New program assists Spanish speaking adults in the East Valley
Spanish speaking adults in the East Valley will now have opportunities to further their education as the Coachella Valley Unified School District and the Consulate of Mexico in Calexico signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday that establishes “Plaza Comunitaria”. It is a program aimed at helping the adult obtain their high school or elementary school certificates from the Secretary of Education in Mexico.
Classes will be held at West Shores High School in Salton City will be focus on subjects in the high school curriculum and below. According to staff from the school district, the lesson will be taught in Spanish. A staff member said the goal was to instill the idea of education for the families, especially the parents and grandparents who never finished their education after coming to the United States.
“This allows families to come together around the table and talk about the importance of education,” Hidali Garcia, a staff member with the school district, said.
A deputy consul of Mexico, Hector Huerta Nava, said classes would allow someone to fit in and strengthen their language skills in Spanish in order to take the next step of learning English. That way, they could branch out in finding a job.
“If you want to learn another language which is not your native tongue, it would be more difficult if you don’t know how to write and read in your own language,” Nava said.
The classes are open to any Spanish speaker aged 15 or older and don’t have to be a Mexican citizen. Registration for classes begins next week on Monday.
