The Storehouse of Collin County is seeing huge demand for a brand new service: The Academy Education Program.
It’s designed to teach the rapidly growing North Texas immigrant population helpful skills.
“This Academy Program has been in development for about two years now,” said Ben Skye, Director of Communications and Culture for The Storehouse of Collin County. “So we did an assessment asking, ‘If we were to offer classes, what would be the most important classes to you and your family?’”
He says overwhelmingly, people said they were most interested in English classes, classes on how to navigate the American education system, and how to develop job skills.
With this in mind, The Storehouse of Collin County launched a pilot program over the summer, teaching 41 students from six countries— Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela— ESL classes.
Skye said more than half of the students enrolled have college degrees and are working in jobs they’re overqualified for.
“That says that they’re resilient, that they’re willing to adapt and do what it takes to support their families,” Skye said.
This fall, the nonprofit is launching more classes. And while they knew demand would be high, Skye said it has been overwhelmingly so.
“When we opened the online registration, within an hour we had over 400 individuals sign up for the nine different offerings that we have. In fact, the ESL class filled up almost immediately.”
The need shines a light on how important these classes are, Skye says
The Storehouse of Collin County is a nonprofit that relies on community support. For information about how to help their mission, click here.
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