ProLiteracy has published a new advocacy guide, the Advocacy Toolkit for Adult Education and Literacy, written by longtime literacy advocacy, Jackie Taylor, with contributions from advocacy experts across the U.S. This 121-page toolkit is a comprehensive guide for helping adult literacy educators advocate for their programs. Utilizing literacy and numeracy skills estimates, program activity, and impact stories—educators can feel empowered to advocate with state legislators, county/district legislators, individual donors, corporations, and charitable foundations.
"In these challenging times, when education budgets are at risk, including adult education and literacy program public funding at the federal, state and local levels, this toolkit lays out strategies from experienced advocates at the program, city, and state levels,” said David J. Rosen, adult basic skills advocate, founder, and current moderator of the AAACE-National Literacy Advocacy group. “It is the most comprehensive advocacy toolkit I have seen in our field in over three decades of doing public policy advocacy."
The Advocacy Toolkit provides guidance on how to use new PIAAC state and county synthetic estimates, released in 2020, which are available through an interactive PIAAC Skills Map. The data derived from the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills measures the cognitive and workplace skills needed for individuals to function and prosper in society. The Advocacy Toolkit will serve as a critical resource for adult education and literacy advocates—from novice to more experienced. It emphasizes advocacy on state and county levels, which will be increasingly important in the coming year as legislators are forced to make tough decisions on state budgets in the wake of the pandemic. It even includes a special section on remote/virtual advocacy to help programs begin advocating immediately during COVID-19.
“Americans with lower literacy and numeracy levels and those who may not have received their high school diplomas were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic,” said Kevin Morgan, president and CEO of ProLiteracy. “Now more than ever, it is imperative to invest in adult education and literacy as a way to provide economic relief and recovery for out-of-work Americans. The Advocacy Toolkit for Adult Education and Literacy is a critical resource for advocating to stakeholders, government representatives, and donors to continue to increase support for adult education and literacy programs.”
To access the Advocacy Toolkit for Adult Education and Literacy visit https://www.proliteracy.org/What-We-Do/Advocacy.
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About ProLiteracy: ProLiteracy is the largest adult literacy and basic education nonprofit organization in the nation. ProLiteracy is the leader in adult literacy content development, programs, and advocacy for more than 60 years. ProLiteracy works with adult learners and with local and national organizations to help adults gain the reading, writing, math, computer, and English skills they need to be successful. ProLiteracy advocates on behalf of adult learners and the programs that serve them, provides training and professional development, and publishes materials used in adult literacy and basic education instruction. ProLiteracy has 1,000 member programs in all 50 states, and works with 50 nongovernmental organizations in 34 developing countries. For more information, visit ProLiteracy.org. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.