A great program

Okay, so this post has nothing to do with having a kid with special needs. But, actually, it kind of does - for me anyway. For just over the past year, I've been keeping my spanish language skills semi-brushed up by attending a community spanish class once a week offerred by a local latino advocacy group, LACA, or Latino Advocacy in Community Affairs. I attend the advanced class, which has been an intimate group of students from different backgrounds and ages. The best part - it's completely affordable. A comparative conversation class offerred through the university would cost over $900 a semester, plus the cost of books and parking. A 10 week class through LACA is only $154 if a student enrolls early. Although it's difficult for me to shed my "mommy" persona and gather the energy to go to class some weeks, it's been a valuable remnant of my previous life that I can keep.

I won't be re-enrolling in class for the next session which starts in January (for reasons I'll explain some other time), but I got some disturbing news from the director of LACA with the enrollment packet for that session. In a letter to students, she wrote:

"Awhile before the recession hit officially, almost all of LACA's company clients dropped their contracts. I have been working with Small Business Development Center and the Business Office Initiatives Womens Center to go back to basic business concepts and re-focus on strategic planning and marketing.We have been struggling to keep the program going. It will take a good balance of company contracts and individual students paying for courses in order to get LACA back on its feet.So I am working very hard to re-think all the business we do, offer the best, unique programs and get the word out to the community. It will take a great deal of effort to also market to companies and obtain new contracts.I thought you should know where LACA stands - that although it is a small business, relatively new (just 8 yrs old), it is not profitable at this time. Every year we just break even.If you are enjoying class and learning, please help spread the word amongst your family members, friends and co-workers! It goes a long way!"

That's what I'm hoping to do here. So, if you are or know someone who wants an affordable, low-stress way to learn or maintain their spanish skills in the Indianapolis area, please consider taking a class through LACA. I promise you won't regret it! Their website is: http://www.lacainc.com/ Tell Brenda I sent you!