A Public /Private/Community Partnership Initiated by the Mayor's Office of New Bostonians

"Diversity is one of Boston's greatest strengths and our residents come from all over the world; English programs are essential not just for recent immigrants to engage in economic and social opportunities, but also for our great city to benefit from everything these new Bostonians have to offer."
--Mayor Thomas M. Menino

ENB is a strategic, public - private - community partnership initiated by the Mayor's Office of New Bostonians established in 2001. This citywide initiative focuses the attention and resources of Boston's leaders and immigrant communities on meeting the needs of English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in the city of Boston. Currently 46,000 residents or 8% of the city's population do not speak English well.

ENB partners include philanthropic and corporate organizations, the ESOL community (community leaders, ESOL students, program graduates, ESOL teachers, and other practitioners) and the City of Boston. By the end of its first four years in June 2005, ENB will have raised almost $3 million and redistributed $2.5 million in grants to ESOL providers, enabling more than 700 low-income immigrants to learn English annually. ENB has also improved the ESOL system by providing technical assistance on quality improvement and capacity building to community-based ESOL providers and creating Boston's first web-based ESOL class directory.

However, despite ENB's success, the growing demand for ESOL classes called for the continuation of ENB. Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced the beginning of the second phase of the successful English for New Bostonians Program (ENB 2) on June 1, 2005. During the second phase, ENB 2 aims to expand its reach with new initiatives to better assist ESOL students. Mayor Menino also unveiled a new PSA and billboards, donated by Clear Channel Outdoor, to promote the English for New Bostonians program

In ENB's second phase, ENB intends to significantly increase access to ESOL services for low-income immigrants. The goals of ENB's second phase were crafted with the underlying assumption that at the same time we continue to increase access, we must invest in longer-term capacity building for the ESOL sector by increasing efficiency, securing sustainable funding, and building support from employers.

Our goals for ENB's second phase (July 2005-June 2008) include:

1. Increasing access to ESOL services, enabling a minimum of 1,000 immigrants to learn English each year over the three years;
   
   
2. Strengthening the capacity of ESOL providers, targeting community-based organizations focusing on underserved linguistic or geographic populations;
   
   
3. Launching a technology-based pilot model that has the potential to significantly increase the overall impact of Boston's ESOL system;
   
   
4. Creating an innovative workplace ESOL initiative that will attract diverse employer support; and advocating for increased state, federal and other alternative streams of funding to support ESOL services over the long term.

Current ENB programs,

ENB 2 receives funding from the City of Boston, The Boston Foundation, Frank W. and Carl S. Adams Memorial Fund (Bank of America Charitable Trusts), Hyams Foundation, The Polaroid Fund, Citizens Charitable Foundation, Boston Globe Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Clipper Ship Foundation, John Hancock Financial Services, The McGrath Family, Liberty Mutual Foundation, NSTAR Foundation, Sovereign Bank Foundation, State Street Foundation, UNICCO Services Company, Verizon Foundation, and Anonymous donor.
The Boston Adult Literacy Fund (BALF) administers and is a partner in the project.

If you would like to be a funding partner, contact:
Rev. Cheng Imm Tan at: 617-635-2980

To learn more about English for New Bostonians:

• Mayor's Office of New Bostonians, (617) 635.2980, cheng.tan@cityofboston.gov
• Boston Adult Literacy Fund , (617) 482.3336, balf@.balf.net
• Masssachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition , (617) 350.5480, ext.203, cgreen@miracoalition.org
• ENB Brochure,
• ENB Survey,
• Why Immigrants Study English,
• Workplace ESOL Initiative,
• ENB Funders and Oversight Committee