QCC lands $84K grant for English learning

PHOTOS/QCC Luis Pedraja, the president at Quinsigamond Community College.

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By Zachary Comeau

An $84,100 state grant will enable non-English speaking students at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester to learn the language more quickly and begin taking college-level English courses.

The grant, from the Massachusetts Performance Incentive Fund, will increase the school’s Accelerated Learning Program, which is focused on improving developmental education students and getting them prepared for college-level courses.

The school has piloted the program for three years, and 75 percent of the students who completed the accelerated English course by taking both remedial and college-level courses received a “C” or higher, the college said in a press release Thursday.

On the flipside, 66 percent of QCC students received a “C” or higher when they only completed the traditional college-level course.

With the funding, the college will train additional faculty and introduce a new integrated reading and writing course, three accelerated writing English workshops and developing a new bridge English as a second language course.

QCC President Luis Pedraja in a statement said the course will be particularly beneficial to underserved populations like English language learners.

“This grant will enable us to expand access to educational opportunities for residents of Central

Massachusetts, which in turn will lead to increased job opportunities for QCC students,” Pedraja said. “This is a win for the college and for the community.”