By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Lynn Community Enrichment Program’s winter session will begin on Feb. 13.
Courses were originally set to begin next week but were pushed back a week for organizational reasons, said Program Coordinator Tony Dunn.
The night classes are held at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute on Commercial Street on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Among several offerings, Magalie Rowe, an instructor who is originally from Peru, will teach a six-week Conversational Spanish Course for people who operate a business in a diverse community like Lynn, teachers, community leaders and students. The program costs $60.
Rowe will teach common phrases and the basics of the language to English speakers. She has worked as a professor at Boston College and the University of New Hampshire; her almae matres.
Dunn said most of the people enrolled in the class, which meets every Tuesday for two hours, are teachers in the Lynn Public School system who want to improve communication with parents.
“The teachers say ‘I have a classroom and 90 percent of my students are Hispanic but I don’t know how to speak Spanish,’” Rowe said. “There’s a big need for them to study Spanish and know a little bit about the culture.”
Rowe, who teaches full-time at the city’s public schools, argued that understanding some of the culture of their students is just as important as gaining communication tools.
Dunne said the core of the program is aligned with the values of the organization, which has been in operation for two years.
“We wanted to open up Lynn Tech and the resources there to the greater Lynn community and offer as much content as we can,” Dunn said. “We’re an enrichment program so we do things that enrich people’s lives. We offer classes that are vocational or just enjoyable. We have a variety of courses.”
In its first session two years ago, more than 100 people enrolled in 14 classes.
LCEP offers other programs including a citizenship course that teaches U.S. history and citizen testing requirements to immigrants and a six-week course on the history of the city of Lynn.
An introduction to the internet class instructs students to send and receive emails and search and browse websites. Specialized courses offer an education on basic electrical and oil burner operation; carpentry and cake decorating. Computer applications is also taught in Spanish on Monday and Wednesday nights.
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Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.