WOBURN - Assistant Superintendent recently predicted that the district could form a meaningful partnership with the city's YMCA Adult Learning Center after hearing about the organization's various programs.

During the most recent School Committee meeting, YMCA Adult Learning Center representatives Amy Turner, Elaine Dougherty, and Claire McNally discussed the breadth of services being offered at the non-profit's old Plympton School site location.

Donovan was particularly impressed with the center's work towards instructing English to non-native adult speakers, as Woburn is mandated to provide a similar service to pupils in the district's English as a Second Language (ESL) program.

Last year, the Mass. Dept. of Education (DOE), basing its findings on a 2006 site visit to the high school, identified the city's ESL program as one academic area that needed improvement.

"I really see a lot of possibilities [for a partnership]," said Donovan, upon hearing about the adult center's own ESL programs.

According to Dougherty, the adult center currently has about 55 residents enrolled in its ESL programs. Approximately 70 other locals have been placed on a waiting list to enroll in the courses.

Providing some statistics, the adult center representative explained that about 30 percent of her students had school-aged children. About 70 percent of the program participants, who speak 15 different languages, live in Woburn.

"These immigrants come in and a lot of them have no English skills whatsoever," Dougherty explained. "Many of our students, what they want to be able to do is be able to go and talk to their children's teachers."

"When you have no native language literacy, it's very difficult to learn a new language. They would learn quicker if we could give them more literacy skills then they're getting in the classroom," added Dougherty, referring to one area where the school system could possibly assist the learning center.

According to Turner and McNally, the Adult Learning Center also offers a slew of other family-related services, including an after-school and summer programs.

"We're currently serving about 160 families a year," said Turner. "We're providing $700,000 worth of support with our ESL program, and our after-school and summer programs."

"We have 117 children every day," said McNally of the after school program. "80 percent of the families are receiving some type of financial assistance."