ST. CHARLES PARISH, La. — The news about a woman allegedly posing as a teenager to improve her English got us wondering what programs are available for adults who speak another language.
Wednesday afternoon we heard from St. Charles Parish Public Schools Superintendent Ken Oertling.
“Within our school system, we have a great E.L. program for students that don’t speak English,” he said at a press conference with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff.
But those classes are for legitimate, enrolled students.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 4% of public school students in Louisiana are English learners.
But in St. Charles Parish, just 2.4% have limited English proficiency, per the Department of Education.
That doesn’t give us information on the adults in their homes. For them, the options to learn English and further their education are limited.
Just last week our Rachel Handley shed light on the significant hurdles faced by the growing number of Spanish-speaking families in Jefferson Parish.
The National Literacy Directory has a great website to help find programs close to you for English as a Second Language, studying for the high school equivalency exam, or becoming a citizen.
Most local ESL programs are concentrated around New Orleans.
In St. Charles, the only option for free English classes is the Work Ready U Adult Education Program at River Parish Community College.
So, yes, there are legal ways to further education in Southeast Louisiana as a non-English speaker, but they can be few and far between.
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