Not many teachers can compare the classroom achievements of students and their parents.
LaVenture Middle School teacher Carl Hausauer is the exception.
Hausauer, in addition to his middle school duties, helps educate Spanish-speaking adults twice a week as part of the Mount Vernon School District’s Plazas Comunitarias program.
The program aims to help those with limited schooling use the Internet to gain primary and secondary education skills, while honing their English and computer competencies.
“It’s amazing to watch the (students) change over time,” Hausauer said. “People come in beat down, looking at their feet. After a month, people come in with smiles.”
Plazas use a state curriculum based on that of the Mexican government’s. Participating school districts involved in the state program, called CONEVyT, can set up small scale Plazas Comunitarias (community places) for adults to continue their education.
Courses in Washington are online only, requiring no text books. In Mount Vernon, participants show up at LaVenture’s library on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students can even access the classes from their homes or at any Internet-connected computer once they register.
Classes are held year round, and students can move at their own pace, but Hausauer said most of the time participants lack basic computer skills. He said only about 5 percent of students in the class know how to use a computer when they begin.
“It’s stuff we often take for granted,” Hausauer said.
Once students have basic computer skills, they can begin to work toward the goal they set when they enrolled.
Hausauer said many of his students want to obtain their GED. But since many of the students are migrant farm workers, they often follow the crops and may not come back to the class, he said.
During the summer, the Mount Vernon Plazas Comunitarias attracts between 15-20 people per day. About 12 students on average show up for winter classes, Hausauer said.
Classes are free for students. The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Mexican government have an agreement in place to subsidize tests.
Mount Vernon has been offering adult-education courses through Plazas Comunitarias since summer 2006.
Childcare is provided through Skagit Literacy, part of the Skagit County Community Action Agency.
For more information about the program, contact Hausauer at 360-428-6116 or 360-428-5911.
