David Maradiegue emigrated from Peru two and a half years ago without knowing any English. A current resident of Ashburn, Maradiegue stepped back into the classroom as a 36-year-old to acquire a fundamental understanding of the English language.
For the past 25 years, the Loudoun Literacy Council has strived to instill people like Maradiegue with not only basic linguistic skills but also a passion for reading and learning. A nonprofit organization, the Literacy Council enacted dramatic changes to its Adult Literacy program in April to more effectively serve the community.
Struggling with inadequate funding, limited staff and no clear structure or policy, the council revamped everything about the Adult Literacy program.
"You can't really manage a program based entirely on good will," said Yadir Ruiz, the executive director of the Literacy Council. "We needed to inject formality."
The council developed a reputation as an organization willing to open its doors to anyone at anytime. However, this open door and highly altruistic attitude fostered unmanageability. In the past, people would briefly participate in the program solely to pass a driver's license or beauty exam, Ruiz said.
"When something is free, it's often taken for granted," she said. "It takes forever to attract a prospective tutor. Then the tutor has to be trained and matched with a student only to have the student show up once or twice and flake out. Not that they all did, but a handful did flake out."
THE RECENT CHANGES to the program are "an attempt to recreate value for both the student and tutor," Ruiz said. Consequently, the new program is hardly a semblance of what it was in the past. Students and tutors are now responsible to participate in an orientation. While the program was entirely free before, students pay an initial administrative fee of $10 and a $35 fee for each 11- to 13-week session, which helps cover the price of books and administrative affairs.
"Two or three students left after orientation and the other 18 remained," Ruiz said. "As a result, we got more serious, committed students that are still with us. We are so happy to develop so rudimentary things, but they were so needed."
Ruiz hopes that the changes wean the public away from immediate need. "The biggest challenge has been the emotional issues associated with not being able to help everyone," she said. "I keep telling my staff that they have to look beyond tomorrow. Survival of the organization as a whole takes precedence." While the changes may make it more difficult for everyone who needs help to enroll in the program, Ruiz is confident that the changes will allow the council to continue to serve the greater portion of the community.
In the past, tutors were asked to dedicate 100 hours a year to the Adult Literacy program. "For the volunteers, two to four hours a week was a little intimidating," Ruiz said. "Now, they have a minimum commitment to one session and this has been very well-received."
Tutors are of all ages and educational backgrounds. Sean Adams, 48 of Leesburg, volunteers for the Adult Literacy program with his 17-year-old son, Josh, who is finishing his junior year at Loudoun Valley High School. Tutoring together for the past nine months, this father and son duo joined the program to help the community and newcomers from other parts of the world integrate into the county.
Sean Adams, Maradiegue's tutor, has volunteered under both the old and new program and is confident that the changes have been successful. "It's been very helpful, as a tutor, primarily because, in the past, students would come and go every night," Adams said. "We'd have difficulties getting everyone on the same page."
AS LOUDOUN COUNTY continues to expand, more foreign-born individuals enter the county and need help transitioning into the community fabric. The 2000 U.S. Census report for Loudoun County noted that 11.3 percent of Loudoun County residents are foreign born. Additionally, 15 percent of residents speak a language other than English at home. Adult Literacy and English as a Second Language programs are a growing demand in the county.
With the emergence of other adult literacy programs, Ruiz has wondered how her program is different.
Ruiz said that other Loudoun County adult-education programs serve 25-30 students. With the Literacy Council's program, students receive individualized attention. While other programs are very fast-paced, the council's program caters to individual needs. Not only do students learn grammar, structure and reading, like in other programs, but students also develop relationships and "culturalization occurs," Ruiz said.
"What I mean by that is that you learn idioms Ñ things about American life you can't get in a classroom setting. I had a Russian student tell us that he didn't just want to learn nouns and adjectives. He wanted to learn about what movies Americans watch, what books Americans read." In this sense, Ruiz believes students receive education beyond the book and the council has redeveloped a niche.
Adams said that both students and tutors learn about each other's culture. Students are particularly interested in expressions. "We had a pair of students from Panama. They were women and complained that they were gaining weight since they came to America," Adams said. "They started eating the American diet, fast food. Since everything is so spaced out in Loudoun, they hadn't been walking as they did in their native county. The one would say, 'the family I'm living with is feeding me too much!' So, we'd go over polite ways to say, 'no, thank you.' Things like that."
Maradiegue is also learning about American culture. "I was reading about capitalism," he said.
Carrying a practice book and textbook, Maradiegue comes to the Literacy Council every Wednesday night for two hours.
"I want to learn English. I want to get a better job," he said. Currently in carpentry, Maradiegue hopes that English will help him get his own construction company. "I like to make rooms for home entertainment," he said.
Ruiz is constantly reminded of how reading opens doors for her students. "I had a tutor come in the other day in tears because a student she had been tutoring for two years passed a U.S. citizenship exam," she said.
DESPITE THESE SUCCESSES, she realizes that part of the council's problem is the intangibility of results. "The public might expect more immediate, visible results but it takes a long time for them to come to fruition."
Marketing primarily to businesses and the community for donations, Ruiz is disappointed with the organization's lack of funding.
"We were receiving Virginia and federal grants. Foundations have been extremely generous. But the grants have been cut and donations from foundations have been significantly reduced," she said. "The support of the community is emotionally there, but financially, it is not."