Center aids adults in gaining literacy skills for employment

"I was too afraid" was how Madlen Sarti described her feelings about taking her GED, or the General Educational Development, tests that would certify that she has high-school level academic skills.

The 30-year-old hard-working mother of two, who is juggling two jobs, said she "was not very confident" about studying on her own. After all, it had been several years since the last time she was in a high school classroom.

But after a six-week GED-preparation course at the Community Multicultural Center, Sarti, a customer service and sales agent, said that she is more than ready to take the examination.

She is set to take the test in November. After that, she plans to enroll in college, get a nursing degree and eventually pursue her career goal in health care.

Sarti is just one of thousands of individuals in Las Vegas whose goals were shaped and shaken by the recent economic downturn.

She experienced the devastating effects of the recession first hand when the company she was employed with for five years closed down in 2007, at the onset of the recession.

While she did not have a difficult time landing another job in the graphic design firm she works at currently, she wants to carve a future career that would give more financial stability even in a sour economy.

"Before, I felt like I could get by without a GED, but now I want a job where there is more security," she said.

CMC Executive Director Lyn Pizor noted the center started offering the GED-preparation class only this year, but it has become one of the most popular given the current hiring trends among local employers.

"We are seeing people come to us who are saying I used to be able to get employment without (a GED certificate)," she said, noting that enrollees want to get this certificate as quickly as possible.

Indeed, most employers in Las Vegas - including casinos, local government offices and even small enterprises - now require a high school diploma or GED for entry-level positions. This tightening of doors for new employees became a trend as a result of the economic downturn when employers tried to save funds every way they can, including in the hiring of employees.

The center noted that about 95 percent of all employers accept the GED certificate as equivalent to a traditional high school diploma.

For Sarti, the GED is more than just a high school diploma. It will be her ticket to a better lifestyle and a more secure future.

"And I want my kids to see that it is important to finish school. I want to set a good example to my kids," she said.

Her first step toward this endeavor is enrolling in CMC's GED-preparation class.

"At CMC, the teachers were great. They made (test preparations) easy," Sarti said.

The center's six-week GED-preparation session covers the five subsections that are in the examination. These include writing, science, social studies, literature and arts and mathematics.

Each class in the session is specifically designed to help the students meet the specific academic requirements of the GED material in which they need further study, the center's website explained.

Aside from the six-week classroom course, CMC also offers an alternative online GED-preparation class that students can take at their own pace. Those enrolled in the six-week classroom course may opt to continue the classes online as well. Registration fee for either one of these two GED class options is $30.

Aside from the GED preparation classes, CMC offers three other literacy classes that all aim to "educate adults to communicate with confidence in a multicultural world." This is the center's mission statement that it continues to achieve, according to Pizor, who founded CMC.

Center offers classes in adult literacy

For eight years now, CMC has been helping thousands of people in Las Vegas take the all too important "first step" in following a good career or finding a better job.

When it was first opened in April 2004, the center had 75 students. Enrollment has ballooned steadily since then, in tune with the rise in population of Las Vegas. This year alone, some 600 students are enrolled in CMC's four classes.

Pizor said the center serves "any adult who is looking for a job or seeking a better job than they already have."

"We serve anyone who is an adult over the age of 17," she said, noting that most students are immigrants who need guidance while they assimilate to American society through the workforce.

Indeed, Las Vegas has been a popular destination of new residents from within and outside the nation in the past 10 years. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that from 2000 to 2010, Nevada's population growth rate, at 35 percent, is the fastest in the country. A large portion of this growth is in Las Vegas.

Aside from immigrants, Pizor said that some of the center's students were educated in the United States but had dropped out before finishing high school.

Both immigrants and American citizens benefit from classes offered at CMC, which is a federally funded institution that is dedicated to adult literacy.

The center is funded via the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Within this law is the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, which is the major source of federal support for adult basic skills programs. AEFLA funding supports instruction in reading, numeracy, GED preparation and English literacy.

"We are one of eight AEFLA-funded programs in the state of Nevada," Pizor said.

AEFLA is the principal source of federal support for adult basic and literacy education programs for adults who lack basic skills, a high school diploma or proficiency in English.

AEFLA funds are distributed to states according to the number of adults, aged 16 and older, that lack a high school diploma and who are not enrolled n school. Demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau is used as reference.

The types of instruction mandated by the law include basic and secondary education for adults as well as literacy in the English language.

Adult basic education is instruction in basic skills for adults functioning at the lower literacy levels to just below the high school level.

On the other hand, Adult secondary education is instruction for adults whose literacy skills are at about the high school level and who are seeking to pass the GED.

English literacy, meanwhile, is instruction for adults who lack proficiency in English and who seek to improve their literacy and competence in the language. English literacy instruction is sometimes integrated with civics education.

True to the guidelines prescribed by the law, the Las Vegas-based CMC offers classes that arm individuals with skills necessary in the workforce. This center, located on Tropicana and Eastern avenues, also has a computer laboratory that students can access for free.

CMC's English as a second language classes have been the most popular, given the influx of non-English speaking residents to the city. In fact, about 75 percent of its enrollees were for ESL classes when the center opened eight years ago.

Registration for the six-week ESL class is $10. The center offers ESL classes in several levels. Beginning courses concentrate more on listening and speaking while advanced classes emphasize additional reading and writing skills.

A student will be placed in a class level that will be determined by an oral interview and a reading test that is taken at registration.

These ESL classes at CMC aim to develop communication skills, reach personal goals or enhance a person's job skills that are needed for a job or for a career promotion.

"ESL will help you build your self-confidence, so that you can communicate in English with the English-speaking community around you," the center said in its website.

"You will also learn about American culture and traditions, survival skills, such as filling out job applications, making appointments and calling for emergency assistance and many other necessary English language skills," it also said.

Adults with learning challenges, meanwhile, will benefit from CMC's adult core education, or ACE, curriculum. Registration for the 10-week course is $10. This individualized reading and writing curriculum is a literacy level program for adults with learning disabilities, head injuries or stroke victims returning to relearn their reading and writing skills, Pizor said. These classes are taught on a one-on-one basis by the center's many tutors.

Meanwhile, CMC also offers a class that helps prepare individuals with their job search. Dubbed Career Pathways, the class helps an individual learn how to seek employment effectively. Students are taught which industries are thriving, what current job trends are and what positions will be available in the next five years.

It also informs individuals where to find good jobs and what education is needed to get a particular job.

In addition, the classes also give information on how to fill out an application online. Valuable tips on how to conduct himself or herself during an interview, including information on what to say or what to wear, are learned in this course.

In class, students write a resume and are also videotaped during a mock interview. These exercises help a student prepare for these actual activities during his or her job search.

"When students have completed the class they take an exam for their work readiness credential," Pizor said.

"If they pass, we have certified that they have skills in reading, math, active listening and situational judgment," she added.

Career Pathways classes are offered four times a year, and registration for each class is $10.

Volunteer educators teach courses

"All classes at CMC are taught by qualified teachers," Pizor said. Many of its tutors who work one on one with literacy level students, however, do not have a teaching background.

But these tutors undergo a rigorous training that consists of two parts.

The first part is a four-hour online training in basic phonics, while the second portion is a face-to-face, four-hour workshop that helps them to present the phonics to their individual students.

"We provide training for our tutors before they begin working and provide ongoing support for them as they continue throughout the year," Pizor said.

"We do not provide training on multicultural awareness or diversity. We do, however, practice those skills on a daily basis with a very diverse staff and student population," she said.

All tutors are volunteers and, given the increasing enrollment each year at CMC, the center is always looking for more, particularly for its ACE program.

"CMC is looking for volunteers who are willing to work one on one with students. The majority of our volunteers work in our ACE program," Pizor said.

Each volunteer tutor helps about 60 students enrolled in ACE each year on a one-on-one basis to teach the students to read and write.

Other volunteers are also accepted as aides in ESL classroom where they help teachers as needed. College students who are pursuing a major in ESL may also do their internship at CMC.

The center does not set an education requirement for the volunteers it accepts. "Our volunteers need a willingness to work with diverse cultures and abilities," Pizor said.

Periodically, CMC would hire teachers on a part-time basis, although all positions are filled at the moment. At present, the center is looking for a bilingual receptionist and data technician who can begin work as soon as possible.