MERCY LEARNING CENTER OF BRIDGEPORT INCORPORATED
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Mission Statement
Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport, Inc. provides basic literacy and life skills training to low-income women using a holistic approach within a compassionate, supportive environment. All women are welcome without regard for race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation or national origin. Founded in 1987 by two educators who wanted to assist mothers of children in the local schools to help their children succeed, Mercy Learning Center (MLC) started as a one-on-one tutoring program. Today, MLC offers comprehensive full- and part-time literacy and life skills programs, an educational childcare program and ancillary services to over 850 women and 160 of their children each year. Having served more than 9,000 women and their children since its beginnings, MLC is helping to improve the quality of life for women and families throughout the Greater Bridgeport community.
About This Cause
Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport, Inc. provides basic literacy and life skills training to low-income women using a holistic approach within a compassionate, supportive environment. Through its Literacy and Life Skills Program, Mercy Learning Center offers full-time (Intensive Study Program) and part-time (Tutoring Program) instruction to women who do not have a high school diploma. Instruction includes English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and General Education Development (GED®), as well as diagnostics, advisement, and assessment for the National External Diploma Program (NEDP®). All programs and services are provided free of charge and Mercy Learning Center is an accredited ProLiteracy member. Upon registration, students are interviewed and tested to determine their skill level and available time for instruction. Students are then placed in a full-time class (five hours a day, five days a week) or with a tutor (a minimum of four hours a week) for one-on-one or group lessons. Our certified staff and trained volunteers work closely to ensure that each student receives the most effective, quality instruction possible. Educational materials are not only skill-level appropriate for conventional subjects, such as math, composition, science, and civics, but are also content appropriate to be relevant to our adult student population and provide additional depth of social and cultural education. To provide the most optimal, personalized learning environment, our full-time classes have no more than 25-30 students and our tutoring groups are kept small. The level of talent, dedication, and creativity among our staff and volunteers is seen in the exceptional ways they contribute to the successes of each student. Using a holistic approach to educating our adult students, Mercy Learning Center not only offers quality academic instruction, but also addresses the social, emotional, and economic needs of women. It is not uncommon for a student to experience financial stress, employment and housing insecurity, family issues, and cultural and communications barriers that impede their ability to learn. For this reason, we offer ancillary services to help eliminate such obstacles. On-site enrichment programs, a full-time case worker, vocational counseling staff, a dedicated learning specialist, a program facilitator, computer labs, a resource room, a library, a food pantry and a free licensed childcare program are ways we provide holistic support to our students. We also provide life skills workshops on topics such as nutrition, financial literacy, first aid, parenting, job skills, consumerism, civics, safety, transportation, women’s/children’s health, cooking, and exercise. Through these wraparound services and programs we help students to reduce stress and better focus on achieving their educational goals. Mercy Learning Center offers the National External Diploma Program (NEDP®) to a select group of qualified candidates. The NEDP® gives students the opportunity to use the skills they have gained from life and work experience to demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing and math and earn a high school diploma. Competencies are designed to have clear real-life application and include career development topics; health, financial, civics and cultural literacy; history and geography; science; and language arts. The rigorous program is web-based and self-directed but pairs students with trained, certified assessors and advisors. It takes an average of 6 to 12 months for a student to complete the program and earn a diploma. Finding quality, affordable childcare is a tremendous challenge for low-income women seeking to further their own education. At Mercy Learning Center, a licensed Early Childhood Education Program is offered free of charge to the children of women enrolled in full- and part-time programs. This makes it possible for students to focus on their studies and advance their own as well as their children’s educations. Family Literacy activities further offer mothers and their children opportunities to learn together. During the 2013 – 2014 program year, Mercy Learning Center (MLC) empowered 854 women with education and life skills training, and nurtured and taught 167 of their children, ages 3 months to 5 years. 222 MLC volunteer tutors provided 47,952 hours of instruction to students, and student testing gains in each of the full-time Intensive Study classes were, on average, roughly equivalent to almost two grade levels in the traditional K-12 system, despite the barriers that students face of language, low income, and time. MLC students who received at least 12 hours of instruction met 100% of the State of Connecticut Department of Education’s targeted goals, and in many cases far exceeded the goals. Also during the past year, 11 MLC students became citizens of the United States of America. MLC provided 801 hours of college and employment counseling to students, and offered 116 enrichment workshops, 10 field trips, and 14 special events. An estimated 80 students and graduates found jobs, 4 transitioned from part-time to full-time work, and 4 earned promotions. MLC celebrated our 200th high school graduate this year, and 29 students earned high school diplomas through the GED® or National External Diploma Program (NEDP®) between July of 2013 and June of 2014. As of Fall 2014, 42 MLC graduates were attending community and 4-year colleges, including 17 with the support of MLC’s Women of Achievement scholarship. Each of these achievements strengthens the overall Greater Bridgeport community by bringing about an increase in local educated and skilled workers, more engaged parents who actively advocate for their children’s education, reduced dependency on economic assistance programs, and higher literacy rates.