Students, teachers and school board members in Evangeline Parish are trying to improve literacy rates.
According to the National Center for Education, data reveals Louisiana has some of the lowest literacy rates in the country.
Briana Carter is a senior at Mamou High School.
She said she feels as though teachers need to be more present.
"They don't come," Carter said. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but they miss out on a lot of school and it's more than the students."
Carter said unlike most 18-year-old teens her age, she enjoys going to the library to read in her free time.
"Sometimes, I just like a change of environment, instead of being at home, all crammed up in my house," Carter said.
Curriculum Supervisor, Cheri Fontenot said 2022 literacy statistics caused her and her colleagues to act quickly.
"It gave us a sense of urgency about doing something other than the interventions that we had in place," Fontenot said. "We decided that we were going to do some thinking outside of the box...dedicating 45 minutes a day for every, kindergarten through fifth-grade student for specific, literacy interventions."
Board members said they are looking forward to reviewing the mid-year data to assess student progress.
