Press Release

Bunker Hill Community College Offers No-Cost English as a Second Language Classes

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) was awarded $250,000 from the City of Somerville’s Job Creation and Retention Trust Board. The grant project, entitled SELL –Somerville English Language Learners – is shared with employer partner East Somerville Main Streets (ESMS), the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS), and The Welcome Project (TWP). The funds will provide no-cost English as a Second Language classes and customer service training to low-income Somerville residents through June 2021. To learn more, visit https://www.bhcc.edu/somerville-esol/

It is time to enroll for spring 2021, and BHCC will be offering three informational sessions for students to learn about the program and requirements. We encourage interested Somerville community members to join us for one of the following virtual info sessions offered through WebEx. Please visit the https://www.bhcc.edu/somerville-esol/ for the link to the session. Also, check out our Career Readiness and Customer Service Classes.

Dates for Informational Sessions for SELL Somerville English Language Learners Project:

January 7; 5-6:30 p.m.
January 11; 10-11:30 a.m.
January 13; 6-7:30 p.m.

New Career Readiness and Customer Service (CRCS) Classes coming in spring 2021

Learn how to be career-ready with the necessary customer service skills you need for the job! Interested Somerville English Learners can fill out an application at https://www.bhcc.edu/somerville-esol/

Students who meet the residency and English Language Level proficiency requirements will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each workshop has a 9-seat limit due to COVID. Each CRCS workshop will be two days and result in a BHCC certificate of completion and referral to job search services MassHire.

CON-100E-N02: 3/24/2021 – 3/25/2021, Wednesday and Thursday, 3:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Location: Charlestown Campus, B building room TBD

CON-100E-N03: 4/14/2021 – 4/15/2021, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Charlestown Campus, B building TBD

CON-100E-N04: 5/12/2021 – 5/13/2021, Wednesday and Thursday, 3:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Location: Charlestown Campus, B building room B105

CON-100E-N01: 6/09/21 -6/10/21 Wednesday Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location Charlestown Campus B Building TBD

Partners for this Project

East Somerville Main Streets
East Somerville Main Streets is part of a nationwide movement of nearly 1,400 Main Street Organizations nationwide that work to build thriving local economies and centers of community. Since 2009, ESMS has been focused on supporting the local small business community. Today, ESMS completes between 10-12 direct technical assistance projects per year for microenterprises; these are businesses with five or fewer employees whose owners are from low-to-moderate income households.

The Community Action Agency of Somerville
The Community Action Agency of Somerville’s mission is to help local families and individuals achieve financial security while working to eliminate the root causes of economic injustice; it has been the federally designated anti-poverty agency serving Somerville since 1981 and has assisted low-income residents of the City for 39 years. It operates three primary programs: Head Start; the Housing Advocacy Program; and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

The Welcome Project
The Welcome Project is the City’s premier immigrant-serving organization. For nearly three decades it has built the collective power of immigrants and lower-income residents by cultivating leadership skills and civic engagement. TWP offers programming to help people learn English, hone leadership skills, and increase access to employment and education.

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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).