“Never mind. Never mind.”
A local shop owner—who asked to remain nameless, for now—was describing how his customers react when they bring questions to him at the cash register and can’t understand his response. Frustrated at the communication barrier, they walk out without buying anything. Some of them, as they leave, accuse him of being rude.
Obviously, he wants to change that.
He speaks English, but wants to get better at it, wants to improve his vocabulary and pronunciation. To that end, he’s recently begun working with a tutor through the Central Coast Literacy Council, and Laura Davidson—the council’s new director—is excited. Her face beamed as the English learner and his tutor—a retired Vandenberg rocket scientist—discussed their first day of working together, as well as more of what’s driving this passion to improve language skills.
The shop owner, it turns out, hopes he can be something of a catalyst in his corner of the Santa Maria community. He wants to be a force for change: in communication, in giving, in positivity.
That’s a sentiment Davidson shares, literally and figuratively. She’s 100 percent behind that attitude, encouraging it in those around her, plus she’s no stranger to giving her own time in an effort to change the world. Among her many outlets—including working as a mediator for the Conflict Solutions Center—she’s volunteered on evenings and weekends as an interpreter for an adoption agency. She recently told one of the families with which she works that she’d like to see them progress in English on their own with help from the center.
Her ultimate goal is to hear them say, “Laura, I don’t need you.”
Actually, that’s an ultimate personal goal of hers. She has other goals for the 30-year-old literacy center, for which she’s been director for a month.
“We have two staff, and I have big dreams,” she said.
The council is blessed, however, with about 50 volunteers, which Davidson pointed out is a big number for a nonprofit. And still Davidson recruits. She randomly ran into a woman while shopping at Kohl’s, and when Davidson learned that she spoke Spanish and Mixtec in addition to English, the director invited her to be a volunteer. Davidson will talk to anyone to see where he or she might be a good fit when it comes to volunteering.
She’s also focusing on outreach. The nonprofit currently operates 10 community-based learning centers around Northern Santa Barbara County, and Davidson would like to max them out and have to find more room. To that end, she’s looking for more collaborative partners who might offer space in which tutoring can happen. An example of what such a collaboration would look like? The city lets the council use an office space in the library at no cost to the nonprofit.
The Central Coast Literacy Council has also piloted a program with help from the berry-growing Driscoll’s in Santa Maria. That business has allowed classes on site twice a week, with a focus on industry-related English in an effort to improve communication with and among farmworkers—and improve safety. Davidson explained that Driscoll’s funded an expansion that encompassed similar sessions at C&D Zodiac, with lessons tailored to the industry in which English learners work.
Following the success of that pilot effort, the council is looking to expand and diversify, transitioning the program into a ready-to-launch fee-for-service schedule that will offer language tutoring in workplaces throughout the county.
Davidson has seemingly limitless ideas and energy, focused now on increasing English comprehension in the community. That means more people will be able to understand and follow street signs. Follow prescription instructions or other medical directions. Help their children with homework.
“The way I look at it, Santa Maria residents need our service,” Davidson said. “They’re just not aware that they do.”
Contact Executive Editor Ryan Miller at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 6, 2014.