If home is where the heart is, the future looks bright in Laredo for a proposed educational program aimed at helping limited English speakers achieve the American dream.
A commitment to improving lives is what’s moving a partnership between Laredo Community College and the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) in San Antonio.
At the front wheel of this initiative are Blas Castañeda and Dr. Federico Zaragoza.
Zaragoza is the vice-chancellor for professional, technical and workforce education at ACCD, and Castaneda is the chief development officer for LCC.
Although both men work for two individual community college districts, they and staff from their own colleges are joining forces to apply for a $1 million grant from the United States Department of Labor to launch an education and training program for a targeted group of adults, which the DOL says is of growing importance—the untapped pool of limited English workers.
What may not be so evident on the exterior of this partnership, which will benefit two separate cities, is the strong ties to home rooted deeply beneath this ambitious endeavor.
“Laredo Community College, in many ways, has been blessed to have partnerships with many schools and receive the support of many leaders throughout the state and country to fulfill our initiatives,” Castañeda said.
He added that LCC has maintained a great relationship with ACCD for many years.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with the presidents and many of the administrative officers at ACCD,” Castañeda said. “But, LCC is particularly grateful to another great leader from ACCD, Dr. Federico Zaragoza, who just happens to be from Laredo.”
Zaragoza, who has enjoyed an exciting eight-year career with ACCD, has helped transform St. Philip’s College-Southwest Campus into a major workforce training facility. He is pleased to be working with Castaneda and LCC on this exciting alliance.
“It truly warms my heart to know that two kids from the barrios of Laredo, like Blas and I, can make a positive impact on the community that gave so much to us,” Zaragoza said.
Zaragoza added that the LCC-ACCD partnership is a sign of the times and makes sense. Few communities have the experience that Laredo and San Antonio have in designing and delivering training and education programs to limited English speakers by utilizing bilingual, English as a Second Language and integrated Vocational and ESL (VESL) pedagogical models, he said.
“LCC has initiated many innovative programs for limited English speaking persons in health careers,” Zaragoza said. “ACCD, on the other hand, has developed similar VESL programs in manufacturing, construction, electrical trades and office technology.
“This is a great opportunity for Laredo and San Antonio to become national leaders in the delivery of training for a sector of the national workforce that has had very few opportunities to connect to high skill-high wage career tracks. Educators working together also make great sense because we share best practices and proven instructional models to better meet the needs of our respective communities and businesses.”
Castaneda describes the collaboration as a bold endeavor, which will give both cities a competitive edge in the 21st Century economy.
“We’re looking at creating an innovative, progressive and aggressive program that will motivate adults to go back to school, provide them with vital educational and workforce skills training, and then move them back to the job market,” Castaneda said.
“What is very important to the Laredo/Webb County region is that we have a leader in San Antonio who not only is working to bring success to ACCD and the students it serves, but is equally committed to do the same for LCC and its student population. I don’t think you can find another better partnership than with folks who truly understand your community’s needs.”
Representatives from both college districts have visited their counterpart’s campuses to determine what programs of study and resources can be integrated into the initiative. The grant proposal is scheduled to be submitted this month.
Zaragoza and Castaneda hope for a positive outlook on the future of this unique project.
“Partnering between community colleges is a win-win proposition that increases the probability of winning highly competitive national awards,” Zaragoza concluded.
Alamo Community College District Vice-Chancellor Dr. Federico Zaragoza (seated) was recently on the Laredo Community College campus to lay down the basis for a partnership between both community college districts. LCC officials joining Zaragoza, from left, contract grant writer Judith Garcia, Continuing Education Director Steve Mon Dragon, Chief Development Officer Blas Castañeda and interim Dean of Workforce Development Carmen Seibert-Martinez.
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