New America school produces success

By Nicole Frey
October 29, 2006

EAGLE – When Rina Rosales left her parents in El Salvador to come to the United States to work, she took with her a few belongings and a fourth-grade education. The teenager always wanted to learn more, she said, but work came first.

“I had to support myself and send money back to my family,” said Rosales, who lives in the Denver area. “In my country, it is a poor country, and there aren’t opportunities.”

But just working didn’t satisfy Rosales. She wanted an education as well and discovered the New America School, a free charter school for people 16 to 21 who speak no or little English.

When Rosales entered the New America School at 19, she could barely speak a work of English, she said. But in just a year, she’s become fluent in the language and now writes for her school newspaper, in addition to working full-time and going to school. In a couple years, Rosales plans to have a high school diploma in hand and dreams of becoming a congresswoman or chef.

“It was always my dream to get an education,” Rosales said. “Now, I’m having the opportunity to fulfill my dream.”

Pictionary learning

A few years Rosales’ junior, Gloria Ruiz, is already working on her associates degree and wants to start an imports business, but a few years ago, Ruiz said she never imagined she’d get this far.

The Mexican native has enrolled in a traditional middle school when she moved to the Denver area. But Ruiz didn’t speak any English, and with up to 40 kids in a class, teachers didn’t have time to help her, she said.

“I would get frustrated because I didn’t understand anything,” Ruiz said.

Seeing a commercial on television for the New America School, Ruiz jumped at the chance to get a solid foundation in English.

“This might sound dumb, but teachers will draw on the board and write the name of the picture to help you learn more,” Ruiz said.

After earning the credits for her high school diploma, the New America School’s partnership with the local community college allowed Ruiz to go even further.

Convincing Eagle County

Ruiz and Rosales accompanied members from the New America School to share the intimate details of their lives with the Eagle County School Board last week. The charter school is asking the school board permission to open a campus in Edwards.

“Sharing your stories made my day, quite frankly,” Superintendent John Brendza said, and the board members seemed equally impressed with the girls’ accomplishments.

Bringing the New America School to Eagle County could afford other young people similar opportunities. The school would target kids who likely aren’t in school right now.

“I see the kids who slip through the cracks,” said Catherine Nanin, a English Language Acquisition instructor in Eagle County. “I can think of eight right now, and I know there’s more of them. It’s a sad thing to see.”

Mike Gass, the district’s director of secondary education, recently visited the school’s Aurora campus, and while he admitted he wasn’t sure what he would see, he was impressed by the school’s order and flexibility. Students efficiently moved from class to class when the bell rang, but at the same time, a 4-year-old sat coloring in one class because his mother couldn’t take him to daycare that day.

A lucky break

When Arrowhead resident Julie Noolan heard about the New America School, she felt compelled to support it, she said. She attended the school board meeting to share her own Cinderella story.

Noolan grew up poor in Australia and dropped out of high school, but when she emigrated the United States, she found a flexible school that gave her a second chance, she said.

“Anyone can make it if he has a lucky break,” Noonan said, quoting the play “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat.”

Noolan went on to earn a masters degree in business administration and a doctorate from the University of Chicago. She’s worked at a consultant to the World Bank, chairs the Edwards Rotary Club and has an impressive laundry list of other accomplishments.

“One size doesn’t fit all,” she said. “I’m very, very much in favor of the charter application.”

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What’s next?

The school board had until mid-December to approve or deny the school’s charter, and the school will be discussed again during a school board meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8. The school will also host several community meetings yet to be announced.

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Staff Writer Nicole Frey can be reached at 748-2927 or nfrey@vaildaily.com.