Montgomery County Councilmembers reviewed more than $2.4 million in funding that will support adult English classes during a work session Thursday.
The funding, which will go toward the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL), will increase by $207,361, or about 9%.
MCAEL will use the funding to hold more classes, increase staff size, give more grants to emerging groups and continue providing living wages for English as a second language (ESOL) instructors, according to county legislative analyst Joseph Crupi.
“I’ve seen the programs in action … we’re just scratching the surface of the need as it continues to grow,” Councilmember Will Jawando said.
About 14% of people reported speaking English less than very well in Montgomery County, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Of those people, the majority speak Spanish as their first language.
The group has provided start-up grants of between $2,000 and $3,000 to small, emerging organizations for the past two years. MCAEL Executive Director Kathy Stevens said these grants have been successful in building community and growing the number of ESOL programs.
“We need to build the pipeline, we need to build the system of more programs,” Stevens said. “We’ve identified populations that are coming to us saying, ‘Can we have a community learning group?’”
County funding will also help MCAEL get feedback from English learners and amplify student voices by balancing power dynamics inherent to educational systems, MCAEL Manager of Networking Learning and Development Tiffani Ross said.
The organization will use a learner survey, focus groups and a pilot learner-leadership group to encourage students to advocate for themselves, according to Ross.
“It’s not just about the skill development of being able to speak English,” Councilmember Gabe Albornoz said. “These programs build confidence, they build community, they build relationship.”
