Fifty-one percent of children from low income homes in Louisiana do not own a single book, and 46 percent of them struggle to read. Some of them live here. The Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana is working to change that.

The Council’s services are absolutely free and go far beyond words. The term literacy might conjure up the ability to read a novel by a favorite author, but literacy is essential to life, understanding the electric bill and writing the check to pay for it. Reading can break the cycle of poverty, and this state has the second highest rate in the United States.

“Our main goal is to help individuals who want to get their high school equivalency diploma,” said Iesha Moungle, enrollment director of The Council.

The nonprofit agency teaches reading, spelling, vocabulary, math, science and writing. It helps individuals who come to the United States learn to speak, read and write in English. It even helps the person who might have no trouble reading or learning make the leap from never having turned on a computer or used a mobile device to digital  literacy.

Classes are free to all adults 16 and over, and not based on financial need. Digital literacy is part of the curriculum.

“We also have a family literacy program and help families with small school-aged children build a home library,” said Moungle.

Moungle has been with the agency for 11 years, a Lake Charles native, and she has a heart for service, maybe even more so than when she started because of the people she’s met.

“I had a student who would come to the night class I taught, and he would sleep,” she said. “The teacher in me wanted to say, sit up and pay attention.”

However, she didn’t react. It continued to happen, so after class one day, she suggested a change in class time might help. That is when she found out that the student helped his mother take care of his nieces and nephews. He also worked a full-time job. His day consisted of getting the smaller kids out of bed and ready for school, then he would go to work, pick the kids up from school and help them with homework. Then, he went to night class to get his High School Equivalency Diploma.

“The only time he had to really sit was when he came to class,” Moungle said.

She didn’t wait until he was finished with classes to test him, and his scores were off the chart.

“He didn’t even really need to be in class,” she said. “He was able to take his GED and pass it on the first try.”

She said many people think of adult education students as someone who dropped out of school, but it is also important to see some of them as the overcomers they are.  She recalled another smart drop out whose parents realized he needed a high school diploma.

“He took our initial placement test and his score was off the charts,” she said. “He got his high school equivalency diploma at 16 and enrolled in college at 17.”

She sees people with learning disabilities. She sees adults with reading levels at the first or second grade level.

Like many agencies, the Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana, had to make changes and adjustments because of the pandemic and weather disasters of 2020 and 2021.

For one thing, COVID flipped a switch on adult education. Homeschooling, considered some parents’ worst nightmare, came true, some of whom didn’t  have a high school diploma, she said. They wanted to know how they could better help their children.

The National Adult Education organization started hitting Congress hard, Moungle said, and then it trickled down to the state and local level.

“Because now, we need money to train our adult students how to use technology. Some didn’t know how to use it at all,” she said.

Because of its contacts with the community, the Literacy Council of Southwest Louisiana was in a position to not only supply the means to help parents with homeschooling. After the hurricanes, it was a liaison with agencies that provided food and housing.

To find out about volunteer opportunities for helping adults with the foundational literacy skills they need to reach their fullest potential, and be productive members of society, contact the office nearest you. (Numbers below.)

The Literacy Council of SWLA is gearing up for the 2023-2024 Academic year, ready to help Southwest Louisiana residents achieve their goals with a new Lake Charles location in Central School, new class options, new digital literacy courses, and many other resources.

  The Literacy Council of SWLA is a WorkReadyU, United Way Agency. Register by clicking the “Enroll Now” button at www.literacyswla.org or calling 337-494-7000 in Lake Charles, 337-421-6579 in Jennings and 337-375-7794 in DeRidder.