Education for all is goal of Seis Puentas advocate

Maria Touchstone has been called the face of Seis Puentes, a nonprofit founded in 2003 to support and empower the Latino/Hispanic community of central Arkansas through education and information.
Maria Touchstone has been called the face of Seis Puentes, a nonprofit founded in 2003 to support and empower the Latino/Hispanic community of central Arkansas through education and information.

Maria Touchstone has been teaching practically her entire life. She's a Mexican-American immigrant and the Hispanic liaison for the North Little Rock School District. She's also on the board of Seis Puentes, an educational center in North Little Rock that aims to teach immigrants English as well as assist them in other educational avenues.

Her earliest memories center on education.

"Five siblings, all we did was play school," Touchstone says. "We didn't have those extracurricular things that people in the middle class get to do, so school was everything. School was our life."

When she was 6, her family escaped dirt-floor poverty in Monterey, Mexico, for a better future in the United States -- a future sparked by getting an education. The family members did get an education and became naturalized American citizens.

She watched her father learn enough English to read a map and drive a truck to provide for their family. It's a large reason why she's been a teacher for more than 30 years. It's also why she got involved with Seis Puentes Education and Resource Center when a group from First United Methodist Church approached her about it nine years ago.

The nonprofit, founded in 2003, seeks to support and empower the Latino/Hispanic community of central Arkansas through education and information. Seis Puentes, which means "six bridges" in English, operates an outreach center in North Little Rock for youths and adults to learn English, get their GED, study computers, train for jobs, and find bilingual services such as medical clinics, legal aid, consumer services and more.

"There were six bridges across the Arkansas River, and we felt our center would be the bridge between the two communities -- Arkansans and immigrants," Touchstone says.

She feels she's simply returning the kindness extended to her family when they relocated here.

"A teacher taught my dad enough English. I feel like I am just paying it back," Touchstone says. "There are days where you are just like 'How come I got to make it out, and there are people living under the bridge?' That doesn't seem fair."

The center is funded through donations and partners with the Pulaski County Special School District. The district provides a handful of teachers, including Touchstone, to teach English classes at the center on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The North Little Rock City Council also recently gave $25,000 to help keep the center open.

"That is just incredible," Touchstone says. In addition to teaching Tuesday and Thursday nights, she oversees weekend events.

Seis Puentes serves between 300 to 500 people per week, many from what Touchstone says is a growing Hispanic community in North Little Rock. "There's a sense of community among the people there," she says. "We celebrate holidays. We celebrate Christmas. We teach culture. We teach holidays and different events in the year. For some of them, it is a sense of community. They belong to something."

The center hosts a monthly party and an annual back-to-school bash where students get free backpacks with school supplies.

Touchstone says the North Little Rock School District has roughly 500 students whose parents are immigrants, and that Little Rock has 3,000. Many of them live in poverty and struggle to get past the language barrier. The center combats that through education. It has a full GED program in addition to the 2 1/2-hour English classes.

"It is hard to learn a second language," Touchstone says. "It takes seven to 11 years and the data supports that. If you took a native Arkansan and said, 'You have to come for two hours and learn Japanese,' it would take seven to 11 years. It is not that people don't want to learn. It is just hard."

Touchstone's unique story helps her relate to the community she serves. She knows what it's like, knows the struggles immigrants must overcome and is passionate about helping them be successful.

"A lot of times when you have a nonprofit like this, it is hard for the board to connect with the community," says William Hogg, a fellow board member. He has called her "the face of the organization."

"She is that perfect link between the two, the board and the clients," Hogg says.

Education paved the way for Touchstone's family to be successful, and she believes Seis Puentes is making a difference in a growing community.

"I believe in education for everyone," she says. "Nothing else matters to me. I am a teacher by birth. I don't care who it is. Our mission is education."

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“I believe in education for everyone,” says Seis Puentes volunteer Maria Touchstone. “Nothing else matters to me. I am a teacher by birth. I don’t care who it is. Our mission is education.”

More information about Seis Puentes and its offerings are available at facebook.com/seispuentes.

High Profile on 08/20/2017

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