Hope Learning Center

Response to What We Hear in the Community

All of Hope Community’s work is centered in our long-time relationship to the very diverse, low-income community around us. One of Hope’s major Community Listening Projects focused on education and jobs.

Large numbers of people have been so marginalized from mainstream education that they are fearful of educational institutions and insecure about their own abilities. At the same time, education is always central in people’s hopes and their vision for themselves, their families and their communities.

In 2003 we significantly expanded the Hope Learning Center in response to the community. Now over 150 adults are involved each year in:

English Language Distance Learning Program
Basic skills classes in reading, writing, math and computer skills
Classes through partnerships

$Math Tutoring$

Photo by O'neil Nyemah

Following are some of the Hope principles emerging about this work:

Our cooperative learning model includes immigrants and native English speakers in the same classes. From a HLC teacher, “…cooperative learning teaches something far more important than grammar. It stresses our interdependence, and that we all succeed when an individual succeeds.”
The adult students have a strong emotional and cultural connection to this diverse community. Finding education they need in a place that is community connected and welcoming is important, they tell us.
Community connection, responsibility and accountability are core values and are integrated in all our learning. Students have an opportunity to be more than a learner. Many are volunteers or peer tutors.
We work to provide “Responsive Education” – responding to the constant learning of students and staff. One of our teachers calls it Educational Participatory Democracy.
We are beginning to connect the Hope Learning Center more directly to the broader mission of Hope by engaging the participants as community members, not just students.