As the mother of two disabled sons, the Galena Park limited English-speaking mother had little knowledge of life outside her home and immediate neighborhood. Her late husband took care of business affairs. She couldn't write a check. She didn't know English.
"In order to acquire the skills she needed for caring for her family, Lina enrolled in HCDE's English as a second language classes in January 2002 and has attended classes regularly since then," said her teacher, Sheila Bas. "Through hard work and persistence, Lina has progressed from low-intermediate to advanced classes in English."
Students are nominated for induction into NAEHS by their teachers and live in neighborhoods through greater Harris County. Students are given positive recommendations for employment and educational advancement recommendations as result of the inductions. They receive a pin and certificate at the ceremony. GED graduates receive a gold honor cord to wear during graduation.
"Our adult students are dedicated and eager to learn when they come into our classes," said HCDE Adult Education director Janell Baker. "There are so many success stories, and we are honored to educate the 13,000 adults we serve each year."
HCDE serves students through its Adult Education Irvington Learning Center, 6515 Irvington, and from learning centers and classrooms located in urban and suburban areas such as Spring Branch, Katy, Pasadena, Baytown, Klein and Galena Park. In total, 90 satellite locations in 15 school districts serve the adults.
Classes include English as a second language, adult basic education, adult secondary education, citizenship, workplace literacy, job readiness and GED curriculum. Programs are federally and state funded and serve the disabled, dropouts, single parents, the undereducated, the homeless, the unemployed and immigrants with limited English skills.
The following students were inducted into NAEHS in 2008:
Josefina Almaguer, Veronica Arreola, Wei-Ming Chen, Gooyen Chow, Jovanna Essary, Lina Fernandez, Maria Garcia, Norma Garcia, Noel Gonzales, Maria Gonzalez, Mirna Hernandez and Patricia Irabeta. Also inducted were Shian-Chuch Liu, Leoncio Lopez, Urbano Lux, Rachel Martinez, Martha Moreno, Maria Rodriguez, Mario Ernesto Torres, Gerardo Uribe and Mercedes Vargas.
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