When you go upstairs in the Wesley Centre and wander through the Achieve Plant City classrooms, you’ll find the result that’s been a decade in the making.
Last Thursday, a ribbon cutting ceremony officially recognized the school as a part of the Wesley Centre – which is owned by the First United Methodist Church of Plant City.
2021 marks the 10-year anniversary since the non-profit organization opened its doors for those seeking a better education. And what better way to celebrate than accommodating students with a new learning environment.
“This is a very exciting time for us,” said Angelica Ibarra, the executive director of Achieve. “It feels wonderful.”
Ibarra had conceptualized the idea of building a learning institution that accepted both children and their parents as students.
It offers services for early childhood development, after school programs, and courses for parents who are illiterate.
There are four classrooms that cater to specific needs.
One room is divided into two areas for the youngest kids. One section is for 2-year-olds and the other is for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds.
The goal is to teach these children to become readers before starting grade school.
“One of the things we find the most successful, is when we get them when they’re 2,” Ibarra said. “When they stay with us for two years, that’s when the progress that we can make is tremendous. In their second week of school in kindergarten, the kids are actually reading.”
Fifty-four percent of third graders can’t read at their grade level, according to Achieve Plant City statistics.
The organization goes on to state that these third graders who live in poverty are three times more likely to drop out of high school.
Ibarra said that there’s a 100% success rate among her students.
The next room is set up for an after-school program. There, students can get tutoring after leaving their primary day school.
Achieve staff help these kids to catch up in classes where they may have difficulty learning the material.
This class serves kids in kindergarten to fifth grade.
It also is a familiar environment for them to stay until their parents can pick them up.
Then there’s the technology room equipped with electronics that may not be accessible at a student’s home. At different stations are computers, helping to make lessons more comprehensible, as well as copiers and printers.
The Children’s Board Family Resource Centers of Plant City helps to fund this equipment.
And the fourth classroom is for adult literacy and parenting courses.
Here staff provide lessons for parents who have poor reading skills.
It also offers the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. This helps to break down the language barriers that may prevent adults from obtaining certain needs when out in public. Especially when trying to communicate with their children who are already being taught English in their classrooms.
Also, it lessens the likelihood that their children will have to be a translator between their parent and an English speaker.
In addition to learning how to read, instructors provide tools to help parents teach their children to read.
Ibarra noted that it’s important not to always believe the stigma that parents don’t want to play a sufficient role in their child’s education. In many cases, they just don’t know how to.
“It doesn’t matter if you come from a wealthy family, if you come from a poor family,” she said. “The number one indicator of a child obtaining success in school is parent involvement. They come, they put the effort into it, they follow what they need to be doing to support their kids and you see the difference in the families. We are such a grassroots organization we don’t have a complicated process. As long as we have space available, they can literally come, inquire today, start classes tomorrow.”
Ibarra explained that it was her humble beginnings that led her to focus on helping others become more educated.
A Mexico native, she and her family migrated to Texas, in order to continue agricultural work and make a decent living.
Then they relocated to Plant City where she became a mother and decided she didn’t want to repeat the family cycle of farming. That lifestyle was more emphasized than higher learning, said Ibarra.
She got her GED, attended Hillsborough Community College, and ultimately received her bachelor’s degree in international studies at the University of South Florida.
Ibarra then landed a job working for a credit card company, with a good salary and benefits.
However, she felt she was only taking advantage of migrants, like herself, who didn’t have financial stability.
She then decided that she would dedicate herself to empowering others and open a school.
With little to no funds, she gradually began to establish Achieve, collecting grants, donations and hiring staff.
“I honestly don’t know how it worked out, but it worked out,” Ibarra said. “I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”
She added that she is finally living her “American Dream” by giving others a chance to better themselves.
That also meant providing an accommodating learning environment.
At their former residence, Achieve staff had limited room to teach, even having to knock down a wall to turn two offices into one classroom.
After speaking with the pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Plant City, vacant space in the Wesley Centre was leased to the organization.
Whether a “blessing” or “coincidence” or something “meant to be,” Ibarra said she doesn’t know how to describe it.
Achieve Plant City moved into the Wesley Centre in May and officially opened its doors to students in September.
And now, she and her staff are considering an expansion by offering night classes, more afternoon programs and technical training for parents.
Over the past decade, she has seen parents and children continue to prosper after leaving the learning center.
One former student who had gone to medical school, was the speaker at a past Achieve fundraiser.
“The work is rewarding,” Ibarra said. “The stories that they share with us is what keeps us going. You see the impact that you’re making in their lives.”
There will be an upcoming wine-tasting and silent auction fundraiser on Feb. 18, 2022. It will be held in the Trinkle Center at the Hillsborough Community College- Plant City Campus from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Reservations can be made by visiting AchievePlantCity.org, emailing Angelica@AchievePlantCity.org or calling (813) 752-4010.