By Laura Rubio, student of the Community Journalism Workshop of Peninsula 360 Press, with the support of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
This Wednesday morning, Casa Círculo Cultural held the inauguration of the “Community Plaza” program at 3090 Middlefield Rd. in Redwood City.
The inauguration was attended by engineer Luis Gutiérrez, director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad –IME–; Remedios Gómez Arnau, Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco; Julio Huerta, Consul for Community and Cultural Affairs; as well as Giselle Hale, Mayor of Redwood City.
The program, sponsored by the National Institute for Adult Education in Mexico (INEA), seeks to support young people over 15 years of age and Spanish-speaking immigrant adults to begin or finish their primary or secondary education in the Spanish language.
"There will be the opportunity to connect with Mexico and finish primary or secondary school. If they never did it in Mexico, they can start here at their own pace," said Remedios Gómez Arnau, who also pointed out the opportunity for students to enter the online system of higher secondary education offered by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the one offered by the Secretariat of Public Education of the Government of Mexico (SEP).
For his part, Luis González pointed out that through 40 universities in Mexico "access to online university programs is being promoted - at a distance - so that people can continue studying and that resources or time are not a limitation."
In addition to literacy, the program offers the opportunity to access technological resources, job training, and preparation for the General Education Development (GED) test.
Likewise, those who complete primary or secondary education can obtain a certificate of studies endorsed by the SEP, which is valid both in Mexico and the United States.
"This is an opportunity for all the people who emigrated and were unable to finish school in Mexico, so that they can finish their education remotely, get their certificate and it will help them continue to progress in life," said Luis Gutiérrez.
González also said that, if more information is required, interested parties can go to the educational guidance window at the San Francisco consulate from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or send an email to consfrancisco@sre.gob.mx.
Anna Lee Mraz, project coordinator at Casa Círculo Cultural, pointed out that "it is very important that there are opportunities like the Community Plaza to advance educational issues, since many times migrants travel and do not finish their studies there, and education is always a way to strengthen the community, broaden horizons and opportunities for all migrants."
In this regard, the mayor of Redwood City explained that "education is a gateway to more opportunities."
There are currently 258 INEA Community Plazas in the United States, which you can consult at inea.gob.mx/servicios_en_linea/Plaza_mas_cercana
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