BEACON - Benedictine Education Assistance Community Outreach to Neighbors

The Benedictine Education Assistance Community Outreach to Neighbors (BEACON) is a non-profit organization headquarters in Bristow, VA. Founded by Sister Eileen Heaps in 1992 because there was a literacy need for addressing the local Hispanic community of Manassas, Manassas City, Manassas Park, and Western Prince William County, the mission of BEACON is to assist foreign born adults in obtaining High School Equivalency or GED certification; increase the Adult literacy rate such as basic reading comprehension and general math skills; and introduce the English Language through programs such as English as Second Language (ESL) to foreign born residents.  The program eventually grew and has served hundreds of students.

 
Today, the organization has recently been awarded funding support from the Giving Circle of Hope, a philanthropy organization based in Reston, VA for their humanitarian and educational efforts throughout the Prince William County. Deborah Woods, Executive Director, described the classroom activities which are held in the Manassas local community centers, churches, and SERVE. The classes are generally offered in the mornings and evenings, and occasionally during the weekends. BEACON recognizes that transportation is a major obstacle for most students and they have made great strides in coordinating logistics for most students.   This organization allows adults learners to take their children with them during classroom session provided the child is at least four years old. BEACON understands that child care service is a determining factor for attendance and they generally do not encourage parents to bring their children. However, BEACON understands the students’ needs are and they are willing to take them in provided the parent or adult gets at least one hour of school work.

 

For students to be accepted in the program the student must be 18 years or older; complete the mandatory registration process; state their student goals; a signed commitment letter; and an agreement to respect school property as well as concurrence to the general administration guidelines and policies of the organization. The classes are generally offered twice a week, about an hour and half long, and are offered at least three sessions per year. A session is equivalent to about a semester which generally about twelve weeks.

BEACON also offers Life Skills Workshops. This is an extracurricular program designed to teach families things we sometimes take for granted such as fire safety, proper nutrition, how to navigate the local school systems,  computer literacy, and some financial planning. Especially in the summer, BEACON provides families specific instructions on how to recognize poison ivy, poison oak, treatment of bug bites, bicycle riding safety, and instill factual information to local residents of the county.

 

 

BEACON has had overall positive effects on the community. Jennifer Raider, Development and Grant Manager for the organization provided the story of a recent graduate of the school who is currently pursuing an online nursing certification in Prince William County. According to Jennifer this person was a certified nurse in her own native country, but decided to register with BEACON to obtain her U.S. high school equivalency while running her own cleaning business company. Other success stories include a parent who just wanted to read a bed time story to her daughter. The makeup of the school demographics is as diverse as the local region. Students come from all over the world such as South/Central America, Middle East, South West Asia, Europe, and the Far East.  The class sizes range from four to eight students and sometimes provide personalized tutoring. BEACON currently has seven community partner sites and about 42 session groups running simultaneously. Each group session is categorically assigned and evaluated based on the skill level of the students.

BEACON is excited and currently instituting a web based GED certification program this coming Spring 2008. The local Braemar Safeway store has provided the financial resources in obtaining this software.  This software program allows students to complement the existing classroom work and access the GED modules provided they have access to the Internet at home or the public library.

In closing, BEACON wishes to thank the community for the generous support they have been receiving from financial and general support services. Again, BEACON is always looking for volunteers to help out and assist the organization. For additional information, contact the following address:

BEACON, For Adult Literacy

9535 Linton Hall Road

Bristow, VA 20136

703-368-7491 (English)

703-331-5513 (Spanish)

http://www.beaconliteracy.org

Email: beacondir@comcast.net

 

 

 

Date Published: 2008-02-13 07:00:00

Section: Top Headline, Photos: Beacon Logo,