ENGLISH @ WORK’s founder, Maile Broccoli-Hickey, got the idea for ENGLISH @ WORK in 2003. At the time, she was working on her Master’s degree at the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs and waiting tables at Guero’s Taco Bar, a restaurant in Austin, TX. Between shifts, Maile wondered how she could help her immigrant coworkers. She had great respect for the Mexican and Guatemalan cooks, dishwashers, and bus boys who worked beside her every night. Most of them were supporting family members in Austin and in their home countries, holding down several jobs, and trying to attend English classes.
After her coworkers’ attempts to fit class in among all their other responsibilities were continuously thwarted, Maile had a “Eureka!” moment. She had many years of experience teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and it occurred to her that she could teach the class at the restaurant. With the owners’ permission, she put up flyers and on the first day of class, 17 cooks, bus boys, and dishwashers gathered at the back of Guero’s to learn the English alphabet.
A year later, Maile took a leave of absence from the LBJ School to launch ENGLISH @ WORK. Since then, the organization has served over 700 immigrants and their employers across Central Texas. And, Guero’s has continued to host an ENGLISH @ WORK class since the first intrepid group met in the back of the restaurant.
In January 2014, ENGLISH @ WORK joined forces with the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas to ensure that this innovative programming would continue to change the lives of students across the region.