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In the warm basement of St. Peter Martyr
Church last week, eight women and one man
put down their pencils, settled back in
their folding chairs and turned their
attention toward a woman behind a stack of
books.
"These are to improve your English at
school, at work and with your children,"
Diana Mason told the Spanish-speaking
students of the bilingual dictionaries,
which each will receive by enrolling in a
community-based English tutoring class
through Pittsburg Adult Education Center.
"Buena suerte a todos" (Good luck to all)
The students opened the volumes and moved
their fingers across the pages, and then
applauded. They said they were humbled and
flattered by the gift.
"With this, I can learn more," said Ana Rosa
Preciado of Pittsburg, who said improving
her English will help her find work.
Pittsburg's Rotary Club, which for more than
a decade has raised money to give away
dictionaries to Pittsburg third-graders and
thesauruses to ninth-graders, is now giving
away Spanish-English dictionaries to adults
enrolled in English classes.
The club is spending about $1,000 to order
100 of the books, which its members recently
began giving away. In addition to St. Peter
Martyr, classes are offered at Grace
Lutheran Church and Parkside, Los Medanos
and Willow Cove elementary schools. Ten to
15 students are enrolled at each site.
"Vocabulary is the most important thing that
these students can do," said Paulette Lagana,
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coordinator of the classes. Some students
might not have
been in a classroom since the first or second
grade, she said, and "these dictionaries can
help, regardless of how much education each
student has had."
Barbara Wilson, superintendent of the
Pittsburg Unified School District, said
Rotary members approached her with the idea
and together they discussed how to reach the
most Spanish-speakers who would use and
appreciate the dictionaries. At one point,
Rotary members said, they considered giving
one book to every family. Then someone
suggested the classes.
"We thought, if we give it to these people,
it will definitely be used," Mason said. The
students in the free classes were the best
option, he said, based on the presumption
that they were interested in improving their
language skills.
Gloria Vargas of Pittsburg said she had
never seen a bilingual dictionary before she
was given one in a class. Classmate Marta
Jimenez said the book will be useful not
just for her but also for her 14-month-old
son, Lionel.
"When he goes to school," she said, "I want
to help him with his homework."
Laurie Phillips covers Pittsburg and Bay
Point. Reach her at 925-779-7164 or
lphillips@bayareanewsgroup.com
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