MILWAUKEE — Journey House has partnered with the Consulate General of Mexico in Milwaukee to help Spanish-speaking adults advance their education.
Plaza Communitarians is a program that helps them receive elementary school education. We’ll give you the tools you need to finally get your GED.
Juan Lopez has been a teacher in the program at Journey House for eight years. Most days, he reviews lessons virtually with his students.
“In this lesson, we learned the basic skills of understanding the main idea and supporting details,” Lopez said. “From there, students develop other skills such as comparing and contrasting and making inferences and conclusions.”
Lopez believes the need for this program will grow over time.
He said that over the past decade, fewer people from Latin American countries have earned a secondary education or high school diploma before coming to the United States.
He also said it was particularly affecting one demographic.
“My experience working at Journey House not only helped students earn their GEDs, but also helped women become more independent and achieve their education and workforce goals,” Lopez said. Told.
One of those students is Teresa de la Cruz. Dela Cruz came to Milwaukee from Mexico 21 years ago.
She said registering at Plaza Comunitarias was a top priority for her now that she finally had the opportunity.
Dela Cruz said she was only able to finish fifth grade before her family moved to another town in Mexico. She explained that when she arrived in her new community, her nearest school was an hour’s walk from her home.
Her father told her that all she needed was to be able to read and write.
Delacruz said she was disappointed not to be able to attend school, but was grateful for continuing her education. She believes the program helped her with math, encouraged her to try new things, and made her feel like she could reach a higher level of education.
Although she is close to getting her GED, Lopez said she and all of his students still have a lot of work to do.
“Not only do we prepare students to pass tests, but we also prepare them to develop other skills to compete in the workforce and higher education,” Lopez said.
Mr. Lopez said he is very proud to see his students succeed. For him, it’s about teaching them how to learn so they can take on any challenge.