Like many students, Christina Paz is hoping her classes at Kilgore College-Longview will lead to better job opportunities.
But Paz isn't taking college-level courses.
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Kevin Green/News-Journal Photo | Christina Paz, left, is a student in Kilgore College's Adult Basic Education Program. Paz, a mother of three children, says she's in the program to find a better job. At right is teacher Althea Richardson.
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The 26-year-old mother of three is enrolled in the college's Adult Basic Education program to improve her literacy and prepare to take the test for a General Equivalency Diploma.
"I really want to make a better life for myself and my children," Paz said. "My hands are full with my kids and my classes, but it's important to me that I improve our situation."
Paz spent her childhood and teen years shuttling between her parents in Mexico and relatives in Houston. She attended Texas public schools for sixth through ninth grades, then returned to Mexico and married young.
"When I first came to America, I didn't speak any English," Paz said. "I was able to learn the language fairly easily, but I struggled with other issues, and finally everybody thought it was better for me to move back home with my parents."
Paz had never had a chance to go to school in Mexico and, because she was struggling to learn English as well as basic academics while in America, her reading skills never passed beyond a rudimentary level during her teen years.
"The other kids at school laughed at me because I couldn't speak English and didn't know how to read when I first started school," she said. "I was fluent in English by the time I returned to Mexico, but I never really learned to read well."
Before having her youngest child, who is now 8 months old, Paz worked in restaurants and gas stations. The work was low-paying and physically exhausting, she said.
"I was away from my kids all day long, from early in the morning until late at night, six days a week," Paz said. "I want work that is more meaningful and allows me to spend more time at home."
Paz hopes to become a nurse. She said she enjoys all aspects of her classes.
"We have students from 18 to 60 in this class, all with varying degrees of literacy and English proficiency," said Althea Richardson, Paz's teacher. "We don't allow teenagers under 18 to enroll, because we don't want them to see this as an alternative to attending high school."
It's inspiring to see people overcome obstacles on their way to achieving their goal of a GED, she said.
"I really enjoy teaching these kind of students," Richardson said. "They're motivated and work hard."
Raul Torrez, 38, is a little further along the path to achieving his dreams, but he started from much the same level as Paz.
Torrez is a student in the industrial maintenance program at Kilgore College. His path to that learning environment began with English as a second language classes in early 2007 through the East Texas Literacy Council. He spend about a year becoming fluent in English, then began studying for his GED, which he received July 4, 2008.
"I could read and write in Spanish, and speak some English, but I wasn't fluent or literate in English," Torrez said. "The people at the council were able to work with me one-on-one and help me achieve my goals."
Jennifer Slade, executive director of the council, said the agency works with about 630 students per year. About 60 percent of them are in the ESL classes, while the other students are working to improve their literacy.
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Literacy week
The U.S. Congress on Oct. 6 declared Oct. 18 to 24 as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. U.S. Reps. Louie Gohmert and Ralph Hall were among House members who voted for the declaration.
This is a one-time only dedication and opportunity to elevate adult education and family literacy nationwide with policymakers, the media and the community.
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Illiteracy help
- The East Texas Literacy Council is a nonprofit community-based organization dedicated to teaching people to read and write in English. The agency provides a variety of services to enable adults to achieve personal goals and self-sufficiency through literacy.
- Free one-to-one and small group instruction is offered to adults and out-of-school youth who need basic literacy skills (reading, math, writing and pre-GED) and English as a second language skills.
- Community volunteers serve as one-to-one tutors with adults.
- The ETLC's Computer Learning Center and main office are in the Longview News-Journal Building, 320 E. Methvin St.
- Church partners in Longview and Kilgore provide additional sites for ESL classes.
- For information, call (903) 757-9302.
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Kilgore College program
- Kilgore College's Basic Adult Education program serves almost 1,200 students who have goals to improve basic literacy, learn to read, write, understand and speak English or earn a GED.
- The Kilgore College Basic Education Program provides tuition-free classes for adults who are at least 18 years old. These classes are offered at 25 sites throughout Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties.
- For more information, call (903) 988-3738.
