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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE According to officials of the Valley Opportunity Center, there is a growing need for both English as a Second Language (ESL) and GED preparation classes. Graduates of the two classes gathered at the American Legion Post on Exchange Street last week for a celebratory potluck supper and recognition ceremony. Jane Baatz, the VOC director for education services, told Reminder Publications the growing diversity of people in the Chicopee area make these classes, especially the ESL class popular. The state-funded programs are free and open to anyone, not just residents of Chicopee, she added. Robert Radin, the director of the ESL program said there could be between 30 to 40 ethnic groups represented in the program, but the majority of students speak Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Laotian, Vietnamese or Chinese as their primary language. He confirmed the growing need for the ESL classes. Radin said that many students are highly educated in their native countries, but their lack of English skills are preventing them from being hired for appropriate jobs. Learning English allows them to get the position they deserve. Baatz said there is a slight increase in the number of people enrolling in the GED course as many people have dropped out of high school because of the MCAS test. Speaking at the dinner was Jill Hayden, a graduate of the GED course. Radin said the single teen mother waited a year and a half to be old enough to enroll in the program. She has now completed it and is furthering her educations at Holyoke Community College. The next ESL classes begin the second week of July. It will run 44 weeks and will meet either two or three times a week. The next GED/Literacy class will begin in September. The classes meet at 152 Center St. For more information call 612-0206. |