CWJC's Williamson County ESL Program

Program Mission Statement:

(self-reported)

We create potential for transformation of body, mind, heart, and spirit in the working poor and the Christian community. We do this by equipping women in need with life and employment skills, in a volunteer context in which women help women.

CWJC of Middle TN's Williamson County Satellite in partnership with the Hispanic Church of the Americas recognized the need for ESL in the community. The ESL Program's goal is to help adult women seeking to learn English to improve their lives and opportunities for employment, gain conversational, reading and writing skills in English.

Score Summary

Overall Score:	Excellent
Practice Principles:	Excellent
Faith Related Elements:	Better
Outcome Measures:	Good
Change Process:	Excellent

Program Facts

• Paid (FTE) Staff Working: 0.5
• Program Participants Last Year: 40
• Meets about 8 time(s) with each participant per month
• Participants remain in the program for 18 months

Board Activities

Funding Overview

(self-reported)

	This Program	This Organization
Organization Budget: $363,560 Program Budget: $25,930
Foundation Grants	20%	20%
Government Grants/Contracts	0%	1%
Individual Gifts	48%	48%
Business/Corporate Gifts	11%	11%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	11%	11%
Dues/Fees/Income	0%	0%
Other	10%	9%
	Average Program Funding From All Samaritan Programs	Average Organization Funding From All Samaritan Organizations
The next charts display the average funding sources for all programs currently in the Samaritan Guide for your comparison. Average Organization Budget: $3,820,907 Average Program Budget: $417,789
Foundation Grants	19%	18%
Government Grants/Contracts	6%	8%
Individual Gifts	37%	33%
Business/Corporate Gifts	9%	8%
Congregation/Denominational Gifts	10%	10%
Dues/Fees/Income	8%	9%
Other	9%	11%

It is important to maintain diverse income sources for your programs and for your oganization as a whole. Doing so provides long-term financial stability to your organizations and programs. It is also important to note that government funding often comes with stipulations and restrictions. More information is available in the Raising Resources Toolkit - pdf.

Score Details

Program Focus
Program Mission	Clarity and specificity of the program's mission statement.	Excellent
Target Population	Clarity and specificity of the programs target clientele.	Excellent
Eligibility Criteria	Clarity and specificity of the program's eligibility criteria.	Excellent
Program Requirements	Well defined requirements for client participation.	Excellent
Referrals From Other Organizations	Do other organizations recommend this program to their clientele.	Good
Referrals to Other Organizations	Does this program recommend other programs to their clients?	Excellent
Volunteer to Staff Ratio	Are volunteers effectively incorporated into the program?	Better
Past Participant Recruiting	Are past program participants recruited as volunteers?	Excellent
Evaluation and Practice Princples
Practice Principles	How supports and resources are provided to increase outcomes.	Excellent
Outcome Measurement	The ability to measure stated program outcomes.	Good
Change Process	Specific and measurable statement of the program's goals.	Excellent
Faith Related Elements	Integration of faith related elements.	Better
Measurement Frequency	Frequency of measuring client outcomes.	Excellent
Program Evaluation	Level of the budget allocated to measuring client outcomes.	Good
Institutional Stability
Organization Age	A measure of the organization's durability.	Excellent
Board Oversight	How involved in the program are the members of its board?	Excellent
Program Duration	Average duration of a clients participation with a program.	Excellent
Finances
Budget Diffusion	Diversity of the programs funding sources.	Excellent
Government Funding	Does this program accept little or no government funding?	Excellent

Program Score Details

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Outcomes & Measures:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide at least three clear and specific outcomes with corresponding measures in which a relationship is shown between outcomes and measures.

Outcome 1: Students exhibits the ability to speak and understand spoken English

Measure Used:
Intake assessment, teacher feedback, progress through ESL curriculum and workbook, and mid and final assessments.

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Outcome 2: Advanced Students gain stronger reading and writing skills and comprehension and students pursue take the GED or ACT.

Measure Used:
Intake/placement assessment, teacher feedback, progress through ESL curriculum and workbook, mid and final assessments, and success in taking the GED or ACT

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Change Process:

(self-reported)

Scoring for this section is based on the organizations ability to provide clear, measurable, client-focused stages of change based on participant participation.

The women participating in the ESL program gain skills in speaking, reading, and writing the English language. We begin with an initial assessment to determine level of ability and class placement. The participants sign an attendance agreement to show their commitment since there are no fees for the program or childcare. The instructors and volunteers work with the women using curriculum and other tools. Class size is small building a safe environment to learn. Our assessments are reflecting measurable progress and results. However, it is in seeing the women gain higher wage jobs and enter the GED program, that we are seeing them accomplish their dreams.

Learning English helps the women assimilate into our culture. The ESL program gives them a safe environment to develop their skills, gaining confidence and a willingness to speak. The program also touches on life skills such as how to dress. The women who are primarily of Mexican heritage, feel the discrimination in our culture and know they are looked down upon. They want to fit in, acclimate into American life. Teachers, volunteers, and participants were overjoyed when one women gaining strong enough language skills to become a cashier. Similarly, a mother was able to speak to the doctor about her sick child. Speaking English opens doors of great opportunity and changes life for the whole family.

End Notes

Incomplete Applications

Significant decreases in certain scores may indicate failure to comprehensively complete certain sections of the Samaritan Award application. Please be sure to fill out every question in the Samaritan Award application.

Relative Scoring

Total program scores are partially computed against other programs from within the same pool of applications and so are not cumulative.

Additional Reference Material

More information on scoring and methodology may be found on the Samaritan Guide and Award website.

Acton Institute Relationship

The Samaritan Guide and Samaritan Award are projects run by the Acton Institute. Inclusion in the Guide does not signify endorsement by the Acton Institute. More information on why the Acton Institute runs this project is available online.