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CNN Sunday Morning

City Workers Adapt to Multicultural Community

Aired June 03, 2001 - 07:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Census figures show a rapid growth in America for people who speak Spanish but very little English. And while some municipalities are struggling to serve their diverse communities, one Georgia city has got its own solution.

CNN's Eric Phillips reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marilyn Anderson (ph) is the customer service representative for the City of Alpharetta, where the Spanish speaking population has grown 703 percent over the past 10 years.

She was one of several employees who volunteered a course the city offered in workplace Spanish. The goal is to be effective not necessarily fluent.

Her coworker, Lezite Bradley also took the course.

LEZITE BRADLEY, CITY OF ALPHARETTA: We can take key words that we recognize and get a clue of what they're talking about and then go from there.

PHILLIPS: All city police, firefighters and public works employees must go through the Spanish training.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your name? OK. What about...

PHILLIPS: The phrases taught in each class are job specific.

LT. ED DENSMORE, ALPHARETTA POLICE: You're going to go back and be able to, you know, boom first day, put this right on the job.

PHILLIPS (on camera): The officers each receive a notebook complete with all the terms they've learned that they can carry with them in their patrol cars. They're complete with light reflective pages, making them easier to read.

(voice-over): The idea was first conceived when the city's human resources director rode along with firefighter when they got a call to deliver the baby. The baby was fine but...

CAROL WOLF, ALPHARETTA HUMAN RESOURCES: The woman was Hispanic and the firefighters knew very little Spanish. And so there was a communication gap there.

PHILLIPS: A gap, which is slowly tightening.

In Alpharetta, Georgia, I'm Eric Phillips reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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