a statewide campaign run by


English Works Campaign

 

Campaign Committee

 

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

ABCD South Side Head Start
Asian American Civic Association
Association of Haitian Women
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA
Boston Centers for Youth & Families
Boston Educ., Skills, & Training Corp.
Boston Public Library
Bristol Community College
Cambridge Community Foundation
Cape Verdean Community UNIDO
Catholic Charities - El Centro del Cardenal
Centro Latino, Inc.
Centro Presente

College Bound Dorchester
Community Econ. Development Ctr
Community Foundation of SE MA
Creative Workplace Learning
Crittenton Women's Union
Dominican Development Center
Dorchester Nazarene Compassionate Center, Inc.

Eastern Bank
Educational Development Group
Everett Literacy Program
First Literacy
Gardner Pilot Academy

Gilbert Albert Community Center
Governor's Advisory Council on Immigrants and Refugees
Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council
Haitian Multi-Service Center

Harvard Bridge Program

Hyde Square Task Force Immigrants Assistance Center, Inc.

International Institute of Boston

Irish International Immigrant Center

Jamaica Plain Community Ctrs, Inc.

Jewish Vocational Service

KIPP Academy Lynn-MA Community Learning Center La Alianza Hispana
La Communidad, Inc.
Latinos Unidos en MA (LUMA)
Literacy Works Proj. of Hampden Cty
MA AFL-CIO
MA Alliance for Adult Literacy
MA Coalition for Adult Education

MA Communities Action Center
MA Convention Center Authority
MA Food Association
MA Senior Care Association
MA Worker Education Roundtable
MA Workforce Board Association
MassINC
Merrimack Valley Labor Council

Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board
Mujeres Unidas en Acción

New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce
New Bedford Public Schools - Division of Adult/Continuing Education & Summer Schools
Notre Dame Education Center Boston
ROCA, Inc.
SEIU615
Somali Development Center

South Berkshire Educational Collaboration - Adult Educ. Program
St. Mark's Community Educ. Program
The Boston Foundation

The Consulate General of El Salvador
UNITE HERE! NE Joint Board
United Autoworkers Massachusetts CAP Council
UMASS Dartmouth - WEP
Worcester State University - Intensive English Language Program
Worker Education Program, Inc.
YMCA International Learning Center
English Works Campaign Bulletin, July 14, 2015

In this bulletin:

  • ESOL Students from Across Metro Boston Set Advocacy Agenda
  • Victory: Increase to ABE/ESOL Budget Line Item!
  • Over 200 Businesses and Allies Attended WTFP Business Forums

ESOL Students from Across Metro Boston Set Advocacy Agenda

 

ESOL Student Leaders met at Emerson College to discuss challenges they faced learning English and brainstormed solutions.

 


 


 


 

Representing every neighborhood of Boston and neighboring communities, more than 60 adult English-learning students came together over a series of two Student Leadership Assemblies to discuss pressing questions that they and adult education professionals and advocates continue to ponder and analyze: what existing program supports help adult students learn English as a Second Language, and what are the barriers standing in the way of people becoming English proficient?

 

Facilitated by a dedicated group of former and current ESOL student leaders, plus staff from English for New Bostonians (ENB), participants also discussed a question that isn't addressed nearly as often: what can students themselves do to improve access to and quality of English classes?

 

After highly productive small group working sessions, categorization of the issues raised, and votes on proposed projects, three priorities emerged: state budget advocacy, an informational campaign to make it easier for immigrants to find appropriate ESOL services, and volunteering at English classes as tutors, advisors, and mentors.  "Having benefitted from free English classes, I want to give back in any way to my community," said Herve Ntumba Matunga, a current ESOL student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who studies at YMCA International Learning Center.

 

The Student Leadership Assemblies come at a point when the need for high-quality, affordable adult English instruction has reached a critical level.  According to a 2014 study authored by Jill H. Wilson of the Brookings Institution, the percentage of working-age adults in the labor force in the Boston area who are limited English proficient  increased over 26% between 2000 and 2012.

 

Victory: Increase to ABE/ESOL Budget Line Item!

 

For the first time in seven years, the Legislature voted to increase the Adult Basic Education / English for Speakers of Other Languages (ABE/ESOL) budget line item. The 5% increase raises the allocation from $29.6 million in FY15 to $31.2 in FY16.

 

Although a modest step towards addressing the vast need for affordable ABE and ESOL classes in Massachusetts, the increase is a victory for thousands of students who will be able to improve their English and basic skills. ENB's English Works Campaign leaders congratulate, first and foremost, the adult learners who clearly articulated to their legislators how investing in immigrants' education would translate into measurable benefits for the Commonwealth. Congrats also to community-based ABE/ESOL programs, the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education, and other advocacy groups for this victory.

 

Special thanks to Senate President Stan Rosenberg; State Senators Jamie Eldridge, Sonia Chang-Diaz, and Sal DiDomenico; and Representative Tom Sannicandro for their leadership. 

 

Governor Baker has 10 days to sign the budget into law, and we are not expecting any vetoes or changes to the ABE/ESOL line item. We encourage you to pick up the phone and thank your legislators for their support!

 

Over 200 Businesses and Allies Attended WTFP Business Forums

 

Speakers at the Boston Forum. From left to right: Claudia Green, ENB Exec. Dir.; Gary MacDonald, AIM Exec. V.P.; Pascual Morla, Kayem Foods Team Leader; Ronald Walker, MA Secretary of Labor; John Barros, Boston Chief of Economic Development.

 

The staff of the English Works Campaign, in partnership with Commonwealth Corporation, recently finished a series of eight business forums held around the state to promote use of the Workforce Training Fund Program for workplace ESOL classes. More than 200 businesses, workforce development representatives, and state and local elected officials participated in these forums, held between November and June in New Bedford, Lynn, Brockton, Malden, Worcester, Chicopee, Boston, and Lawrence.

 

Headlining the Lawrence event, Mayor Dan Rivera said: "To make Lawrence better, our workers need English language skills to secure better jobs and better opportunities. Grants from the MA Workforce Training Fund Program enable businesses to fund classes that strengthen the workforce, their bottom lines, and in turn, the communities in which they operate."

 

Other state and local officials who spoke at these forums included MA Secretary of Labor Ronald Walker, Boston Chief of Economic Development John Barros, and Malden Mayor Gary Christenson. The Boston Business Journal published an op-ed penned by English for New Bostonians Executive Director Claudia Green, "Improving worker English skills is an investment."

 

Join the English Works Campaign 

 

Please join the 75+ organizations that have already endorsed the English Works Campaign and become official campaign members. Signing on to English Works is easy: go to the Campaign's website at  www.english-works.org and click on "Sign on to English Works" on the top right of the home page. Fill out the form and click on "sign on"!
 
If you have any questions about joining English Works, please contact us at: