Adult Education Classes
Housekeeper Becomes Supervisor with Help from Language Classes
Maria Rico was a housekeeper at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. She has a son, 12, and a daughter, 8. A little on the shy side, Maria wanted to advance in life but felt her English language skills were holding her back. When she heard that United Way’s Earn Well financial stability initiative was offering a free English as a Second Language (ESL) course at the hotel in partnership with the Omni, she grabbed hold of the opportunity.
Today—with two ESL courses successfully behind her—Maria has progressed from being a housekeeper to supervising as many as 10 housekeepers. Besides paving the way for her job promotion, the United Way-funded language classes helped in other ways. Now Maria can ask for help at the grocery store. Now she can talk to her children’s teachers at school. The future looks bright.
Maria is one of seven Omni Fort Worth Hotel employees who have earned promotions at the hotel after taking ESL courses there. “The hotel has had such good results that it is giving employees full paid time to take these classes,” said United Way Community Development Vice President Sue Matkin. “They have made significant effort to support this class and their employees.”
“We always try to promote from within,” said Omni Human Resources Generalist Leticia Fierro. “We try to provide our associates with the best training possible, and when we have open positions, we consider current associates before outside applicants.”
ESL courses involve 60 hours of training over 15 weeks. They are just one service United Way offers as part of its Earn Well initiative. Customized career training and job-related classes in basic reading comprehension and math skills are available, as are GED classes and GED testing.
Financial education classes help people make the most of their paychecks through budgeting, opening savings accounts and improving credit scores. Free income tax preparation helps families receive all available tax benefits. “We want people to move up so they can earn more self-sufficient wages,” said Sue.
United Way’s main partners in the Earn Well initiative are Catholic Charities, Tarrant County College and The Women’s Center.
Maria plans to take a third ESL course at the Omni. “My speaking is much better, but my reading and writing are not as good,” she said. Her new goal is to become an office coordinator.
Our Vision
Tarrant County will be a place where children, individuals and families thrive, where neighbors care for each other and where people willingly share the responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy community for all.
Our Mission
To improve lives across our diverse communities by:
- Prioritizing needs in education, income and health
- Forming innovative and effective partnerships with other organizations
- Strategically raising and investing resources to make lasting change
Our Diversity Statement
United Way of Tarrant County values and seeks diversity by respecting the knowledge, abilities and experience of all individuals. Our commitment is to support an inclusive environment reflecting our United Way communities and accomplishing our mission.