Each Monday for 90 minutes a volunteer at the Esther Jackson Elementary School in Roswell, Georgia, teaches parents of young students to speak English. The effort is to reach out to parents as the area's population becomes more diverse and make them feel comfortable as a part of the school community.

Director of the TESOL program, Rebecca Oxford said, "If their parents' literacy is increasing, the parents are much more able to help their kids with their homework. The kids get a direct benefit in their classes having strong help at home." Oxford added, "As parents literacy in English increases, that of course helps their chances in their work situations and social integration in mainstream communities as well."

The article, entitled "Translating to a New Life" appeared in the May 11th edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Published Wednesday, Jun. 26, 2002