History

The English Center is an independent educational institution located in Oakland s Jack London Square. Founded in 1977 on the campus of Mills College, the English Center in its early years provided comprehensive and short-term English programs, as well as academic and cultural orientation, for women from over seventy countries. The English Center also conducted group programs for two to six weeks for co-educational as well as single-sex groups.

It began as a center preparing international students to enter U.S. universities. It expanded in 1984 to also serve immigrants who need English language, job readiness, and computer skills training to be competitive in the local job market. In 2000, responding to increased demand, the English Center added co-educational afternoon and evening classes to serve immigrants and international students, both men and women.

An expanded student profile demanded expanded services. In 2001, the English Center One-Stop, an affiliate of the Oakland One-Stop Career and Business Services Center, was opened on-site to serve the English Center students and other English-learning job seekers. The English Center One-Stop has operated continuously since 2001, providing career counseling, internships and help in job placements as well as business services to local employers.

In July 2008 the Center moved to historic and scenic Jack London Square, where it is becoming even more a part of the cultural, academic, and economic life of Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area.