A 9-week program beginning early in 2013, WHEEL is an effort by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and its partner, the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, to increase English language skills for agricultural employees. The many benefits of this program include those related to work safety, productivity, morale, and attendance, as well as job fulfillment, efficiency, self-confidence, and adaptability for employees. The WHEEL program is designed to give agricultural employees a chance to better engage in the community through superior language skills and volunteer opportunities.
Classes in the WHEEL program are free of charge for both Farm Bureau members and non-Farm Bureau members. Also, the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce will custom design language plans for specific businesses, in order for employers and employees alike to get the most out of the program’s elements.
Traditional WHEEL program elements, which may or may not be incorporated into every individual business’ English language learning plan, include Celebrando la Lectura, Family Literacy Workshops, School Engagement, English Classes, Financial Literacy, and Community Service.
Celebrando la Lectura
This celebratory portion of the program is meant to deliver details on the other program elements, as well as dependent care information and low-income support programs and services. Another component of every Celebrando la Lectura is an hour-long session that engages participants in reading to their children and teaching them through age-appropriate books, which are distributed during the session.
Family Literacy Workshops
Offered by the Community Action Partnership Sonoma County, the Family Literacy Workshop element consists of (6) hour-long classes designed to teach family literacy to parents in the workplace. By supporting these parents as the primary educators of their own children, the classes not only improve the family literacy element overall, but also the English skills and employability of the parents themselves.
School Engagement
This element is intended to connect employees with the school representatives within their local school districts. These local representatives come from the schools in which the employees’ children attend, so they are able to give tips and hints to parents to aid them in helping their children succeed academically.
English Classes
English classes take place on varying days during after hours at the workplace. English teachers spend approximately 4 hours per week with employees, teaching them industry-specific language and more.
Financial Literacy
Immensely important financial topics are discussed within this program element, including buying a home or car, managing money and bank accounts, and budgeting for the household.
Community Service
This program element encourages community participation through the setup of specific arrangements for employees to become helpful volunteers on any numbers of projects and efforts.
WHEEL program classes occur between 4-6 p.m. at Farm Bureau, located at 970 Piner Road in Santa Rosa, and are currently scheduled for February 11, 12, 19, 25, 26; March 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19; and April 1, 2, 8, 9, 15. Contact the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce by phone at (707) 545-1414 or by email at info@santarosachamber.com to register and to learn more about the program dates.
You must log in to post a comment.