The Engine of the CLC - Message from the President

On the first Monday in November, I visited the Community Learning Center with a prospective Board member. Olivia had heard about the Friends of the CLC through a posting on Volunteer Match and reached out to the Board to learn more. She was impressed with our mission and eager to see it in action, so we invited her to sit in on a class.

Olivia and I entered Lisa’s ESOL Level 1 classroom, where a lesson was in progress centered on asking and answering questions. Greeting her visitors with a smile, Lisa seamlessly folded us into the lesson, prompting her students to respond to questions such as Is she tall? or Does she have brown hair? Questions in English are complicated! In many other languages, the second question would sound something like Has she brown hairs? Where does that Does come from in English? And why hair when people obviously have more than one?

As the lesson progressed, Olivia and I marveled at how much English vocabulary and grammar the students have already picked up after only a few weeks of study. For adults who have spent their lives speaking other languages and who are now being instructed in a language they don’t understand, their rapid progress was truly impressive. 

Skilled teachers, dedicated students, supportive staff—all of these make the CLC a powerful engine of learning, driving students to better their lives, lift up their families, and strengthen our community. And you, dear readers, provide fuel for that engine through your support, enabling more people to ride the train of education.

After seeing the CLC’s work in action, Olivia committed to joining the Board of the Friends, where she can put her particular skills to work for the CLC’s mission. We hope you will be similarly inspired to become part of the Community Learning Center’s powerful engine—by joining the Friends, serving on the Board, volunteering at CLC, and making donations that keep our engine running.

Thank you for your support.

With best wishes for a happy holiday season,

Phyllis Benjamin

President

Friends of the Community Learning Center