By Chris J. Kellerman
Special to The Texas Catholic

Twelve preschool students paste green strips of paper to form the letter “H” as their teachers provide guidance.
 
One of the students, Oscar, finishes his “H” and points to a yellow calendar on the wall, calling out, “Yellow!” His teacher, Mark, smiles and asks if he wants to make a “V” now. Oscar nods vigorously.

Although this may seem to be like every other pre-kindergarten classroom in Dallas, it’s anything but. In this program, Together We Learn, Oscar and the children are getting a head start they otherwise may never have been able to get.

Together We Learn, a child development project of Catholic Charities of Dallas, is a free, six-month program for Spanish-speaking children ages zero to five and their families. While the children spend their Tuesday through Friday mornings learning English and improving their Spanish vocabulary, their parents are able to take ESL classes simultaneously and without charge.

The program, which began in January, provides basic English language skills that will allow the children to enter Dallas ISD kindergarten classes without having to be removed for ESL. Additionally, the parents will be able to help and engage their children with their schoolwork at home.

Funded by the Zero to Five Funders’ Collaborative, Together We Learn operates at San Juan Diego Catholic Church in Dallas and serves families in the Bachman Lake neighborhood. Along with instruction for children and parents, the program provides a lending library, counseling, health checks for the children, and parent enrichment sessions. There are no income requirements.

Angeles Jaso-Tucker, a teacher for the program, says what makes Together We Learn special is its dual emphasis on the student and parent.

“When people come to the U.S. and they have younger children, usually they develop a relationship where the child has to become the interpreter-translator for the parents,” she said.

“This way the parents are being prepared, and they’ll be able to get that interest in their child’s education. Then the child can still be a child.”

The program sessions last for six months each, but coordinators will remain in communication with the families through the child’s third-grade year. Younger children in the program will be able to participate again at age 5 before they enter kindergarten; families always will have access to educational resources after their session ends.

The first session, which currently serves 72 children and 58 families, will end in early June. Sadie Funk, program coordinator for Together We Learn, said there is already a waiting list for the next session beginning in the fall.

Funk said enthusiasm for the program has been high.

“These are really motivated families,” Funk said. “Latino culture is just so beautiful in how community and family-oriented it is. And here, it’s like the cream of the crop. Everyone’s really motivated and excited.”

Olad Morales, a participant in the program along with his wife and son, cannot help but feel gratitude for his experience with Together We Learn. For him, the reasons to register for the program were obvious.

“To be better all the time,” he said. “To take all the opportunities to be a better person.”

Chris J. Kellerman of Irving is a regular contributor to The Texas Catholic.

(c) 2010 The Texas Catholic Online