Immigrants come to the Presentation Lantern Center from all over the world and are welcomed with open arms. Over 250 adult language learners take advantage of the Lantern Center’s services each year, receiving English tutoring, U.S. citizenship preparation, general support to help them make their way in a new country, and most importantly, a sense of belonging.
Since its inception, the Lantern Center has served 2,500 students and helped 128 attain U.S. citizenship. Learners have come from 85 countries, reading like a list from the United Nations, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, France, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Sweden, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
The Lantern Center was established in 2002 by the Sisters of the Presentation, who saw the need after conducting research about what a city of Dubuque’s size needed to flourish. Although the program began modestly, it has offered free tutoring five days a week since its founding and now serves 60 to 80 participants each week.
“When it opened, the intention was to provide hospitality and a welcoming environment to make people feel comfortable and valued so they would want to come every week and build a stronger tutoring relationship,” said Megan Ruiz, executive director. “That has been really successful and naturally grew over the years into us providing more types of guidance and support.”
Each student receives an individual volunteer tutor who works with them every week in the fundamentals of English, meeting them where they are from introductory to college-prep. The Center, which recently expanded its location to the Sisters’ motherhouse on Carter Road, provides language-level workbooks and a large collection of learning aids for tutor use. No teaching experience is necessary to become a tutor, and they are provided with the curriculum and tools required to help their students succeed, including targeted guidance from Sue Ellis, education director.
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