Gary Moskowitz Esmeralda Guzman, a mother of...

Gary Moskowitz

Esmeralda Guzman, a mother of two children, is in the process of

learning a new language at 26.

She is one of more than 40 parents of students at Edison

Elementary School who meet twice a week at the school’s Adult

Education Center to learn English as their second language.

She speaks only Spanish with her children at home, and until she

started taking classes last month, Guzman was unable to help her

7-year-old with his English homework.

“My goal is to learn to read and write English so I can progress

in life,” she said, with some help from a translator. “My son reads a

little, but he has some difficulty learning English, so I need to be

able to help him. I want to try to help my kids so they can learn

better.”

With more than 40 Edison parents already enrolled and more signing

up, Edison faculty are trying to find room for everybody, teacher

specialist Wendy Rios said.

Eighty-five percent of the school’s student population is made up

of students whose primary language is not English and whose parents

are not English speakers, Rios said.

“We’ve got grandmothers and relatives coming by, wanting to take

the class,” Rios said. “They love it, and we like it because it gets

the parents more involved and understanding what their child is

learning.”

The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, a nonprofit

organization, teaches the free classes at Edison’s Adult Education

Center. One of the main goals of the class is to make parents feel

more confident, English instructor Maria Garay said.

Garay uses charts that contain letters, a picture of an object

that begins with that letter and a word that begins with the letter.

She helps parents sound out letter combinations that give many of

them problems, like “th” and “ch.” Garay also works with parents on

their skills in their native languages, like Spanish and Armenian.

“Parents say they don’t know how to help because they can’t read

themselves,” Garay said. “We give them the tools they need to feel

more confident.”

Many of the parents bring their younger children to class with

them. Typically, a session can include a few babies in strollers or

toddlers playing with toys or reading books.

“My kids try to help me learn,” said Yanira Fuente, 37, with some

help from a translator. “It’s very difficult, but I have to learn

because I would like to work in a school someday.”