| Mini-Grant Program 1996 |
Background
California has a large population of working immigrants who both want and need to be assimilated into American society. Learning English is essential to this integration process, but workers find little time to attend classes. A collaboration between a literacy service provider and an employer can provide the opportunity these people need and a model for other projects.
English In Bloom (ELB) is a collaboration between Humboldt Literacy Project, a non-profit, community based organization and Sun Valley Floral Farms. At the Floral Farms, ELB literacy services are provided to about 75 unskilled Hispanic workers who work with 75 English-speaking workers. The business is growing and selling cut flowers; employees work in the field, greenhouse, or warehouse.
Many immigrants who seek employment here cannot fill out an application and need an interpreter to be interviewed. Sun Valley Floral wants to improve the productivity of their employees by enabling them to communicate with English-speaking employees without interpreters. The company also hopes to lower turnover by offering employees a chance to qualify for responsible positions and become eligible for vacation pay and benefits after one year. Those who wish can also be helped to prepare for their citizenship tests.
In March, 1995, Humboldt Literacy began teaching two ESL classes at Sun Valley, and the company has been very supportive. The employees attend classes twice a week during their lunch hours. Employees contribute their half-hour lunch time, and the company pays them their regular wage for the second half hour.
Collaborating Partners and Agencies
Humboldt Literacy Project provides program development and implementation.
Sun Valley Floral Farms provides employees with paid time to participate in classes as well as many kind contributions and donations.
Sacramento Resource and Technology Center (SLRC of Sacramento) provides staff development, materials, workshops, consultation and tapes.
Description of Project
The goal of the project is to provide for the English literacy needs of the employees of Sun Valley Floral Farms at the worksite and during the work day.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will take the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) pre-instruction tests in October 1995, and post-instruction tests in July 1996. On the July test, at least 60% will show a gain of a minimum of one CASAS level (Ex: from A level to B level.)
2. By the end of the year 75% of the enrollees will be able to complete their own company timecards.
3. On a list of 100 job-related words, at least 80% of students who have attended at least 50 hours of instruction will be able to recognize at least 60 words.
HLP and Floral Farms became partners in June, 1995. HLP agreed to provide Sun Valley Floral Farms with literacy training for their employees including pre-literate to advanced ESL training, work place literacy skills to improve employee communication, and citizenship training for those eligible.
| Project Budget | |||||
| Source | SLRC | Other Federal Funds | State/Local Funds | In-Kind | Total |
| Salaries/Benefits | $ 5,617 | $ 1,290 | $ 1,000 | $20,448 | $28,355 |
| Operation | $ 3,337 | $ 3,500 | 0 | $ 3,260 | $10,097 |
| Equipment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Indirect Cost | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | $ 8,954 | $ 4,790 | $ 1,000 | $23,708 | $38,452 |
Successes of the Project
The following Newspaper article from The Times-Standard of September 13, 1996, illustrates the success of the project as well as some personal anecdotes.
Through the efforts of the Humboldt Literacy Project, 30 employees have been taking English-as-a-Second-Language classes for the past year. Friday they will celebrate with a noontime graduation ceremony and a buffet of Mexican food. The students will perform songs and skits in English. Certificates and gifts will be awarded to the graduates, Sun Valley officials say.
The literacy project offers three levels of English classes which run an hour long each. Employees give up their half-hour lunch break to attend the first half and the company pays them to attend the second half.
"It's a great program," company Manager Lane DeVries said. Though most supervisors speak some Spanish, encouraging communication in English is a high priority for the company. The program started in 1995. Attendance is voluntary. About 50 percent of employees eligible to attend do, DeVries said.
Citizenship instruction is also offered. One student, Jose, has recently qualified for American citizenship. "These are immigrants who really want to learn English and fit into American society," literacy volunteer teacher Jean Herron said. "It's wonderful that the company is giving them this opportunity."
The program will continue through next year. In addition to Herron, the participating tutors are Maureen Johannsen, Lan Sing Wu and Sue Blaisdell. The coordinator Is Kathleen Zamboni.