Adult Education 

NB4HS adult education programs are designed for Haitian immigrants living in Rhode Island, who comprise 95% of our program participants. Haitian-Creole is the primary language of Haitians, with some people also speaking French. 

 

English is not taught in  Haitian schools.  Learning is significantly challenging in part because of language and literacy barriers and because of the challenges in confronting a new setting and culture in the US. Pressing needs and commitments in terms of work, family and other obligations, also present challenges to learning; language and literacy learning challenges are further exacerbated by a very low literacy rate  amongst Haitians (Haiti has the lowest literacy rate in the Western Hemisphere at 60%).

 

The agency has tailored its adult education program design to meet these challenges.  Utilizing a dual-language approach, NB4HS is able to meet students at their points of readiness, simultaneously addressing student language strengths and needs as they progress towards the goal of preparation for and entry into gainful employment in an English-speaking work environment.

 

NB4HS presently has four instructors - three for language instruction and one teaching computer literacy. Our teachers are highly experienced adult educators, including three who speak Haitian Creole, French and English, and a supervising  instructor with a master’s in Cross-Cultural Studies and English as a Second Language, who has published extensively on multilingual learners and provided ESOL instruction in various settings since 1980.