Santa Ana Chamber Promotes Free English Classes

The Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce has kicked off a $4.5 million campaign to get residents to learn English. Eight in every 10 Santa Ana residents speak English at home. KPCC Orange County Reporter Susan Valot has the story.

[Sound of shopping carts outside store]

Susan Valot: Mostly Spanish-speaking shoppers come and go from Big Saver Foods. The market's on 17th Street, which cuts through the northern part of Santa Ana. The shelves at Big Saver are stocked with Latino specialty items, like pork rinds, tortillas, and all sorts of chilis and peppers.

Outside, Jimmy Isais and his crew are handing out flyers and tote bags to shoppers. They're talking about Santa Ana's free English as a Second Language classes.

[Sound of Jimmy Isais talking in Spanish to a shopper]

Valot: The twice-a-week trips to stores and bus stops are part of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce's $4.5 million "English Works," or "Saber para Subir," marketing campaign.

The goal's to get 50,000 residents to learn English over the next four years. Mike Metzler is the president of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce.

Mike Metzler: We concluded from some research that both the businesses and our local residents both were crying for the ability to learn English. And so we realized businesses need more workers who can speak English. Our local residents want to learn English to get those jobs.

Valot: As it is, U.S. Census figures show more than half of Santa Ana's residents "speak English less than well." Metzler says for the Chamber of Commerce, it comes down to the local economy.

Metzler: When you have a growing population and a decreasing per capita income average, every economist in the world will tell you that's a disaster in the making. So we have to change that per capita income average, and that means we have to give people the skills and the ability to earn more income for more meaningful jobs, and the basic skill of learning the language of English is the first step.

Valot: So the Chamber of Commerce is putting ads on buses, at bus stops, and on billboards to get the word out about the free English classes. Crews with flyers hit festivals and supermarkets.

[Sound of a crew member approaching a shopper]

Valot: Mayra Salto is hauling her groceries out of Big Saver Foods. She says didn't know about the free classes, but she's interested in learning English. Salto says learning the language would help her get a better job and to communicate when she goes to the doctor. She says it would also let her help her kids out with school.

[Sound of teacher and students in class]

Valot: The Rancho Santiago Community College District has offered the free English classes for years. But district chancellor Eddie Hernandez says this time around, it's different. He says it's the first time the college, chamber of commerce, and city are working together to promote the classes.

Eddie Hernandez: Our sense is that if we can educate a person, we educate the whole family. And it sort of ripples through the community.

Valot: The community college district, chamber of commerce, and the local United Way are pitching in money to help pay for the campaign. And city staff is researching possible state and federal grants for the program.

That's where anti-illegal-immigration activist Lupe Moreno wants to draw the line, because the classes don't check the immigration status of students. The longtime Santa Ana resident agrees the idea behind the campaign is good, though.

Lupe Moreno:The only thing that I do not like is that they are not checking legal status. We are not supposed to be helping, aiding and abetting, illegal aliens in any way. And that upsets me.

Valot: The Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce says it's gotten only a few negative calls about the "English Works" campaign. But the officials say they've fielded calls from all over the country from local leaders interested in starting similar programs in their cities and towns.