The Winnebago Area Literacy Council (WALC), supported by the United Way Foundation, provides English classes and tutoring to migrant workers and learners of all backgrounds to help prepare them for new jobs.
Chu May Paing, executive director of WALC, said her mission is eliminating barriers to literacy by providing structured classes that teach workplace literacy as well as the basics.
“Many learners come from backgrounds like doctors, teachers and nurses,” Paing said. “But if they don’t have language skills to translate everything into a new environment, they can be left behind.”
She said emphasizing workplace literacy removes employment barriers and helps learners develop the language skills they need to work in vital community roles.
“We now do workforce development to work on translating the skills learners have in their home country into the skills they can use here,” Paing said.
Paing said the WALC also teaches on-the-job communication so learners can speak to supervisors or advocate for themselves, even when a language barrier exists.
“Workplace literacy is about how you make a request for time off or vacations, what to do if you have an injury on site, or even how to conduct an interview,” she said.
The WALC also updated class times at the start of 2025 to accommodate learners who need to work around their jobs.
“Starting in 2025, we expanded our class offerings,” Paing said. “We used to do Monday and Wednesday classes at 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Now class time is Tuesdays and Thursdays too.”
Juan García Oyervides, a Spanish and Chicanx studies professor at UW Oshkosh, said he hopes WALC’s programs become more widely known.
“The Winnebago Area Literacy Council has events of interest to anyone; my job is to help you and other students know more about them,” he said.
Oyervides said his involvement is rooted in his interest as a community member who wants to help WALC succeed in breaking down literacy barriers.
“I want to see if we can work together — not me as a professor, or them as a nonprofit — but as a community,” he said.
Trent Allaback, WALC operations manager, helps learners access the support that best suits their needs.
“I find that my role in helping to identify and fulfill the needs of our learners — whether it be ESL classes, one-to-one tutoring, financial literacy or community information sessions — to be very fulfilling,” he said.
Allaback, like Paing, said WALC’s goal is about helping learners reach their potential and removing barriers to employment.
“I think WALC’s primary mission is to help community members access their potential for growth through opportunities to improve their literacy skills,” he said.
Allaback said that a person’s ability to get a job and achieve their goals should not depend on the ability to pay for education or a tutor.
“Literacy is a fundamental right,” he said. “It enables people to feel more secure in filling their basic needs, get better jobs and navigate the world around them.”
Allaback said WALC aims to expand services for all community members who could benefit from literacy programs.
“It is our job to ensure that they have the resources and opportunity to be equipped with the knowledge that helps them reach their goals both in and out of the classroom,” he said.
