Who We Serve

Most adults entering the program cannot read basic signs or maps, complete job applications, read their children's report cards or understand basic instructions given by an employer.

The average School on Wheels student is 32 and reads at the 5th grade level. About 40% of the students have not completed the 8th grade. The remaining 60% have a high school degree. Some earned a bachelor's or a professsional degree in their native country. Regardless of their diverse personalities and educational levels, all of the students bring with them an enormous nervous enthusiasm for learning English.

Using easy-to-follow ESL books, tutors are trained to guide students as they learn pronunciation, new sentence patterns, vocabulary, reading and writing in practical English lessons. In these lessons, they learn how to fill out applications, speak with teachers and doctors,, open a bank account and other valuable life skills that will help them improve their quality of life.

In a typical year, approximately 35% of the students improve by three grade levels and 80% improve by one grade level.