LAWRENCE — Not long ago Victor Rojas' palms began to sweat and his knees got weak every time he had to speak English in public.
But today, a more confident Rojas will meet with state senators and representatives to press them to increase funding for classes in English as a second language, math, computer and other courses leading to an adult high school diploma.
"Our job is to tell them the need for adult education classes and how it helps us get better jobs and helps our community," Rojas said.
Rojas, 32, a student at the Adult Learning Center in Lawrence, is among more than 1,000 adults from across the state who planned to take part in Adult Literacy Awareness Day at the Massachusetts Statehouse today.
In Massachusetts, more than 1 million residents do not have the English or math skills to help them get better paying jobs, according to Ernest Best, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance for Adult Literacy. Only 24,000 people statewide are enrolled in classes, he said.
After the rally in Gardner Auditorium, students were to meet with their local legislators and tell their personal stories to persuade them to increase funding in the state budget for adult basic education.
This is the second year Lawrence residents will take part in Adult Literacy Awareness Day. In addition to Rojas, those who planned to attend were Samuel Javier, Altagracia Vasquez, Yanique Taylor, Daniel Cornier, Aderto Teixeira, Jose Vasquez and Linda Raymond.
The Lawrence students immigrated from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Cape Verde.
"With the decline of the economy, they are coming through our doors in greater numbers," said Marilyn Doyle, program facilitator at the Lawrence Adult Learning Center.
Doyle said she sees an average of 25 people a day hoping to get into some type of class. Most want to learn English so they can talk to their doctors and be able to communicate with their American born children, she said.
Presently, the program has 380 students enrolled in its classes, and a waiting list of 763.
"It's a continuous, continuous process," Doyle said. "The need is huge and for some people, it's a feeling of desperation because they don't know where to go."
Samuel Javier said the number of adults waiting for slots shows the need for more classes.
"We came here looking for a better life and without knowing how to speak English we can't accomplish our goal," said Javier, 31.
While Lawrence has a large Hispanic population and Spanish is spoken at grocery stores, offices and social service agencies, members of the leadership team said they are setting their sights for the future.
"What if English becomes the official language of the United States, what would happen then," asked Jose Vasquez. "This gives us an opportunity to prepare."
Others, like Altagracia Vasquez want to learn English so she can help her son, Jolrin Bonilla, 14, an eighth-grader at the Leonard School, with his homework.
"I couldn't help him so I had to send him to a tutor," she said.
