Latino Voters
Re “Citizenship Drive Aims to Give Latinos a Voice (March 28):
It is a wonderful service--helping immigrants to become citizens--that the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials is giving. However, it may be reinventing the wheel.
The Los Angeles schools always have and do currently offer citizenship classes at night and on Saturdays. While NALEAO helps with filling out the application and presumably offers a quickie rote kind of study of the examination, the public school classes teach basic U.S. history and government.
The exam is given in English (unless the applicant is over 50 and has resided legally here for 20 years). As a retired LAUSD citizenship teacher, I have seen adults with minimal English attend a twice weekly, three-month class and come out knowing more about the Constitution than some native college graduates.
School systems in the area have not been idle on encouraging naturalization. However, it takes two to tango.
MARY MEYER
Pasadena
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