Latino Center Adult Education Program

Program Overview

The Latino Center offers daytime, evening, and Saturday classes. Subjects include basic reading and writing, English, citizenship, computers, and GED preparation. Most classes are held at the Latino Center's building on South 24th Street. During evening classes, free child care is available for children ages 4 to 14 through the Latino Center's Healthy Kids Club.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Mariana was originally from Guatemala, and her first language was a local Guatemalan dialect. She did not have access to primary education in Guatemala, including basic literacy education.

Upon entering the United States, Mariana's first job was working at Conagra Foods in the shipping division, which included lifting heavy boxes in an overnight shift from 2 a.m. until noon. She performed this job for about 10 years, until she sustained a hernia injury. The injury required surgery and also prevented her from performing any heavy lifting in the future.

Mariana was offered a job operating manufacturing machines, but her lack of literacy in either Spanish or English prevented her from being able to perform these jobs. The situation left Mariana unemployed with no real career opportunities.

Mariana was referred to the Latino Center and immediately began literacy classes. She attended afternoon classes twice weekly.

Her hard work enabled her to pick up Spanish literacy quickly. Her progress included the ability to read and write effectively at a basic level after about three months of dedicated classroom time. This skill has opened new job opportunities to her, where she can read instruction manuals and communicate in writing.

Mariana aspires to continue her studies, including improving Spanish literacy and learning English. At the Latino Center, she has many opportunities to continue working with dedicated teachers who understand her challenges from their own experiences.