Partner Programs

First Literacy currently supports 19 ABE and ESOL programs serving 1,449 learners in the Greater Boston Area. These programs serve diverse populations and provide a wide range of classes and services.  Below you can learn more about our partner programs as well as the specific initiatives, innovative classes, essential staff positions, and vital support services that First Literacy funds.

BCYF Perkins Community Center   
Learners Served: 25
Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF) Perkins Community Center is an adult learning program for low-income residents of Dorchester. It provides basic skills, GED, ESOL, and computer literacy classes. First Literacy supports BCYF Perkins’ Parent Support Project, an on-site childcare service which enables learners to enroll in the program and persist to reach their goals.

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center 
Learners Served: 65        
The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) is an adult education program that has served Chinese-speaking immigrants in Boston for more than 30 years, providing its learners with bilingual and monolingual ESOL classes and tutorials, computer literacy classes, and citizenship services. First Literacy supports BCNC’s Take and Give program, which engages current students as ESOL tutors, helping those on the program’s long waiting list to begin their English studies much sooner and develop a base for future English language acquisition.
 
Boston Higher Education Resource Center
Learners Served: 170          
Boston Higher Education Resource Center is an ESOL program that serves primarily Latino residents of Roxbury. Most classes are taught by highly-trained volunteers. First Literacy funds stipends for these volunteer teachers and supports their ongoing training. It also supports hours of the Program Director, who is in charge of volunteer recruitment and training.

Community Learning Center   
Learners Served: 24   
The Community Learning Center provides a wide range of ABE classes and services for residents of Cambridge and others, including ESOL, basic skills, and GED classes, as well as adult education for the homeless, transition to college, and workplace education classes. First Literacy supports the program’s Student Leadership classes, in which ESOL students work on their pronunciation and presentation skills, honing those skills by delivering presentations throughout Cambridge. This class not only helps students develop their research and English language skills, but also prepares them to become leaders in their communities.

East Boston Ecumenical Community Council  
Learners Served: 66  
East Boston Ecumenical Community Council (EBECC) has offered ESOL instruction in East Boston since 1987. First Literacy funds EBECC’s Latina ESOL program, which provides basic ESOL classes, computer literacy workshops, and childcare for women. First Literacy supports staffing for one of the program’s Latina ESOL classes and the coordination of EBECC’s teachers.   
 
Educational Development Group
Learners Served: 72       
The Educational Development Group (EDG) provides intensive ESOL classes for a diverse population of immigrants in Roxbury and the South End. Students who enroll in this program are able to gain a solid base in English in a relatively short time, and move on to employment, training, and higher education.   First Literacy’s grant supports hours for the EDG’s Program Director that would otherwise be unfunded.

El Centro del Cardenal  
Learners Served: 30
El Centro del Cardenal provides ESOL and computer literacy classes to Latinos and other immigrants living in the Jamaica Plain area. In addition to attending 16 hours per week of ESOL classes, students develop their computer and digital skills in a Friday morning class funded by First Literacy. The class is taught by a former program student. Current students serve as teacher’s assistants, supporting individual student’s learning efforts. The skills students acquire in this class contribute to their future education, training, and employment.

Haitian Multi-Service Center    
Learners Served: 115 
The Haitian Multi-Service Center offers ESOL, basic skills, and GED classes for Haitians living in the Dorchester area. First Literacy provides funding for its Computer Tutor Program, in which active program students work with their peers, to help them develop computer and digital skills in a Friday Learning Lab. Tutors also work as teachers’ aides, assisting teachers and supporting students when computer and digital literacy lessons are integrated into the program’s ESOL classes. 

International Institute of Boston  
Learners Served: 24       
The International Institute of Boston provides ESOL, literacy, basic skills, and job skills classes to help refugees and immigrants become full participants in society. First Literacy supports the program’s basic literacy class, which helps learners develop a foundation of reading and writing skills. This can be life changing and greatly broaden students’ employment possibilities.

Jamaica Plain Community Center     
Learners Served: 325   
The Adult Learning Program at the Jamaica Plain Community Center has been offering ESOL, basic skills, and GED classes and tutorials since 1982. A grant from First Literacy helps provide hours for the program’s bi-lingual counselor, who works with students on persistence issues; advises them on plans for further education or employment; and makes referrals regarding health, housing, and immigration information.

Julie's Family Learning Program
Learners Served: 40
Julie’s Family Learning Program (Julie’s) has been providing support to at-risk women in the South Boston area since 1974. With Pre-GED, GED, and workplace readiness classes, Julie’s gets support from First Literacy for its full-time Director of Education. The Director teaches workplace readiness, math, and writing classes; coordinates the efforts of program teachers; and provides career counseling to learners in the program.

Mujeres Unidas en Accion    
Learners Served: 20      
Mujeres Unidas en Accion offers ESOL, basic skills, Spanish GED, and College Transition classes, as well as career, individual, and domestic violence counseling services to Latina residents in and around Dorchester. First Literacy supports the program’s on-site childcare services, enabling single mothers to attend program classes and continue on to employment, skills training, or higher education.

Project Hope
Learners Served: 46
Project Hope provides ESOL, Pre-GED, and GED classes as well as a wide range of support services to at-risk women in Roxbury. First Literacy helps fund two of its Foundation Classes: “Health and Wellness” and “Learning Strategies.”  These classes help students develop the foundation they need become “whole women,” to learn and grow, reach their goals, and lead full and healthy lives.

Project Literacy
Learners Served: 120
Project Literacy is an adult basic education program run through the Watertown Public Library, providing  ESOL and computer literacy classes to a diverse mix of immigrants. In addition to the salaries of ESOL teachers, First Literacy supports the program’s assessment of students’ learning gains, used to measure the effectiveness of its ESOL classes.

St. Mark Community Education Program 
Learners Served: 88     
St. Mark Community Education Program provides ESOL classes and citizenship preparation for Vietnamese residents in Dorchester and the surrounding area. First Literacy’s grant has enabled St. Mark to hire a program counselor, who counsels students on attendance and persistence issues; works with them to identify their goals; and advises them on employment, citizenship, and further education.

Steps to Success   
Learners Served: 55          
Steps to Success has an ESOL program that serves a diverse immigrant population living in the Brookline area. First Literacy funding supports the program’s part-time ESOL coordinator, as well as the ongoing professional development of its team of teachers.        
 
WAITT House 
Learners Served: 110   
WAITT House offers basics skills, High School Diploma, and Transition-to-College classes to adult learners in and around Roxbury. First Literacy’s grant helps support two important positions: program counselor and basic skills teacher. The counselor supports students in persistence issues; helps students identify and focus on their goals; and advises them on their next educational, training, or employment steps. The teacher works with students to help them develop their basic reading, writing, and math skills.

X-Cel, Inc. Adult Education
Learners Served: 30          
X-Cel has been providing basic skills, GED, and College Transition classes for low-income adults in Roxbury since 2000. First Literacy supports a basic reading and writing class, intensified to help bring students’ skills to the next level, where they may continue to pursue their goal of getting a GED diploma and continue on to higher education.     

YMCA International Learning Center 
Learners Served: 24    
The International Learning Center provides ESOL classes and skills training to immigrants living in and around Fenway. First Literacy supports the program’s new computer literacy class called “Next Steps,” which integrates the teaching of vital computer and digital skills with students’ plans for education, training, and employment.