Yordan Shishkov wanted his sons to have an American education. So, without knowing any English, he and his family left their native Bulgaria and moved to the United States to begin a new life.
Shishkov, 55, rented an apartment in Leesburg but found that his inability to speak English prevented him from finding work in his field of landscape architecture.
Delia Fox, a native of Argentina, participates in an English class conducted by the Loudoun Literacy Council.
(Photos Tracy A. Woodward -- The Washington Post)
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"Now I am a baker. I think the bakery is temporary," he said. "If I learn good English, I will work in my profession, my landscaping profession."
Shishkov began taking free English courses in the fall of 2003 at the nonprofit Loudoun Literacy Council. The organization, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, serves both English speakers who can't read and non-English speakers trying to learn the language through its adult literacy program. It also works in conjunction with the federal Head Start program to encourage families of 4-year-olds in the community to read at home.
Loudoun's growing, and increasingly diverse, population is beginning to strain its resources.
"Every year we cannot meet the demand because the county is growing so rapidly," said M. Yadir Ruiz, executive director of the Loudoun Literacy Council.
The 2000 census found that about 11.3 percent of the county's residents were foreign born, nearly double the 5.7 percent recorded in 1990. Many, like Shishkov, are attracted by the abundance of jobs in the service sector that has accompanied the population boom in the nation's fastest-growing county. The census also found that English was not the first language spoken in 15 percent of Loudoun homes.
Loudoun Literacy was founded by a small group at Leesburg Baptist Church that saw a need to help refugees learn English.
"It was at this time that refugees were pouring into the U.S. from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos," said Betty Shiflett, wife of the church's pastor at the time, Cornelius Shiflett, and a former president of the group.
At first, most tutoring sessions were held at area churches. But as the group grew and realized it needed to seek government funding and grants, it severed the church connection.
"Some of the foreign students weren't excited about coming into our churches, even for class," said Mary Twitchel, a founder of the group who was treasurer until four years ago. "One tutor met her student at McDonald's."
About two years after founding the group, Twitchel and the others opened it to U.S. natives who could not read. At the time, 9 to 12 percent of Loudoun residents could not read past a fourth-grade level, Twitchel said. The figure is still about 12 percent, the group said, but they remain a small part of the group's clientele.
Of the 336 students enrolled in the adult literacy program last year, nine were native English speakers. Ninety-four percent are non-Americans coming from 41 different countries. Many of the foreign-born students, like Shishkov, are college graduates and speak two or three different languages but cannot read or write in English. In the United States, many are relegated to service jobs because they lack language skills the right work papers or professional accreditation to work in their profession.
"As the county grows and we get more diverse, we see growth in the service industry that needs to support the wealth," said Carol Basham, director of Head Start in Loudoun County.
