History of the ESL Program
By the year 2016, St. Mary's free ESL classes have had touched the lives of over 3,000 students attending one of the 8 levels of classes offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:45 pm. The program remains possible thanks to Church funding for books and supplies, a dedicated team of more than 60 volunteer instructors, and the generosity of St. Mary's High School administrators and teachers who open their doors and lend their classrooms to house the evening courses.
In Fall 2017, upon the retirements of the Coordinator and the Administrator, Nikki Marshall became the new Program Director. The program has continued to offer several levels of instructions from beginners to advanced levels including some literacy courses. While most students are Hispanic immigrants, the ESL program is open to anyone and has helped hundreds of local residents from around the globe improve their ability to read, speak, and write in English. |
The ESL Program began as part of the St. Mary's Hispanic Ministry under the guidance of Fr John Lavin in April 2002. Jennifer Jefferson, former St. Mary's RCIA class member and ESL teacher, served as coordinator until summer 2002, followed by parishioner Frank Andrews, and then Wendy DiTraglia. Bunny Wilson took the reins as Coordinator in September 2003, and she was joined by Eneida Green as Administrator in 2006.
The program grew by leaps and bounds from 2002-2003, with first one and then two classes being held in the Guadalupe Rooms of St. Mary's Church. Thanks to 16 parish volunteers, the program in the fall of 2003 reached some 60 students, 4 nights per week. In addition, a new mentoring program was established to fine-tune the English of students who already had an English-speaking ability and create opportunities for friendship between Hispanic and non-Hispanic St. Mary's parishioners. Both programs, however were seriously affected by space constraints, so with the full support of Fr Sweeney and the Principal of St. Mary's High School, the classes moved to the High School in the fall of 2003 where the Program remains to this day. |
In Fall 2019, Fernando Paniagua started as the new Director of the ESL program after Nikki Marshall moved to Alaska with her family. The first task of the new Director was to create an ESL Board formed by eight experienced ESL teachers who have participated in the program for a long time. The main objective of the Board is to oversee the general development of the program.
During the academic year of 2019-2020, the program had more than 200 students. Approximately the 60% were from El Salvador, around 12% from Honduras, 10% from Mexico, 6% from Brazil, 5% from Guatemala. Additional students came from Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, The Congo, Puerto Rico, China, Venezuela, Colombia, Russia, Moldova, Japan, and France.
During the academic year of 2019-2020, the program had more than 200 students. Approximately the 60% were from El Salvador, around 12% from Honduras, 10% from Mexico, 6% from Brazil, 5% from Guatemala. Additional students came from Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, The Congo, Puerto Rico, China, Venezuela, Colombia, Russia, Moldova, Japan, and France.