Submitted photo
Hussein Al Shammari, above, learned English at Literacy Network and is now in college.
Hussein Al Shammari moved to Madison with his parents and two brothers in March 2020. The family emigrated from Iraq after seeking resettlement through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Just three weeks after arriving in his new city, Al Shammari, 22 years old at the time, began taking English as a second language classes with Literacy Network, which provides education to Dane County adults. It was Al Shammari’s first time taking virtual classes, and though he had some prior knowledge of English, he struggled with the language.
He took advantage of Literacy Network’s support services and was provided with a tutor. He continued to commit himself to learning the language and graduated from Literacy Network’s Transitions English course two years later. He is now a student at Madison College.
Al Shammari and his family, who also received English language learning support from Literacy Network, are among the hundreds of refugees supported by the organization.
Literacy Network, founded in 1974, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The organization offers ESL instruction, GED programming, and citizenship coursework. In 2023, 170 refugees participated in the group’s programming — the largest number the organization has supported. The students came from 85 different countries, six more than in 2022.
In order to meet rising demand, the Literacy Network and other groups like it across Wisconsin recently got a boost in state funding for refugee services. Wisconsin Literacy Inc. was awarded a $2.6 million grant from the Bureau of Refugee Programs to provide services for adult refugee English learners, Afghan and Ukrainian refugees in particular.
Fourteen Wisconsin Literacy member agencies are sharing in the grant; Madison’s Literacy Network has received $150,000.As a grant recipient Literacy Network staff will receive training and professional development from Wisconsin Literacy, including instruction on how to incorporate digital literacy into teaching, says Michele Erikson, executive director of Wisconsin Literacy.
Caitlin Mackesey, director of program impact at Literacy Network says the organization is looking forward to working with the statewide group.
“Our goals are very aligned with Wisconsin Literacy,” Mackesey says. “They want to make more ESL services available across the state for all kinds of folks, but in this case, we’re focusing on people who fall under that refugee umbrella.”
Mackesey says Literacy Network is seeing a rising need for English language instruction as more refugees arrive in Madison through resettlement agencies and private sponsors, including local families. Mackesey says Literacy Network has expanded services to meet that growing demand, but this additional funding will ensure services remain accessible to refugees.
All classes and materials offered to refugees through Literacy Network are free of charge to ensure there are no financial barriers to receiving instruction.
“We’re very, very grateful for this grant because it gives us the opportunity to serve all the refugees that we have been serving in our program, and we did have a lot of them last year,” says Ena Langendijk, refugee services manager at Literacy Network.
Literacy Network has supported refugees from Afghanistan since they first began resettling in Madison around 2014; a surge of newcomers arrived in the fall of 2021 after the capitol city Kabul was captured by the Taliban. Ukrainian refugees in the Madison area have received support from Literacy Network since spring 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
These refugees receive both English instruction and supportive services from Literacy Network. The state grant will help the organization sustain supportive services, and keep an additional introductory ESL course in their schedule.
For Al Shammari, getting connected to Literacy Network also created opportunities for him to build professional skills.
While taking English classes, Al Shammari worked as a student services coordinator for the organization. In this role, Al Shammari would welcome newcomers, get to know them and their goals. and then register them in the appropriate level of English classes. Through this work Al Shammari came to recognize what is most important for adult refugee English learners.
“Investing in them and being in touch,” Al Shammari says. “This is the most important thing — being in touch with the students throughout the semesters and checking their needs.”
Now, when not in class, Al Shammari works as a student services specialist in the School of Academic Advancement at Madison College, where he focuses on ESL students. He says his role at Literacy Network helped pave the way for his current job.
“We can say that English is not the official language of the U.S., but can we do anything without it? We can do things, but it’s harder,” Al Shammari says. “When you have English and are talking to people, it’s easier.”
[Editor's note: This story was corrected to remove a reference to refugee funding for Literacy Network. This is the first time the organization has received pass-through funding from Wisconsin Literacy. It's not the first time it has received funding from the state Bureau of Refugee Programs.]
