LearningQuest Family Literacy/ESL

Program Overview

Enrollment takes place twice a year -- September and January. Please call to be placed on the list or the next orientation for new students. Programs are located at elementary schools in Modesto and Riverbank.

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

Family Literacy Helps Parents Become Their Children's Best Teachers

Recognizing that parents are a child's first and best teacher, LearningQuest's Family Literacy program is designed for adults to help them improve their English skills so they can help their children succeed in school.

Maria Pando has been in the Family Literacy program for four years. The mother of five children, ages 8 to 17, and the grandmother of three, Pando grew up in Mexico, and did not speak English at all when she came to the United States in 2003.

"I want my children to do well in school," she said. "My son, I encourage him to study hard. He could be a doctor, a businessman, or anything he wants."

But without English skills herself, Pando had difficulty communicating with her children's teachers. Her husband, who speaks better English, works in the Bay Area, so Pando was usually the parent to attend school conferences and doctor's
appointments. "Sometimes there was an interpreter, but when there isn't, it is very difficult to understand," she said.

Pando attends classes at the Robertson Road program site. The Family Literacy program currently serves adult learners in both Modesto and Riverbank. "Parents who attend our ESL classes are usually there for one of two reasons," says program director Kelly Nery. "They want to learn English to better help their children with homework and communicate with their teachers, or to learn English to help them get a job or promotion."

Pando said she was nervous to begin classes "because my English was not good." But program teachers such as Nery and Laura Wilson put her at ease, and offer constant encouragement. Pando's family is also very supportive of her efforts to improve her English. "My husband, he always is saying, 'Practice more! Speak in English!' " Watching the news on television helps, both in hearing the words
and reading the captions on the screen.

Often, Pando's older children care for the younger ones while she attends classes, but sometimes she brings the younger ones along and utilizes the child care services offered by the program. The little ones color and participate in learning activities that prepare them for success in school. "We don't just babysit their kids while the parents go to class, but we work with the kids and help them be prepared and be successful in
their education," Nery said. "A majority of the children in our program are not enrolled in other pre-school programs, such as Head Start. For some, we are the only preparation they have before entering kindergarten."

As her English improves, Pando will be looking toward other goals:studying for her GED certificate and U.S. citizenship test. She said she wants to vote for the next president of the United States. College is also a possibility; Pando loves animals and would like to be a veterinarian.