The Washington Literacy Council is a nonprofit that provides literacy services to adults in the Washington, DC area.



The mission of the Washington Literacy Council is to reach adults who struggle with low-literacy and teach them to read. To do this, the WLC trains volunteers to use a structured reading program based on the latest research in language acquisition.

The need for its services is as strong today as when it was founded more than 40 years ago by literacy pioneer Frank Laubach. What began as a grassroots organization in a church basement is now a small but growing nonprofit serving more than 200 students and 200 volunteer tutors and small class instructors.

We are committed to innovation through:


Finding and implementing best practices for teaching basic literacy to adults
Recruiting, motivating, and retaining the staff and volunteers who carry out this work
Enabling our students to enhance their life experiences and reach personal development goals
Educating decision makers and raising public awareness of literacy efforts to benefit adult learners and their children.