Organizational example:

Name

VESL Immersion Program (VIP)
A collaboration among the City of San Francisco Department of Human Services (DHS), the Private Industry Council (PIC), Catholic Charities, Arriba Juntos, and the City College of San Francisco (CCSF)
San Francisco, California

Program Purpose

To help welfare recipients with limited English skills to improve vocational English through intensive vocational and workplace language immersion.

Program Description

VIP serves limited English proficient (beginning ESL students, levels 1-4) CalWORKs and PAES participants to acquire vocational English and workplace culture skills quickly in order to obtain and advance in employment. By combining the teaching of ESL with lessons on workplace terminology, culture, job search, soft skills and safety, the VIP program prepares its students to be successful at work. The program includes:

• 18 week, intensive, ESL, VESL and CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) 20 or 30 hours per week for levels 1, 2, 3 and 4.
• 18 week VESL including some computer skills as needed for the job search, 10 hours per week, combined with subsidized work experience through the Community Jobs Program (CJP) for level 5/6.
• The Vocational ESL component focuses on the language, functions and cultural understanding necessary to be successful in the job search and at work and on customer service skills. 
• Students work in teams to perform duties including recording and faxing daily attendance, photocopying, answering the telephone, taking messages, conducting surveys and charting results.

DHS provides student referrals, career counseling, coordination, and long-term case management; CCSF provides training, curriculum development and language assessment; community-based partners provide classroom facilities, case management, and job placement.

Progress

Enrollments for the 7/04-6/05 class totaled 193 and 92% of those students completed the training. Also, 81% reported an increase of one or more ESL level.

Note: The enrollment numbers reflect total number of students enrolled for 3 continuous sessions, not number of different people enrolled, i.e., one student who goes to VIP for all 3 students will be counted 3 times. The enrollment for each session is between 70 and 80.

Contact Information

Lynn Levey, VIP Coordinator
T: 415.558.1370, Lynn.Levey@sfgov.org

Auda Okutani, Arriba Juntos
T: 415.487.3247, aokutani@arribajuntos.org 

Denise McCarthy, City College of San Francisco VESL Coordinator
T: 415.241.2278, dmccarth@ccsf.edu

Gerry Souzis, Catholic Charities
T: 415.972.1307, gsouzis@cccyo.org