I am currently interning with Pro English this summer and am a junior studying Political Science with a concentration in Comparative Politics and CLEG (Communications, Law, Economics and Government) at American University.

Two years ago, a graduate student at American University started CLASE (Community Learners Advancing Spanish and English), a tutoring program for the dining hall and cleaning staff at American University.

Today I have the pleasure of serving as co-President of this organization of over 100 students and University employees. The majority of the cleaning staff at American University hails from El Salvador and has been in the US for more than twenty years, yet most of them only speak minimal English. The majority of these employees live in “cluster communities” where only Spanish is spoken, and they work in an environment where their co-workers and supervisors speak to them in Spanish.

The mission of CLASE is to promote English literacy and U.S. Citizenship for the employees of American University cleaning and wait staff.  CLASE holds around three luncheons/dinners per month for the students and university employees to get to know each other better.

I have four main goals for CLASE: 1) Campus 2) Community, 3) Domestic and 4) International. My fellow co-president and I pair American University students with dining hall and cleaning staff based on their Spanish/English level and availability. Once paired, students hold one-on-one tutoring sessions at a minimum of twice a week for an hour.  Along with this, on campus students hold citizenship and computer literacy classes once a week for anyone who is interested.

On a community level, I hope to expand CLASE outside the University and into the neighboring community.  CLASE has already begun to expand outside of the dining hall and cleaning staff to other campus locations such as McDonalds.  On a national level, I hope to introduce CLASE to other campuses around the country and hope that CLASE’s goals of literary empowerment can be shared on other campuses as well.

Another important aspect is assimilation. When my father moved here from Colombia he attended an Italian school in the U.S.; however, he did learn English and eventually became an emergency room physician.  My father assimilated into the American culture without giving up his heritage or Colombian culture.  We still listen to Spanish music, eat Colombian food and speak Spanish to each other.  We do not live in a “cluster community” with other Colombian families and we speak English in and outside of the home.  My father understands how important assimilation is because he didn’t grow up having the same freedoms as I did here in the United States.

In the United States, being illiterate in English puts individuals at a great disadvantage and prevents them from realizing the upward social mobility so many Americans enjoy.  Of course, every parent wants his or her child to have a better life and English language literacy for immigrants is the key to unlocking the American Dream.   Through CLASE we can continue to empower immigrants in an honest way by promoting the importance of assimilation, English literacy, and U.S. Citizenship for many years to come.

CLASE in the news...

The Washington Post covers CLASE:  Bridging a class divide, one English lesson at a time
March 23, 2010

CLASE is funded through the American University Student Activities.  It also receives grants from the American University Eagle Endowment which gives money to community service organizations on campus. For more information on CLASE at American University, please email CLASE co-President Amy Farina at:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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