These classes are an indication of how many immigrants are realizing that learning English is the most important thing they have to do to succeed in this country. DP
By Father William Ayres, Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com)
CatholicOnline: PHILADELPHIA - As the debate over U.S. immigration policies continues to rage in the nation's capital, Catholic-run centers in Philadelphia that teach English as a second language are struggling to meet the demand of immigrants determined to learn it.
A survey released by the Pew Hispanic Center June 7 showed that 57 percent of Latino immigrants feel it is necessary to learn English to be part of American society. Further, 92 percent of Latinos believe it is very important that the children of immigrants be taught English, the study found.
And that percentage reaches 96 percent when only foreign-born Latinos are surveyed -- a higher percentage than whites (87 percent) or blacks (83 percent) who believe it.
The experience of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Philadelphia bear out those numbers.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Literacy Center has two campuses, at Incarnation of Our Lord Parish and St. Francis de Sales Parish. The Sisters of St. Joseph run the Welcome Center, a block from Ascension of Our Lord Church in Philadelphia.
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