ENB’s ESOL for Parents and Caregivers Initiative addresses the English learning needs of immigrant families with a child in the Boston Public Schools. The results have been impressive – moms and dads better able to help with homework, engaged in the parent council, regularly attending parent-teacher conferences (without fear!), and advocating for the specific needs of their child.
“When we arrived in Boston from Brazil three years ago, I didn’t speak any English, and my kids spoke a little. It was so difficult as we had many problems in the beginning of our time. After I put my children in school, I looked for an English class for me and found the Family School at the Otis. I started in level 1 and quickly moved to level 2. English was hard for me at first, but I studied any free time I had and I tried never to miss class. I knew that English was the most important thing for me.
“With English I can help my family more, my children at school, I found better work and started to do things by myself. English is important, but it is also necessary to live a better life in the United States. If it wasn’t for these free programs in East Boston, it would be impossible for me to have learned English.”
—Maria, East Boston Resident, 2018
