San Patricio County Adult Literacy Council

Vibrant Learning Community at Ingleside UMC

SPCALC students and tutors came together for a holiday gathering at Ingleside United Methodist Church in December 2014.  

Partnership with Del Mar College

In cooperation with Del Mar Community College Adult Education Department and SPCALC, communities throughout San Patricio County now have two sites that offer Monday through Thursday ESL and GED classes. These classes are offered at the Ingleside High School (GED only) and in Taft. 

To register for the Del Mar GED or ESL classes, please contact the SPCALC, or contact Bethany Bowman at 361-698-2154 or email bbowman3@delmar.edu. 

 July 3, 2012 - Portland Citizenship Class a Success

     This year’s citizenship class was held two mornings a week from April 18 to May 21. Portland’s First Presbyterian Church provided facilities for the class and for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes throughout the school year. The classes and materials were free for the students. The Women of the Church recognized the students in all these classes with a party at the church on May 23.

     Eight students originally enrolled in the citizenship class, but three dropped out for various personal reasons. The five who completed the class and received certificates were Ju Lehman (Thailand), Martha Loveday (Mexico), Maria Reyna (Mexico), Myrna Simms (Mexico), and Iris Yap (Jamaica). All are legal residents, some for many years.

     They studied U.S. history and civics. Instructor Jerry Moore gave each student a textbook and a workbook. He used the textbook and supplementary material from the Internet in the class and assigned homework from the workbook. He reviewed and graded each student’s homework. The final two sessions were devoted to studying the application and preparing for the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service’s (USCIS’s) interview.

     To become citizens, each student has to meet certain residency requirements; submit an application, accompanied by a $680 fee; be fingerprinted for a background check; and pass the interview, which involves both verbal and written parts. Both the fingerprinting and interview require the student to go to San Antonio. Thus filling out the application, paying the fee, and traveling to San Antonio twice are time-consuming and expensive.

     To offset part of the cost, the literacy council has adopted a scholarship program to give students who meet certain criteria $300 toward their expenses. The council’s share will come from fundraisers, the first to be held this October. Information about this fundraiser will be provided soon.

     We look forward to having five new citizens in the near future.

Spring 2012 Citizenship Class, From left to right, back: Ju Lehman (Thailand), Instructor Jerry Moore (United States), Myrna Simms (Mexico), Martha Loveday(Mexico); front: Maria Reyna (Mexico), and Iris Yap (Jamaica).