English classes for adults to roll into neighborhoods

Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

The sedan was breezing past the school when the woman inside caught sight of a converted mobile home parked in the driveway.

She pulled over on East Washington Avenue near North Pecos Road, hunted for a pen in her purse and jotted down the telephone number painted on the side of the "Success Express," a new classroom on wheels that's been five years in the making.

Priscilla Rocha, director of the Community English as a Second Language program for the Clark County School District, couldn't contain her glee.

"People are already calling the number, asking when are we coming out to them," Rocha said, dancing a little jig. "This is going to change lives."

About 4,200 students take the program's ESL classes at satellite campuses throughout Clark County. After completing their coursework, students often advance to regular adult ed classes and earn their diplomas. Others opt for vocational training programs.

But this is the first time the program has taken the school to the students. The mobile unit will travel to housing complexes and rural communities, targeting new immigrants and individuals who might have dropped out of school and might be reluctant to return to a traditional setting.

The Success Express, currently parked at the Community ESL offices on the Morris Academy campus, will hit the road early next year. Inside are 20 workstations complete with laptop computers as well as a video monitor, whiteboards and storage cabinets for classroom materials.

Rocha came up with the Success Express idea in 2002. In 2005 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada successfully pressed for the appropriation, which covered the $172,000 price tag for the rolling classroom.

Otto Merida, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, praised Rocha for her tenacity.

"As time goes on we're seeing less and less money from the state for education, especially for these kinds of programs," Merida said. "It's up to the community groups and individuals to take action."

The next step for the district's Community ESL program will be offering literacy classes to Hispanic immigrants in their native language. Once students' confidence and skills improve, the teachers will transition to English.

Many of the program's participants have children attending Clark County schools. Joint tutoring sessions, where parents and children can both get help with schoolwork, are also in the planning stages.

"They want to be better parents and self-sufficient members of this community," Rocha said. "And we are going to help them do those things."