Weeding and Righting : Education: With $1,000 from the Rotary Club, parents at a Sun Valley school fix up an old schoolhouse for adult English lessons.

A group of about 20 parents at Roscoe Elementary School were so eager to have their own center where they could study English that they voluntarily rescued an abandoned schoolhouse from disrepair.

With supplies and time donated by the Rotary Club of Sun Valley, the group pulled weeds, cleared debris, scrubbed walls and chased spiders, slowly transforming the run-down building that sits on a corner of the elementary school’s playground.

Work remains before their center is complete, but English classes taught by a counseling intern began this week in the two-room schoolhouse. There was no electricity in the unpainted classroom during the first lesson as the adult students practiced English sentences.

“Excuse me, do you have the time?” they repeated in unison after the teacher.

Ten-year-old Maria Franco, whose mother, Gerarda Franco, is taking the class, said she is excited, looking forward to the time when they will be able to speak together in English.

“For me it’s important,” Maria said. “Because then she can show my dad and if they can talk English they can work in an office or something.”

John Hall, the school’s counselor and one of the organizers of the renovation effort, said the center will encourage parents to be in closer contact with the Sun Valley school.

“It takes away the mystery of school for these parents,” Hall said. “This thing is a boon to parent involvement.”

Gerarda Franco said the benefits of English proficiency go far beyond parenting.

“When I go to the doctor, I don’t understand what he says,” she said. “When I go to her school, I don’t understand what the teacher is saying. I want to communicate with other people.”

The Rotary Club pledged $1,000 for supplies for the project, including paint, wallboard and windows for the building. Club members also volunteered their time and expertise to help install wiring and wallboard.