Mexican Education Comes to U.S.

Mexican education comes to U.S.

Adult immigrants can complete their basic education in Spanish at one of 13 centers

across L.A. County.

By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, January 11, 2008

Florentino Vidal began working on his family's ranch in Mexico at age 7, forgoing

grammar and high school for a childhood spent growing lettuce, carrots, watermelon

and tomatoes.

Vidal, 47, said he knows the Spanish alphabet and can read some, but gets confused

writing much more than his name. Now he will have the opportunity to resume his

studies and earn his Mexican diploma here in the United States.

The Mexican government opened its latest Plaza Comunitaria, or Community Plaza,

Thursday at San Fernando Middle School, minutes from Vidal's house. There are 13 such

centers throughout Los Angeles County, aimed at helping Mexican nationals complete

their basic education. The centers offer free classes, in person or through video and

the Internet, to Mexican nationals living in the U.S.

"They are leaving our country without that education," said Mario Velazquez, acting

consul general at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. "We have failed in giving

education to those Mexicans. We must try our best to give that education, even if

they are abroad."

More than 40% of Mexican nationals over age 25 living in the U.S. had less than a

ninth-grade education, according to 2005 data compiled by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Consular officials said the Spanish-language classes improve immigrants' self-esteem

and enable them to help their children with schoolwork. The education in their native

tongue also better prepares immigrants to learn English and encourages their

assimilation. Hundreds of Mexican nationals have taken classes since the first local

center opened in 2003. There are similar programs elsewhere, including San Jose and

San Bernardino.

Vidal, a legal permanent resident who arrived in the U.S. in 1979, said he and his

wife raised their four children to value education and not to take anything for

granted. The eldest now attends Cal State Northridge.

"We would tell them to study, study, study, until we got mad," he said.

Vidal wanted to study but said he was busy working construction to support his

family. At the opening of the San Fernando center Thursday, Vidal flipped through a

third-grade Mexican geography book. He said he was interested in learning about the

history of his country so he could pass that culture along to his children.

Jose Palmillas, 34, who also attended the opening, started high school in Mexico but

dropped out after one year to work in Mexico and then to come to the United States.

Palmillas, a naturalized U.S. citizen, said he has earned the same salary in his

maintenance job for many years and believes that finishing his education will enable

him to advance in his career.

"I feel like something is missing," Palmillas said. "I couldn't attend school when I

was young, but now I am going to study to get ahead."

Palmillas said he also wants to be a good role model for his children, ages 1, 11, 13

and 18.

Laura Gonzalez, a parent community facilitator for the Los Angeles Unified School

District, works with about 70 students at a Plaza Comunitaria near Roscoe Elementary

School in Sun Valley. Many come to her unable to read or write.

That illiteracy affects people in all aspects of their lives, including their ability

to get apartments and jobs, said Daryabuth Martinez, program assistant at the Plaza

Comunitaria at Cerritos College. Many parents have enrolled in classes at her center

so they can learn to read to their children or grandchildren, or so they can more

easily learn English and move past low-wage cleaning and restaurant jobs.

Space for the program is provided by schools and community centers, and the Mexican

government supplies the textbooks. Students work at their own pace with the help of

mostly volunteer teachers or tutors.

"They don't just learn how to read and write but how to grow as people," Martinez

said.

San Fernando Middle School Principal Rafael Balderas said his goal is to build a

"college-going culture."

"Remind your parents that we are pushing you through high school to graduate, not to

be a dropout," Balderas told young students on hand for the opening Thursday. "But

you know what? Your parents need to do the same thing. They now have the opportunity

to go and get their GED, to become a United States citizen, to vote and to make a

difference in the country."

Marisela Soto, 32, stopped going to school after sixth grade in Mexico but enrolled

in classes at a Plaza Comunitaria in Los Angeles. Before taking the classes, Soto

said, she was embarrassed to speak in public and worried about her inability to help

her children with their homework.

Since enrolling, Soto said, "My self-confidence grew a lot."

On Thursday, she stood before a crowded auditorium at San Fernando Middle School and

invited parents to follow her lead and go back to school.

anna.gorman@latimes.com