Description
Project Specific Description
The Ten Thousand Buddhas Summit Monastery proposes to provide a combination of services to improve the English language, literacy, and computer skills of up to 40 adults and 100 children who are immigrants and refugees in the southern area of Jefferson county and northern Bullitt county. The Monastery will set a partnership with the Volunteer Department of Louisville University and Jefferson County Public Schools to develop a program that provides services to families, adults, and children. The Monastery proposes to offer After-School Program for k-12 students and English as a Second Language classes for adults via a combination of classroom and computer assisted instruction. To facilitate the learners computer skills, the programs will include a 10-hours basic computer skill class which will be offered 7 times yearly. Adults may attend ESL classes that meet 7.5 hours per week in either three mornings per week or three evenings per week. In addition, adult may enroll in one special interest class four times per year. The special interest classes will be based upon interest surveys of students and may include advanced computer skills, family literacy, how to purchase a home, banking and finance, nutrition and fitness, community resources exploration, painting, and photography. These classes will provide adult LEP students with an outlet for practicing their English skills while learning valuable person and professional lessons. The ESL classes and special interest classes will be provided by JCPS, a nationally recognized program of excellence in the provision of learning experiences for adults. Additionally, the Monastery will provide an After-School Program for school aged children in which the children will have access to age and skill level appropriate computer assisted instruction, homework help, and beginning and intermediate level English classes. The After-School Program will operate five days per week after school. Besides, the program will be open during the summer and on selected non-JCPS school days to assist working parents with childcare needs and to provide a continuum of instruction for the children. Parents of the children will be encourage to participate in family literacy activities provided by JCPS. The Monastery currently operates a Vietnamese language school for children on Saturdays. The purpose of these classes is to assist families in retaining their cultural heritage and facilitate better communication between the generations within the Vietnamese community. These classes will continue and will be available to children of the adults participating in the ESL classes.
The target population for this proposal is the immigrant, refuge, and other international population with limit English language proficiency in the south and western regions of the Metro Louisville are including Jefferson and Bullitt counties. The targeted population is at high risk for under-employment and unemployment and has a higher than average prospects for long-term poverty caused by language and cultural barriers. This i particularly true of Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals choosing to locate in areas in which this population is relatively new and where the resources and systems to adequately serve their needs is not yet developed. Currently LEP classes are offered on a limited basis at the Americana Learning Center, located on Southside Drive by Jefferson County Public Schools. Bullitt county adult education does not offer English as Second Language classes per se and places the LEP individual in literacy level instruction. Because the population in the southwestern area of Jefferson County and northern Bullitt counties are relatively new, funding for the provision of academic and vocational English and adult learning classes has not been able to keep pace with the population growth. In fact, in the LRC Report, Immigration in Kentucky, the 2000 census recorded an increase of 139.1 % in the immigrant population since 1990 compared with a 6.9 % decrease in the native-born population. The Louisville Office of International Affairs reports that nearly 50 % of the population growth in the metro area was due to ESL immigrants. In addition, the State Data Center reports that with fewer children being born in Kentuckiana the only growth segment of the future workforce is that of the LEP population. According to the U.S Census 2000, approximately 16,000 foreign born immigrants arrived in the metro area between 1990-2000. This represented a 133 percent increase in the 12,000 foreign born residents in 1990.
Besides 40 adults and 100 children from refuge and immigrant families, the schools and local employers will benefits from the participants improved language, literacy, computer skills, and After-School program.
This project complement the adult ESL services provided in other areas of Jefferson County. No such services are offered in Bullitt County. These services differ in that they are comprehensive and target the large Asian population in the area immediately surrounding the location at 5644 New Cut Road. This program will include not only ESL services for adults but also computer skills classes and special interest classes. There are no local After-School Program offered for the areaâ s ESL k-12 students. This program will fill a void by providing services for these students with bilingual tutors to assist the children and their parents with homework. The summer program for children has been offered to complement the JCPS k-12 programs that previously required students from the area to be bused to other areas of the county.
The Adult ESL Program will be administered through a subcontract to Jefferson County Public Schools Adult and Continuing Education Unit (JCPSACE). Adult studentsâ progress will be measured by administration of pre and post tests using the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS). These records will be maintained by JCPSACE for a period of three years and will be compiled into a report of final outcomes. The computer skills classes and special interest classes will have teacher made pre and post skills assessments. The childrenâ s After-School Program will work with the childrenâ s parents and schools to track improvements in grades. The childrenâ s summer program will be measured by using teacher made, content specific pre and post tests and by analyzing students work. Results will be reported for each child and be maintained in a folder.
We believe that success breeds success. With the success of this project, we will conduct fundraising drives and seek contributions for the followers of the monastery, from community, and from those who have benefited from the classes and services provided. If the ESL classes are successful in serving 40 adults during the year, JCPSACE has agree to continue providing services in future years from their KYAE funds. This will provide a substantial amount of the funds needed to continue the program.
