The Community Education Project
Fighting for a better education and the future of our community
CEP gratefully accepts donations
to support our mission.
“When we started this class some of us couldn’t even write our names. All of us had left school years ago. Now with this class we are able to write a letter for the first time. Now we can do math and go to the bank to get our money to pay the bills. Before this class, we needed someone to do that for us. To be out of school for so long and come back thinking that we don’t know much, or remember anything is painful. Our teacher helped us refresh our memories, and she has helped us get back on track. It’s a feeling of happiness that is hard to explain. Thank you CEP.”
~NLL Students
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Rose Egan
Fighting for a better education and the future of our community!
Thank you to our sponsors
News and Events
CEP offers professional, affordable
English to Spanish document translation.
CEP is hiring
View job descriptions and apply here:
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Community-Education-Project-2/jobs
Testimonial
“When we came here, we couldn’t even order fast food for dinner. We couldn’t go to the doctor by our selves. We even needed someone to translate for us at the post office. Now we feel very comfortable going everywhere by our selves. We can ask directions and questions, and find out whatever we want to know all by our selves. Now we feel that we are able to help our kids in school, and help them with their needs because we understand more English, thanks to the ESOL classes. Our teachers make us feel that we have the power to do anything that we set as our goal; that nothing it’s impossible, and that there is help out there. You just need to go to the right place like we did. Thank you CEP.”
~ESOL Students
Adult Education Classes
CEP is a member of the Juntos Collaborative, a network of Adult Education service and workforce development providers. CEP provides a variety of adult and family educational opportunities in the diverse Holyoke community. We began in 1991 as an ESL program based in the Latino community. Today, our students’ native languages constitute diverse linguistic backgrounds; representing multiple regions of the world. Our educational programming includes:
Native Language Literacy (NLL)/Spanish HiSET/GED:
Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL):
Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing
Digital Literacy :Training for today's self-sufficiency and workplace skill needs
Student Driven Bilingual Educational & Career Advising:
Supporting students to stay on track with their goals & prepare for next steps
Native Language/Pre-ESOL Literacy in Spanish
The Community Education Project (CEP) has been providing Native Language/Pre-ESOL Literacy classes in Spanish in Holyoke for over 20 years. These free classes prepare adults from Spanish speaking countries who do not have a high school diploma to study for their GED/HiSET in Spanish. Eligibility is open to adults who are more comfortable learning in Spanish than English. These classes are a good fit for those whose formal education was previously conducted in Spanish. This program is supported in part by grants from the Holyoke Community Development Block Grant Program and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Testimonial
“When we started this class some of us couldn’t even write our names. All of us had left school years ago. Now with this class we are able to write a letter for the first time. Now we can do math and go to the bank to get our money to pay the bills. Before this class, we needed someone to do that for us. To be out of school for so long and come back thinking that we don’t know much, or remember anything is painful. Our teacher helped us refresh our memories, and she has helped us get back on track . It’s a feeling of happiness that is hard to explain. Thank you CEP.”
~NLL Students
Native Language Literacy
Krystal Ortiz, Instructor
NLL 1 Schedule:
Mondays & Wednesday
9:00AM - 12:00PM
NLL 2 Schedule:
Tuesdays & Thursdays
9:00AM - 12:00PM
For more information:
Call: (413) 349-9876
English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL): Three levels
CEP provides three levels of ESOL classes. The CEP/ESOL classroom is student centered and employs a whole language immersion approach to instruction. The goal of the CEP/ESOL classroom is to have students speaking English 70% or more of their class time. Spanish or other native language usage during class time is strongly discouraged in order to promote increased English proficiency in our students.
Practical, useful vocabulary is generated by students themselves as well as from the thematic units developed cooperatively by teachers and students. Thematic curriculum units include health and nutrition issues relevant to the community, job readiness and employment, how to use computers, and money management (e.g. budgets, banks, investing). Field trips to other community based and social service agencies, community meetings and workshops, museums, libraries, and historic sites are also incorporated into the class schedule and curriculum. Students are taught how to use computers and how to access Internet based learning resources and how to use them to further their educational and employment related goals. Students are encouraged to be involved and engaged in their community.
Level I (Student Proficiency Level 0-3) is designed for those who speak very little or no English at all. This level allows students to develop and expand English vocabulary skills. It also gives them the ability to understand basic information for everyday needs, and begin to communicate in English; increasing confidence and community engagement.
Level II (Student Proficiency Level 3-5) is designed for those who speak a little English, but want to develop their vocabulary and improve their ability to speak grammatically correct English. The class is student centered (i.e. the curriculum includes content requested by the students) and
is focused on developing the confidence and ability to speak in English. In addition to academic content, the class includes practical strategies on how to learn more English outside of class.
Level III (Student Proficiency Level 5-7) builds on the English language skills developed in Level II. Level III students are expected to have the confidence and the ability to initiate English language exchanges. The Level III class curriculum reviews and reinforces previously introduced English language skills including present, past, and future tense forms of the verbs. Compound verb tenses (e.g. present perfect, past perfect, and conditional tense), clauses, and phrases are introduced to support higher level English level proficiency. Additionally, more advanced reading comprehension and writing are included in the students’ classroom work.
