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Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce's ESOL Initiative

Background
The 2000 Census confirmed that the Town of Herndon, a suburb of Washington, DC, in Northern Virginia, had dramatically changed. According to the Census, its foreign-born population had climbed over 36%. This is a remarkable number for the Washington area--even for Fairfax County, where the percentage of foreign born was nearly 25%--and is the highest of any municipality in the metropolitan area. The Hispanic foreign-born minority in Herndon is the largest at 19%, followed by South Asians. There are also immigrants from the Middle East and elsewhere. More complexity lies behind these statistics: the Hispanic population in Herndon is from Central and South America, with a large asylum-based population from El Salvador. The Salvadorans often have low literacy rates while Herndon's significant South Asian population is primarily employed in the booming high tech industry. Thus, the newcomer population is very heterogeneous, culturally, linguistically and socio-economically. In addition, the rapid changes in the composition of the local population are taxing Herndon's social service and education infrastructure, and raising questions about how best to integrate a new population with limited English skills into the social and economic fabric of the town.

Challenge
Against this backdrop, the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce got involved. Its interest was in ensuring the continued growth of the local economy while simultaneously addressing the integration issues faced by the workforce. In 2002, in order to gain more clarity on the issue, the Chamber sponsored two multicultural summits on ethnic relations. These summits drew numerous participants from a variety of Northern Virginia constituencies, from public officials to planning departments to community-based organizations, in order to identify the greatest needs and to solicit recommendations for how to address them. The consensus was that English language acquisition was the single greatest challenge to overcome in order to successfully assimilate into the community. The Chamber decided to focus its energies there.

Solution
The Chamber decided to partner with the Northern Virginia Community College and the Fairfax County Public Schools Continuing Education Department and applied for a workforce training grant from the local community foundation, the Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants, to underwrite an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) program. The grant money received from the foundation was a matching grant, which was supplemented by contributions from Chamber members. The Herndon Chamber's program combined "train-the-trainer" classes and beginner English classes to address a two-pronged problem: the shortage of English teachers and the demand for basic workplace English skills for newcomers working in the construction and landscaping industries. In 2005, the Chamber offered two beginner and one advanced "train-the-trainer" classes. Thirty-one teachers, drawn from the community, have graduated from these classes to date. For more on the courses offered, CLICK HERE.

In addition, the Chamber launched two ESOL classes for newcomers in the fall of 2005. The construction English class meets twice a week for six weeks and the landscaping class twice a week for five weeks. In order to encourage participation, the classes are held in the early evening, right after work and Chamber member restaurants such as Dominos and Papa John's provide dinner free of charge. To create a further incentive, free tools will be offered to those participants who complete the course. Classes are held at the Neighborhood Resource Center, a joint project of the Town of Herndon and Fairfax County, founded in 1999. The Center was created to provide social services to newcomers and others in need with the goal of increasing social and economic integration and promoting self-sufficiency. .

Building on its success with its 2005 classes, with renewed funding the Chamber will continue its programs in 2006, offering English classes for those working in landscaping and construction. It also plans to develop new curricula to assist workers in the hospitality, restaurant, and healthcare industries.

Lessons Learned

·         Engage the community, broadly defined, in an honest dialogue about how best to address the consequences of rapid demographic change and the special needs of newcomers.

·         If focusing on English skills, develop strong partnerships with area community colleges, schools, and community-based organizations to design strong and relevant curricula and gain the confidence of the newcomers themselves. Community organizations will provide a critical link to the newcomer population to encourage their participation in English classes.

·         Design ESOL class schedules with incentives to promote attendance and participation by newcomers.

Those wishing more information about the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce programs can contact Suzanne Fulton, Communications Manager at communications(AT)dullesregionalchamber(DOT)org or Eileen Curtis at ecurtis(AT)dullesregionalchamber(DOT)org.