Nanuet Girl Scout Completes Gold Award by Teaching ESL Parents

(By Antoinette Flynn)

Nanuet Senior Girl Scout Mary Flynn completed her Gold Award Project after more than eight months of teaching ESL (English as a second language) parents the English language. She worked through the Nanuet Family Resource Center (NFRC) with director RoseAnn Mercado as her Project Advisor.

Mary enhanced the original program run by the NFRC called the Mighty Four’s Playgroup that helped children that are 4 years old who didn’t have the opportunity to attend UPK in the Nanuet community. Many of these pre-school students are ESL, and Mary included the parents of these children in her program. In addition to the parents of pre-schoolers, the program was also opened up to ESL parents of any kindergarten students. Every Monday, the parents were taught the lessons their children would be learning that week, using the Wilson’s Fundations method. With this knowledge, the parents could help their children with their work at home. This program not only benefited the parents learning more English, but it provides their children with extra support and help at home to be as successful as possible.

Mary worked with Anne Chen, the Vice Principal of both G.W. Miller Elementary School and Highview, along with Ana Hedburg, school psychologist fluent in Spanish, each Monday to teach the parents in her program.  Mary also worked through the NFRC to get in contact with the parents in her program and provide school supplies, clothes, toys, and food for families in Nanuet.

To finish her project, Mary held a graduation on June 3rd, 2013, for the 20 parents in her program and also the pre-schoolers that attended Monday night classes. As the pre-schoolers graduated, proud parents took pictures and smiled. When it was time for the parents to graduate, siblings of the pre-schoolers stepped in and took pictures of their parents. This program had a bigger effect on the participants than being handed a piece of paper saying they graduated, it gave them the knowledge and confidence they need to communicate effectively. It meant something to each member of each family in the NFRC.

For more information about the NFRC, visit:http://www.nanuetfrc.org/