LAKE WALES, Fla. — In Polk County, you can still find rural ranches and gorgeous groves. But the landscape is changing — more people are moving in and looking for jobs.
And a requirement for many of those jobs is speaking English and a high school diploma.
A good spot to get help with both of those hurdles is the Family Literacy Academy at Lake Wales.
“We’re trying to improve the family life, so they can get a better job," explains Gail Crum, who helped start The Literacy Academy 18 years ago. “We know that the better educated the mother is, the better the children are going to do in school.”
The center holds free classes to help adults improve their English. Esmeralda Contreras, who came here from Mexico, says the lessons are important: “For my kids, for my job, for all my life in this country,” she says.
Also offered for free at the Academy are GED classes.
Shanne Monge, dropped out of high school. Now in her 30s, she’s studying hard, determined to get her GED. But she admits, at first, she was nervous.
“I’m thinking to myself, it’s been 10 years! How am I supposed to go back to school?” Monge said.
But Monge says the Academy’s supportive atmosphere has kept her going and also thoughts of her 4-year-old boy.
“I believe it’s important for me to get my diploma, not just for myself, but for my son,” Monge said. “Because when he gets to school, I don’t want him to say, ‘Well mom, you didn’t finish school—why do I need to finish?’ I want so much more for him!”
The preschool at the Academy makes it easy for parents to come to class. They know their young ones are safe.
It’s also a chance for Academy teachers to get the little ones enthralled with books and reading early on. It’s a tricky way to change a family’s trajectory.
“They want their children to graduate,” Crum said of the parents here. “They know it’s been difficult for them and they want their kids to be successful in school. Education is the road out of poverty…education is their way out.”
The Family Literacy Academy at Lake Wales is changing lives letter by letter and word by word.
10 Tampa Bay and the TEGNA Foundation are pleased to award this education center with a $2,000 grant.