ALMAS: Alcancemos Las Metas/Let's Reach Our Goals: An English and Health Education Program, Program Plan and Evaluation

The inability to understand English is a major challenge for many United States Hispanic immigrants. Significant associations exist for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) including poorer social, economic, and health outcomes. Therefore, efforts to promote English acquisition, such as English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, are important community resources. North Carolina’s Hispanic and LEP population continues to steadily rise, increasing the demand for ESL programs. The program ALMAS, Alacancemos Las Metas (Let’s Reach Our Goals) was created to improve the English language proficiency of Hispanic women in eastern North Carolina. ALMAS is a community-based volunteer program which provides ESL instruction and health education. The program’s main goal is to empower Hispanic women with the skills and resources needed to live a healthier, productive life. ALMAS pairs each community volunteer with a Hispanic woman and together they create a lesson plan based on the woman’s goals. In addition, monthly health education sessions are held which include guest speakers from the community. An analysis of similar programs and their evaluation strategies was conducted to strengthen the design of ALMAS. This paper will describe the analysis and provide a detailed program and evaluation plan for ALMAS. The program plan will incorporate new effective teaching strategies and expand the services offered by the current program. The program evaluation will address the implementation and outcomes of program activities using both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Overall, the program plan and evaluation will help strengthen and sustain ALMAS. Hopefully, the program design will be disseminated to other high-need areas.Master of Public Healt