HeartShare offers English lessons to immigrants
Students say classes are boosting their confidence
In an effort to bridge the gap between immigrant parents and their children’s schools, HeartShare Human Services of New York has joined forces with the We Are New York program at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to offer an English course.
The program is part of the services offered at HeartShare’s First Step Early Childhood Center.
Many of the students attending the English classes are the mothers of children in HeartShare preschool program, but the course is also open to all community residents, according to officials.
“This class in conversational English will prepare those women to have a deeper understanding of their child’s academic progress,” said Kathy Toal, director of the Taranto Campus Early Childhood Center in Bensonhurst. The course is taught on Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Many of the students hail from a number of Arabic-speaking countries, including Yemen and Morocco.