(above, l-r) Maria J. Orgeira, Patricia Fontan, Claudia Gutierrez (ESL teacher) and Paola Acosta.
Empowering Kids Organization Celebrates Its First After-School ESL Program
Members of the community, students, and their families gathered to celebrate the completion of the Empowering Kids Organization’s (EKO) after-school English as a Second Language (ESL) program. This initiative, organized by EKO and funded by The Central Presbyterian Church, focused on creating awareness about the Summit community and the American culture by exposing ESL students to different extracurricular experiences.
Summit High School student, Brenda Torres, winner of the 2019 SHS Best ESL Student Award, stated: “[EKO ESL program] has helped me a lot, this program has helped me become more confident when I speak in front of lots of people and it got me to socialize more.”
Empowering Kids Organization was founded by Summit residents Paola Acosta, Patricia Fontan, Maria J. Orgeira, and Teresa Usme with the mission to create strategies and programs to empower underprivileged kids to thrive throughout their educational journey by connecting their families with opportunities and resources.
Submitted by Maria Jose Orgeira
