DECATUR, Ala. (AP) - Debbie Pirkle tilted her glasses, looked to the ceiling and tried to find some number to put on the amount of hours she has worked helping others in Decatur.
“Wow,” she said, while rubbing her hands together.
It was clearly something she had never thought about and something that really didn’t matter to her.
English and More, a Morgan County Baptist Association ministry Pirkle has been involved with since its inception, recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The program’s only remaining charter volunteer, Pirkle wants to let the public know about other English as Second Language programs in the area and share information about Decatur City Schools’ new EXCEL Center.
Decatur opened the center in August to help students who are not proficient in English and immigrant students who speak no English transition to their new schools. Pirkle was one of the center’s first volunteers.
“She has a thoughtful and service heart,” said EXCEL Center administrator Ressa Chittam, who attends church with Pirkle. “If we need someone to volunteer, her name is always on the top of the list.”
Pirkle, 62, doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t trying to help others. She attaches her desire “to make life better for people” to the death of her mother when Pirkle was 8 days old.
She said people in the community “showered me with love and support” and said she doesn’t remember a time when others were not giving to her.
“That experience probably more than anything is why I want to give back,” she said.
After graduating from Austin in 1972, she earned music education degrees from Calhoun and the University of North Alabama. Her education degree from UNA has a special education endorsement. In 1978, she earned a master’s degree in education from UNA that deals with learning disabilities.
As a college student, Pirkle never stopped helping people. She was Student Government Association president at Calhoun and said she built a reputation for “keeping issues in front of the dean of students.”
“You just can’t talk about something: You have to do it,” she said.
Decatur Youth Services Director Bruce Jones met Pirkle a little more than a year ago. He said she is persistent and committed in her endeavors.
“A lot of people tell you they are willing to do what they can to help, but when you call them they are either too busy or don’t show up,” Jones said. “She is different.”
The two met when Jones was part of a committee trying to find ways to address issues concerning the 16-24 age population.
After graduating from UNA, Pirkle moved back to Decatur, married her husband of 37 years and worked about six years in the city school system until her son was born.
Pirkle had decided not to return to the classroom when the Morgan County Baptist Association posted an advertisement announcing a workshop called “conversational English.” The flyer seeking volunteers also mentioned that a nursery was available.
“This was perfect because I could bring my child,” she said.
Pirkle said she always has been fascinated with other cultures, so she signed up for the workshop, which turned out to be the beginning of the “English and More” program.
At the time, the school system’s Hispanic population was barely 1 percent, but it’s now 24 percent. Pirkle said the program deals with more than language issues.
“We help them learn the community and how to get around in Decatur,” she said. “We focus on the whole person.”
Although she has not returned to the school district, Pirkle earned her ESL certification from the University of Alabama in 1999. Her graduate studies required her to visit a country and reside with a family that spoke no English.
“It was eye-opening and a very good experience,” Pirkle said about her three-week stay with a family in Venezuela.
In addition to her volunteer work in the community, Pirkle has served as preschool children’s minister at Central Park Baptist the past 16 years.
She said several participants in the English and More program are now employees in the school district. They work as teachers, office aides and secretaries.
“I’ve done life together with some,” Pirkle said. “I have been to funerals, weddings and family gatherings because they were more than students to me.”
She supports the EXCEL Center because one of the big problems facing the Hispanic community and city leaders is trust. She said the need sometimes goes beyond academics.
“You can throw out all the technical stuff at students, but sometimes all they want to know is how I am going to help them when they are having problems,” Pirkle said.
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Information from: The Decatur Daily, https://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
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