/Cornelius lack a high school diploma. Many come to America with less than the equivalent of an American 6th-grade education. On average, students spend up to three years in ESL classes only to be faced with another three years of Adult Basic Education (ABE) coursework to earn their GEDs. To achieve their dreams, students currently spend six years, twice the amount of time necessary, working just to open the door to solutions, one of which is a college education. Worse, over 500 potential students are delayed one or two terms, or more, because of the waiting list for ESL classes. The result is frustrated students who fail to understand the synergy between ESL and academic skills, and who trade prosperous futures for minimum-wage jobs that lack health insurance or wages high enough to support a family.

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Combining and streamlining ESL and ABE classes, and integrating technology into instruction, creates a system that more efficiently moves students through language and basic skills acquisition and expedites entry into post-secondary education or higher-wage jobs, thus facilitating self-sufficiency. The course also allows students to acquire the English and academic skills required to earn a GED and continue with their education faster than if they took these courses separately. The result is that students are now able to obtain jobs that offer benefits and pay above minimum wage.

Successful completion of the hybrid course also open numerous doors in vocational technical courses, such as ESL Health Care, ESL Office Skills, or careers in restaurant management, successful completion of GED requirements, continued assistance in obtaining work through the Washington County Workforce Alliance One Stop, and enrollment in a post-secondary certificate or degree program.
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The key educational program at Centro is English as a Second Language. This program brings volunteer tutors from the community together with Spanish speakers in order to provide the students with the opportunity to begin the study of English in a comfortable, confidence building environment. Student work with a tutor twice weekly in groups of five to eight persons. Their curriculum is centered on basic language skills related to various life themes which they encounter in their new English speaking world. Those themes include money and banking, housing needs, transportation and other vital community services, health, work, and shopping. From time to time speakers come to give important information on one or another of these topics.

ESL is supported through foundation grants, individual contributions and the contributions of the students, who are asked to help according to their means.
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AVAILABLE PROGRAMS

Spanish Literacy

Many of our participants come from background situations that did not permit regular or lengthy school attendance. For these students, the learning of English is a near impossibility until they have some basic literacy skills in a language they already can speak. Centro Cultural provides the opportunity for such students to participate in the adult education program of Mexico: INEA. This program provides basic literacy in Spanish, so that students can begin English with some foundational language understanding.

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GED:

Offers the opportunity to review the subjects required for the GED test.

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On- line Resources

Adult Basic Education (INEA)

The program promotes and provides an integral education opportunity for Latino adults, at the literacy and secondary levels of education. It accredits students, pursuant the objectives and contents of instructional programas established by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) with the support of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE).
 

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Community Organizing

Develops skill in community members in order to build citizen participation and create positive change in the community.

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Community Learning Centers (CCA's)

This program offers to the Hispanic immigrant communities, online educational programs through the Internet portal designed and maintained by the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Universidad Virtual in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.

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Hispanic Education Licensing Program (H.E.L.P.)

Collaborative project between Centro Cultural, the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, provides classes of the “Rules of the road” to new drivers.

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