Family matters in Revere

REVERE – There was no “Pomp and Circumstance” playing or graduation robes, but there were plenty of smiles, excited presentations of classroom work and – most notably – platters and platters of ethnic delicacies as Revere Community School celebrated the end of the year with a family night.”I enrolled in this good school because I wanted to improve my English,” Irem Atay, who moved to Revere from Turkey five months ago, told the students and their families. “English courses are so expensive and many of us have children, so the opportunity to go to an English school that is cheap and easy near our house ? it’s good.”The Revere Community School offers basic adult education and English for Speakers of Other Languages classes three nights a week during the school year at Revere High School. A joint effort of the Mayor’s Office, the Office of New Revere Residents and the school, the classes run for two hours, and free childcare is provided. The goal is to provide English education for Revere residents, especially parents with children in the local schools, in an effort to get the families more involved in the school and the community. The classes costs $50 for a nine- or 10-week session. The program teaches about 300 students, according to program director Fatou Fatty.Twice a year, the school holds a community night where students bring their families for a potluck supper and presentation of classwork, taking over the cafeteria with tables of food, tables of information for recent immigrants, and lots of families of all ages and backgrounds.”You get to meet everyone because I can’t see them all in class, and I get to see all the ending projects, and see colleagues,” said Mina Madkor, an instructor in the Basic English language class. Madkor said she moved to Boston from Morocco in 1999, moved to Revere in 2006, and has students representing Bolivia, Colombia, Morocco, Brazil, El Salvador, and Somalia in her class.”They are learning how they can speak English and understand the dreams they have now to look for a better job or continue in college,” Madkor said. “I feel like they broke that barrier of language, now it’s easier for the dreams to come true.”And the community evening is an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labor.One of Atay’s projects was to contribute a recipe of a traditional food from her homeland. She submitted a dessert called Sekerpare … but also recommended the baklava at the table hosted by the Turkish Cultural Center.”We enjoy being in Revere, and we’re trying to promote the culture and helping Turkish-American people,” said Bilal Arigan, of the cultural center.And although many families conversed in their native languages while eating the smorgasbord of food, students all were attentive and smiling as Mayor Dan Rizzo praised their work.”I know the hard work you did will be passed on to your children,” Rizzo said. “This makes our community stronger.”