DALLAS NONPROFIT SCHOOL ACHIEVES EDUCATION DURING COVID-19
Literacy Achieves, a local English-second-language school, continues to serve the Vickery Meadow community remotely.
Two months ago, students filled every seat in a cozy yellow classroom at Literacy Achieves, a Dallas nonprofit school that teaches immigrants to speak, read, and write English. Underneath a large map of the world, the adult students greeted each other in various languages, laughing together before class began. One student arranged color-coded pens for note-taking, while others stopped by the teacher’s desk to make conversation. The volunteer teacher, Stephanie Haley, had a smile on her face for each of her incoming students.
Now, COVID-19 has closed the doors of Literacy Achieves as the students quarantine in their homes around Vickery Meadow, one of Dallas’ most diverse neighborhoods. The classrooms are no longer crowded, bustling, and full of laughter, but Literacy Achieves is still making an effort to continue their students’ education remotely.
“In addition to our website, we are communicating with students via text messages, phone calls, emails, social media, and YouTube,” Sarah Papert, Literacy Achieves’ Executive Director, explained. “Our goal is to be accessible through as many communication channels as possible, and recognizing the multitude of barriers that our students encounter.”
Literacy Achieves has a diverse community of students. Vickery Meadow has become a landing place for immigrants from all over the world; 33.1% of the population immigrated from another country (U.S. Census Bureau). Literacy Achieves teaches students from over 48 countries, and Haley described it as “a little United Nations.”
“We do not ask our students whether they are legal immigrants or not,” Haley explained. “We’re glad to educate anybody we can.”
This education is crucial for many of the immigrants, since knowing how to read, write, and speak English can be important for everything from jobs to legal business to medical care. While the students are under quarantine, a curriculum for each class is available on the nonprofit’s website so that students can follow along in their textbooks from home. However, learning from home can be challenging, especially for students in Vickery Meadow. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25.3% of the residents in the neighborhood are below the poverty line, about double the rate in the larger Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area.
“About half [our students] report having reliable internet access, so that is a major barrier for a lot of folks,” Papert explained.
During regular, in-person sessions, Literacy Achieves compensates for students’ unreliable internet access by providing a computer lab, where each class alternates spending time each semester, learning technological skills.
“This pandemic is definitely stretching our technology capabilities,” Papert said. But she still hopes for a return to the computer labs. “If anything, I think we’ll come out of this with greater digital proficiency, which is an important aspect of literacy and communication skills in today’s world.”
In addition to technological barriers, Vickery Meadow families also have to prioritize their children over their English education. Papert explained that about half of Literacy Achieves’ students have children at home to care for, which makes dedicating time to a remote curriculum difficult. During in-person sessions, Literacy Achieves combats this challenge by offering a free Early Childhood Education Program during their morning and afternoon classes. Haley, who teaches the most advanced class, said that many of her students utilize this service.
“I think that’s one of the nicest things about the program,” Haley said. “I think [the children] just have to be three months old and then they can start coming.”
English education classes aren’t the only service Literacy Achieves offers its students. Its Student Support Services Program offers resources on citizenship, the GED, safety, laws, ICE, social services, and medical care. In the current uncertain and difficult times, Literacy Achieves has been able to offer these resources to their students. Papert explained that the nonprofit has been able to connect with about 75% of the families they teach.
“We are offering resources for food, financial assistance, learning resources, and anything that families may need help with,” Papert said. “Currently, all our families are managing to stay afloat and have been very appreciative of the additional resources.”
Haley agreed, explaining how the Student Support Services Program helps her students in their transition to living in the United States.
“It really has grown to be quite an umbrella to make people feel welcome and part of the community,” Haley said.
Before Literacy Achieves, it was difficult for immigrants to find a place to learn English. Haley describes how she and the Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church wanted to start the nonprofit after realizing how many people in Dallas weren’t fluent in English and wanted to learn.
“It was just staggering,” Haley said. “And [there were] not very many places for them to learn.”
According to Literacy Achieves’ website, 21% of adults in the Dallas county cannot read or write in English. One student in Haley’s class, Ana Lopez, spoke almost no English when she immigrated from Mexico in 2007.
“It was very, very hard for me,” she said, reminiscing about that time: “We can’t communicate, we can’t say anything, we can’t read anything, we can’t express anything.”
So Literacy Achieves opened in one small house on Ridgecrest Road and began to teach English classes in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings.
“There was a little house next door too,” Haley remembers. “We were trying to buy the property, and it had become a little drug shack. So there were questionable people coming in and out all the time.”
It took the organization a while to obtain the other property, but now it occupies both houses. Literacy Achieves also encompassed the Elm Program, an English language program in East Dallas, and opened a campus in West Dallas. Classes on all three campuses are free and offered to community members over the age of 18. Lopez, who is currently a student in the advanced class, spoke about how Literacy Achieves has changed her life in the United States.
“This is my second home right here,” Lopez said. “I feel fantastic when I am here, because all the teachers, they are fantastic. I am glad to stay in this school.”
Like many organizations, Literacy Achieves doesn’t know when it will be able to continue to provide that life-changing, in-person experience again, but the nonprofit is doing its best to help the students continue to learn in the meantime.
“We can’t wait to be back together in person with our students,” Papert said. “It’s going to be a long recovery for everyone, so we’ll just have to keep taking it one day at a time.”
For more information on Literacy Achieves, visit literacyachieves.org.
