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Literacy Fact SheetAdult Literacy in the District of Columbia

January 2011AboutD.C.LEARNs

OurMission:

Toleadanactivecoalitionof

Washington,DCliteracy

programs,learnersand

supporters,andworkwiththem

tostrengthenliteracyservices

andpresentastrongandunified

voiceontheimportanceof

literacyasaninvestmentinthe

community.

OurworkincludeshelpingD.C.

residentsfindappropriate

literacyprograms,training

teachers,providingadditional

resourcestoprograms,and

helpingpolicymakersunderstand

theneedforliteracyservices.For

example:

OurAdultEducationProfessional

DevelopmentCentertrains

teachersandtutorsfromliteracy

programsthroughoutthecity.

OurAmeriCorpsprogram,

Literacy*AmeriCorps-DC,

recruitsAmeriCorpsmembersto

serveforoneyearsasteachersat

adulteducationprogramsacross

theDistrict.

HowtoContactUs:

1612KStreet,NW

Washington,DC20006

202.331.0141(phone)202.331.0143(fax)

www.dclearns.org

www.twitter.com/DCLEARNs

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WhoDoAdultLiteracyProgramsServe?Adultliteracyprogramsserveadultlearnerswhoare16yearsandolder,andwhohave

oneormoreofthefollowingneeds:

Theydonothavebasiceducationskills.Theydonothaveahighschooldiplomaoritsequivalence.Theyneedtoimprovetheirabilitytospeak,read,orwriteEnglish

Adultliteracyprograms(oftenreferredtointhefieldasadulteducationprograms)

include:adultbasiceducation(ABE)foradultswhoneedtoimprovetheirreading,

writing,ormathskills,GEDpreparation,ExternalDiplomaPrograms(EDP,analternativ

highschooldiplomaprogram),EnglishasaSecondLanguage(ESL),computerclasses,workplaceeducationandtraining,familyliteracy,learningdisabilities,andservicesto

seniorsandinstitutionalizedindividuals.Theseprogramsareprovidedeitherfreeorat

minimalcosttoadultlearners.

HowAreProgramsFunded?

TheDistrictisuniqueinthatthemajorityofadultliteracyandbasicskillsinstructionis

conductedbynonprofit,community-basedorganizations.Thecityprovidesfunding

supportformanyoftheseprogramsthroughamixtureoflocalandfederaldollars,

undertheauspicesoftheOfficeoftheStateSuperintendentforEducation(OSSE).OSSE

isresponsibleforre-grantingthefederaldollarsthataremadeavailableforadultlitera

andbasiceducationprogramsthroughTitleIIoftheWorkforceInvestmentAct. D.C.LEARNsestimatesthatprogramsthatreceivepublicsupportlikelyservethe

majorityofadultlearnersintheDistrict.However,duetothemixtureofpublicand

privatefundingsources,D.C.LEARNsisunabletodeterminedefinitivelyhowmany

learnersareservedexclusivelyviapublicdollars.Mostofadulteducationprograms

receivenopublicfunds;theyreceiveonlyprivatefunding.

Whatisthecurrentneed?

InApril2010,DCLEARNscollectedthebelowinformationfromOSSEandfromits

subgrantees: OSSEfundedprogramsserveonlyabout7000learners8%oftheneed. Atleast23outof25adulteducationprogramssurveyedhaveexperiencedan

increaseindemandfortheirservicesoverthelastyear.

Seventeenofthoseprogramshavewaitinglists,withatotalofover560studentscurrentlyonthoselists.

Theaveragewaitingtimeisabouttwomonths. Eightprogramsofthoseprogramshavehadtocutstaffwithinthepastyear.

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D.C.LEARNsStaff

DawnThomas

ProgramDirector

dthomas@dclearns.org

JulieWaySilverman

ProgramAssociate

jway@dclearns.org

WhyShouldtheDistrictInvestinAdultEducation?

AdultEducationStrengthensWorkforceandEconomicDevelopment

Learnersachievesignificantannualwagegainswithin18monthsafterprogramexit,rangingfrom$1817to$2579,an18to25percentgainforminimumwage

workers.(Source:U.S.DepartmentofCommerce's EducationalAttainmentinthe

UnitedStates)

Literacyhasaprofoundimpactonfamilyincome.Fortythreepercentofadultsatthelowestlevelofliteracyproficiencyliveinpovertycomparedwithfourpercent

ofadultswithstrongliteracyskills.(TheStateofLiteracyinAmerica,1998)

Ariseinof1%inliteracyscoresleadstoa2.5%riseinlaborproductivityanda1.5%riseinGDPperperson.(TheEconomist,August28,2004)

Americanbusinessesareestimatedtoloseover$60billioninproductivityeachyearduetoemployees'lackofbasicskills.(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,1998)

AdultEducationGreatlyImpactsChildEducation

ResearchersfundedbytheNationalInstitutesofHealthconcludedthatprogramstoboosttheacademicachievementofchildrenfromlow-incomeneighborhoodsmightbemoresuccessfuliftheyalsoprovidedadultliteracyeducationtoparents

Thisconclusionwasbasedontheirfindingthatamother'sreadingskillisthe

greatestdeterminantofherchildrensfutureacademicsuccess,outweighingothe

factors,suchasneighborhoodandfamilyincome.See

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2010/nichd-25.htm)

Thereisapotentialsignificantimpactthataprimarycaregiversliteracylevelhasontheacademicsuccessofhisorherchildren.Accordingtodatafromthe

NationalAssessmentofAdultLiteracy(NAAL),only27percentofparentswith

childrenunderageeightwithbelow-basicliteracylevels,reportreadingtotheir

childrenfiveormoredaysaweek.

DatafromtheNAALshowthatasliteracylevelsofcaregiversincrease,sodoesthetimespentreadingtotheirchildren.Thisnumbernearlydoublesto50percentfo

parentswhoscoredattheproficientlevelofliteracy.

(NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,LiteracyinEverydayLife:Results

fromthe2003NationalAssessmentofAdultLiteracy(Washington,DC:2007).

Therearefourliteracy/quantitativeperformancelevelsassessedbytheNAAL

BelowBasic,Basic,Intermediate,andProficient.

(Seehttp://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/perf_levels.asp.)

Giventhecriticalneedforparentalparticipationintheacademicdevelopmentansuccessoftheirchildren,improvingadultliteracymustassumeahighpriorityin

thecityseffortstoimprovethelivesofitsresidents.(Mayor'sAdultLiteracy

CouncilReport,2008)

AdultEducationIssuesAreHealthcareIssues

AnnualhealthcarecostsintheU.S.arefourtimeshigherforindividualswithlowliteracyskillsthantheyareforindividualswithhigh-levelliteracyskills.

(ProLiteracyWorldwide)

Thehealthcareindustryestimates$73billionperyearofunnecessaryhealthcareexpensesattributabletopoorliteracy.(CentersforMedicare&Medicaid

Statistics,2004)