History of SPALC
SPALC began in 1988 with a focus on “adults who are non-readers or poor readers and adults with low math skills.” English was the native language of the first students, and the goal was for them to improve reading and writing skills in practical matters, complete the GED, participate in the education of their children, enjoy reading, and make informed choices in voting and participating in civic life of the community.
In 1996, the Council decided to hand the program operations and administration over to the Madison Area Technical College. SPALC began exploring taking back the program in October 2001 and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2002, but the program was still being led by a person from MATC. By this time, most students were native Spanish speakers, and the delivery format was entirely group classes held at the Community Education Center in Sauk City and at the St. Vincent de Paul Community Resource Center in Prairie du Sac. One part of the program was a Madre a Madre class focused on healthy pregnancy.
Between 2001 and 2004, the council had a difficult time recruiting and retaining board members. The president at that time resigned after serving two terms, citing a lack of leadership core for the council. He stated, “It is time for us to sink or swim...without any definite leadership, the SPALC as we know it will dissolve.” Also, the numbers in the group classes decreased significantly over this time period, and there was little active recruiting of either students or tutors. However, a small group of people worked to keep the council viable. They switched the delivery mode to a 1:1 tutoring format. A Program Coordinator was appointed. One of the board members volunteered to lead a walk-in group class. The student population remained, for the most part, English Language Learners (ELLs), and for the majority of these adults, Spanish was their native language. At the time, the home country of most was Mexico.
In February 2011, the Program Coordinator held a re-organizational meeting, and a new board was formed and became active by April 2011. Monthly collection of census data began in May 2011: three tutors were matched with four students. In addition, two tutors offered a walk-in group class with 3-4 regular attendees and an occasional drop-in student. Soon, three tutors and 20 students were on the waiting list to be matched. The last tutor preparation workshop had been held in 2008. The first priority of the new board was to recruit and prepare tutors. An in-house tutor preparation workshop was developed over the summer of 2011. Since November 2011, tutor preparation workshops have been offered every fall and more often when appropriate.
In 1996, the Council decided to hand the program operations and administration over to the Madison Area Technical College. SPALC began exploring taking back the program in October 2001 and was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2002, but the program was still being led by a person from MATC. By this time, most students were native Spanish speakers, and the delivery format was entirely group classes held at the Community Education Center in Sauk City and at the St. Vincent de Paul Community Resource Center in Prairie du Sac. One part of the program was a Madre a Madre class focused on healthy pregnancy.
Between 2001 and 2004, the council had a difficult time recruiting and retaining board members. The president at that time resigned after serving two terms, citing a lack of leadership core for the council. He stated, “It is time for us to sink or swim...without any definite leadership, the SPALC as we know it will dissolve.” Also, the numbers in the group classes decreased significantly over this time period, and there was little active recruiting of either students or tutors. However, a small group of people worked to keep the council viable. They switched the delivery mode to a 1:1 tutoring format. A Program Coordinator was appointed. One of the board members volunteered to lead a walk-in group class. The student population remained, for the most part, English Language Learners (ELLs), and for the majority of these adults, Spanish was their native language. At the time, the home country of most was Mexico.
In February 2011, the Program Coordinator held a re-organizational meeting, and a new board was formed and became active by April 2011. Monthly collection of census data began in May 2011: three tutors were matched with four students. In addition, two tutors offered a walk-in group class with 3-4 regular attendees and an occasional drop-in student. Soon, three tutors and 20 students were on the waiting list to be matched. The last tutor preparation workshop had been held in 2008. The first priority of the new board was to recruit and prepare tutors. An in-house tutor preparation workshop was developed over the summer of 2011. Since November 2011, tutor preparation workshops have been offered every fall and more often when appropriate.
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