Make the Road by Walking - Brooklyn, NY

Marcelina Flores could not read simple notes from her children’s classroom teachers nor decipher notes pinned to their shirts about extra security measures at school. She felt ashamed and helpless, until she realized she could indeed change the course of her future by enrolling in Spanish literacy classes at Make the Road by Walking (MRBW) in Brooklyn, New York.

In New York City, where Marcelina lives, some 28 percent of the more than 9 million residents speak a language other than English.

Because of a $10,000 grant by the Western Union Foundation, Marcelina and 34 other Latina immigrant women are learning to read and write in Spanish as part of a “Plazas Communitarias” pilot program in conjunction with New York University and the Mexican Consulate. “Plazas Communitarias” are community-based native language study programs developed in Mexico that use multimedia resources from the Mexican government to teach students native language literacy and also subject area content in their native tongue. This particular outreach program is among a small number of pilot Plazas sites being developed for Mexican and other Latino immigrants in the New York City area.

“Developing strong native language literacy skills assures that our students will now be much more successful as they pursue both English language study at Make the Road, as well as pursue their GED certificates in either Spanish or English in the future,” says Julie Quinton, Coordinator of Adult Education.