By helping employees become more fluent in English, the WHEEL program is making local businesses safer and more efficient.
Is this a defense of illegal immigration? Hardly. Laws are there for a reason, after all, but our economy depends on a steady supply of inexpensive labor, and it has to come from somewhere. This is a reality check. “American” goods and services are often supplied and made by hands not born in America
The Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce’s WHEEL (Worksite Held Employee English Learning) program is designed to help those hands prosper in American culture. The late Mike Hauser, while CEO of the Chamber, advocated for programs that created opportunities for our future workforce, some of whom wouldn’t speak English as their first language.
Bob Reynolds was inspired by Hauser’s vision. Reynolds is with Innovative Business Solutions and is an active volunteer. “I was really captured by Mike’s vision of a Sonoma County workforce looking into the future. He saw our Hispanic population as an asset to our county—if we could close the achievement gap in our schools.”
Hauser challenged the chamber to get involved in closing the achievement gap in education between those who speak English and those who don’t. What’s now called the “Mike Hauser Algebra Academy” is a summer program for those entering eighth or ninth grade. Sixty students took part this year, each spending three weeks at partner companies like Agilent, Medtronic, JDSU and PG&E. Working with local educators, the Algebra Academy helps introduce students to how math is used in real world, high-tech jobs (algebra is the focus, because it’s often the gatekeeper course for college students).
“The Chamber of Commerce did a good job with the Algebra Academy, but we hadn’t done anything yet with adults,” says Reynolds. “We wanted to do something at the worksite.”
Inventing the WHEEL
In 2008, Reynolds and a group of like-minded individuals, including Dean Kerstetter of Filtration Group, Carmen Myers of the California Parenting Institute, the late Bill Tanner of the California Human Development Corp. and others, approached the chamber workforce development committee with an idea to offer services to working adults and their families. The idea was favorably received, and what would become WHEEL began to attract supporters. The first program took place at Filtration Group, a manufacturer with a plant in Santa Rosa.
Filtration Group started with a Literacy Fiesta, a program of the California Parenting Institute. The event took place on a Saturday and all Filtration Group employees and their families were invited. “There were 150 people there on a Saturday morning!” says Reynolds. Parents went home with educational materials and activities they could do with their children to promote English literacy in the home.
The Literacy Fiesta isn’t the only California Parenting Institute program under the WHEEL umbrella. Programs aimed at children aged zero to 5, a books to work exchange program, literacy education and practice are all parts of WHEEL.
Other organizations are also involved, including the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County and Redwood Credit Union. A key factor in the program’s effectiveness is how its organizers sought out existing programs to partner with instead if reinventing, the you-know-what (pun intended).
Sonoma County schools are key partners in WHEEL. Programs that focus on a child’s preparedness for school are especially important in a time of increased class sizes and decreased funding to public education. “Parents like this, they want things to be better for their children’s lives,” says Bass, “and they want to be engaged in their child’s education.”
Reynolds agrees. “Schools and parents were excited to get involved to encourage parents to read to their children,” he says.
The most engaging aspect of WHEEL is surely the adult English learning classes offered through local employers. For the first two years, the English classes were free through partnership with Lewis Adult School, but stopped when that institution closed. That funding dried up, but the classes continue by using teachers hired by the chamber. Employers either fully or partly subsidize the class fees and provide a classroom space if they can.
Filtration Group sponsored the first English classes through WHEEL, which are now in their third year. Almost half of Filtration Group’s 84 employees take advantage of the classes, which are held in two-hour blocks, twice a week. The chamber’s Bass helps coordinate the program and comments, “Businesses see immediate return on investment, in lower absenteeism, higher productivity and improved employee morale.”
At first, Filtration Group paid for the teacher and for wages for employees to attend, but had to cut back when grant funding dried up. Even with employees asked to share the cost, enrollment is still at 40, according to Alison Huber, plant manager at Filtration Group. “We ask that the employees contribute some, and we pay an hour of their wages,” says Huber, who appreciates the flexibility of the WHEEL concept. “A company can work this any way they want.”
Huber says she sees: “More engagement with employees, productivity gains, increased safety…we’re seeing a whole different level of engagement.” Huber also says her employees now have a greater understanding of why and how quality is measured, and she sees improvement there.
Filtration Group employees have taken their knowledge further than their classes. One has been promoted to more responsibility and another is attending community college after work.
“I was able to witness the impact of this program at Filtration Group first-hand,” says Reynolds. “All these things we take for granted because we speak English…participants feel more engaged now, more a part of society.”
Reynolds witnessed what took place after the first year of the English language classes. “People drew pictures of what the program meant to them. They drew moving images of themselves at the pharmacy, knowing they had gotten the right medicine; at the post office; the library—they drew pictures of themselves feeling free.”
Picking up speed
Pacific Landscapes is in its first year with the program and held a graduation ceremony for its first class at the end of August. Armando Garcia-Davila, human resources manager for Pacific Landscapes, has experience in two worlds. A published writer and poet in both Spanish and English, Garcia-Davila is the first contact an employee has with Pacific Landscapes. He interviews prospective employees, hires them, explains company policies, gives them their first uniform and gets them established at the company.
Garcia-Davila heard about the WHEEL program through a letter he received from the chamber. “I met with Kelly Bass [of the Chamber] and Robin Bartholow of the North Coast Builders Exchange where the classes are being held. I loved the idea and spoke with the company’s employees whose first language is Spanish. To my surprise and delight, 20 signed up for the classes that were to meet from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July and August. Some employees weren’t able to participate because they hold down a second job, and another employee was already taking ESL classes at the junior college.”
Pacific Landscapes owners David Penry and Darryl Orr agreed to pay for half the class fee of $100 per student. Garcia-Davila arranged to have two $25 payments separated by a month taken from the participant’s paychecks. “The guys don’t make much money, and I wanted to make it as financially painless as possible.”
Pacific Landscapes began to see benefits right away. With so many employees in the field, each employee becomes the face of the company for clients, and improved communication improves the company’s image. It also helps internally. “I often get a call from supervisors saying they’re not sure if an employee understood them, or if they understood the employee,” says Garcia-Davila.
For some employees, the achievements in the English classes have deep significance. “There are guys in there that, for all intents and purposes, don’t speak any English—and they’re marginally literate even in Spanish,” explains Garcia-Davila. “At the end of this course, they’ll be handed a diploma. It might be the first time they’ve ever been handed a certificate besides their ID that has their name on it, the first time they’ve had this sort of accomplishment.”
Garcia-Davila heads out to the yard after work on class days to encourage the students not to skip class. He also attends each class, sometimes helping students as well.
“God bless them for sticking it out!” exclaims Garcia-Davila. “They come off an eight-hour day in the sun, do without dinner to go to class, and they really apply themselves. Some of the more proficient guys help those who aren’t getting it yet. It’s really endearing to see.”
Rolling right along
The chamber’s Bass notes that the English classes can be tailored to include terminology specific to that employer, especially safety-related terms. Bass says “about 10” businesses are involved in WHEEL at the moment, and she’s excited to report that Amy’s Kitchen, a large organic food manufacturer, has shown an interest in the program and is beginning to work with WHEEL to design a custom program that will work best for them.
Other aspects of WHEEL include financial literacy classes conducted by Redwood Credit Union staff and a community service component conducted with assistance from the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County. Filtration Group employees participated in a food drive to benefit the Redwood Empire Food Bank. “That food drive really empowered them, made them feel like they were giving something back to our community,” says Reynolds.
The first financial literacy class will be offered this fall to employees of Filtration Group. Lee Alderman, assistant vice president of educational development for Redwood Credit Union, said the program will consist of four hours of training, delivered in Spanish, with both Spanish and English handouts. “This program is a perfect fit for us and our mission to serve the best interests of our members and our communities,” says Alderman. “We want to not only help people understand their financial opportunities but also make sure they aren’t preyed upon.”
“It’s been amazing to be part of WHEEL and watch it grow,” Bass says, “but it’s not possible without community partners, businesses that have been willing to tell us what works and what doesn’t.”
From the employees’ side: “These are fine, hard-working, very humble people,” says Garcia-Davila. “Our company wants to see them advance in their company and in this culture.”
