APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A family literacy program in the Fox Valley is marking a big milestone.
Fox Valley Technical College and the Appleton Area School District are celebrating 30 years of the Appleton Even Start Family Literacy program. It’s a program that not only helps adults and their children learn English, but other skills as well.
Dagnelis Benjamin came to America six years ago.
“I’m from Cuba,” said Benjamin. “And now I’m learning English in this school.”
This school being the Appleton Even Start Family Literacy program.
Here adults learn to speak, read and write English or acquire a GED, while their children, including Benjamin’s, engage with trained early childhood educators in a preschool setting.
“They start English too,” said Benjamin.
The AASD and FVTC say they served 38 families in 2021 to 2022, which included 40 adults and 54 children.
Pam Franzke, CSI Coordinator of Even Start Family Literacy, says currently, there are about 16 families on the waitlist.
“Because we just don’t have the capacity, space, teachers and room in our adult programming,” said Franzke.
The top native language for students may come as a surprise.
42.1% speak Dari/Farsi.
“We have a lot of the Afghan refugees,” said Franzke. “We have several Hmong families, we have a lot of Spanish, Mexico, Venezuela.”
The other languages include Spanish (36.8%), Hmong (10.5%), Swahili (7.9%) and Burmese (2.5%).
Franzke says the program is just like going to school.
“For the Appleton Area School District, we follow the birth through age 3 curriculum and standards,” said Franzke. “We do the same assessments that all of our early childhood programs do. Their parents are doing the curriculum standards of adult education.”
Colette Kolb, associate dean at FVTC, says the college’s role supports the adult education part.
“We’ve had students open their own businesses, or found a school to get other college degrees, or they’re just getting their kids through school,” said Kolb. “Those are all the successes we could ask for.”
Benjamin says one of her goals is to become a U.S. citizen.
“For me, it’s good for communication for other people who speak English for a better job,” said Benjamin.
Right now, she works as a cashier.
“In my country, I was an accountant,” said Benjamin.
But her other goal, is to eventually become an accountant again, but here in Wisconsin.
“I like for work or a job, accounting or I like teacher, a teacher for dancing, ballet,” said Benjamin.
For more information about the Appleton Even Start Family Literacy program, click here.
