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Local News - Young migrant workers add ESL classes in Mullica after long days in farm fields

AC Press

It's about 8 p.m. and migrant workers are still toiling away on a hot summer night at Mullica Township Middle School, with English, Spanish and Creole spoken aloud in various accents. But the work they're doing is not the type you might expect.

In the case of two young adults - Carlos Cantarero, 20, and Andres Mateo, 19 - they learned a....Continue Reading



basic lesson that could one day save their lives.

"What's this?" teacher Denise Heinz said while pointing to a picture.

"Fire," they said.

"Who are you going to call?"

"Fire department," they said. The pair then repeated the same scenario with the police over a stolen wallet and slowly figured out how to fill out an emergency report.

Teacher Kerelle Pierre-Jacques, of Hammonton, helped Jose Ortiz, 14, of Zacateca, Mexico, and Hammonton, during computer class recently.

Cantarero and Mateo were just two out of 75 seasonal Hammonton blueberry farm workers who enrolled in a young adult English as Second Language program. Every summer, hundreds of migrant workers - some hailing from as far away as Haiti, Mexico and Guatemala - flock to the Blueberry Capital of the World to pick fruits and tend the bushes. Those who are younger than 21 can broaden their education, thanks to the ESL program run by the Gloucester County Special Services School District. The Mullica program, which ran in July, and its sister programs at Cumberland County Community College and on distant farms, are paid for using federal Migrant Education Program funds distributed by the state Department of Education.

The program's goal is to give the students "survival English" and help them master important tasks, such as counting money, buying groceries or going to the hospital, said Cornelio Sabio, the site supervisor. Flash cards, fake yellow dollar bills and the computer version of the Oxford Picture Dictionary are some of the tools used in the classroom. On the final day, the students received a certificate of completion and a bilingual dictionary.

Cantarero, who previously lived in Honduras and Florida, has been in the ESL program for two summers. With the help of a translator, Cantarero said he loves the classes and the computers because the teacher "explains everything so everyone could understand."

"In the farm, there's nothing to do," he said. "And over here, it's fun to learn English."

Mateo, a newcomer to the program, said the best part of the lessons was learning the months of the year and days of the week. The most useful phrase? "What is my name in English," said Mateo, who previously lived in Guatemala and Decatur, Ala.

The teacher, Heinz, who lives in Hammonton, has also been involved in the program for two years, and she enjoys helping students who are more independent and are already living on their own. "It's nice to see people want to come in (to school)," she said. "And they seem to learn pretty quickly."

The ESL students had a tough schedule, Sabio said. Most of them woke up before dawn to work long shifts in the Hammonton blueberry fields. They rushed back to their home or housing barracks at about 5 p.m., cleaned up, then attended night school for about three hours per day. The ESL program provides busing and dinner. All of the students also get a health, eye and dental check-up, and, in some cases, dental work and new glasses.

The young adult ESL program has been in Mullica for six years. Previous incarnations were held at the blueberry farms during the 1990s, as well as the Presbyterian Church at Hammonton and Notre Dame Regional School in Newfield, said Jose Jacobo, an ESL program recruiter and math coach with the Atlantic City school district.

Jacobo said holding the ESL program in a school setting helps the students concentrate better. The lessons they learn can be applied to a variety of practical situations, Jacobo said, such as finding a job or getting medical assistance.

"What I like about it is we're offering them a free education to improve their lives," Jacobo said. "When they go to the doctor, they're free of the mercy of a translator. It's a plus."

By the last week of July, many students already left Hammonton for other agricultural work because the blueberry crop ripened early due to the hot weather, Sabio said. Some have moved to Bridgeton for jobs with the tomato crop and others have gone to Maine and Michigan to pick blueberries or to Florida to pick oranges.

Two siblings who plan to stay in Hammonton and find other work are Daniel and Stephanie Demoncy, teenagers who grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Fort Pierce, Fla.

The Demoncys have been in the ESL program for two summers. Daniel, 17, and Stephanie, 19, with some translation by computer teacher Karelle Pierre-Jacques, said they found the class useful and it made it a little bit easier getting around Hammonton this year.

Daniel said the most important lessons he learned was about money, how to handle and count it, and about different foods, like a pineapple. Stephanie said she appreciated getting new eyeglasses and visiting a doctor and a dentist.

Pierre-Jacques, who also works as a media specialist at Hammonton Middle School, has taught the ESL program for four years. She said she finds it rewarding to reach out to her students and help them improve their language skills. "It's like helping out a fellow countryman," she said. "It's a really neat program."

Contact Michelle Lee:  609-272-7256  MLee@pressofac.com

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