News

On National Immigration Day (October 28th) Lancôme & ProLiteracy celebrate with free educational resources available via the Write Her Future Institute, a program launched to increase literacy rates among women and raise awareness of the critical issue of low adult literacy. According to the Center for Immigration Studies and National Commission on Adult Literacy, of the 43 million low literate adults in the U.S., the fastest growing segment are English language learners. About 50 percent of the 2 million immigrants that come to the U.S. each year lack high school education and proficient English language skills.

Beginning on September 21, the Great American Book Sale, presented by New Readers Press (ProLiteracy’s publishing division), will bring together a variety of genres and authors for a unique online shopping experience. Customers can safely shop or bid on autographed books from their favorite genres or authors while supporting the Literacy Relief Fund, which gives adult literacy programs access to needed digital and print learning materials.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently contributed $50,000 to ProLiteracy’s Mobile Learning Fund, which provides adult education programs and their students with digital instructional materials to help adults learn to read or acquire English language skills. The Mobile Learning Fund will continue to build capacity among adult literacy programs during COVID-19 by providing financial assistance to acquire Learning Upgrade licenses, an Adult Literacy XPRIZE winning app proven to teach basic reading, math, English, high school equivalency preparation and digital literacy skills faster than traditional methods.

Ruth Colvin, a 103-year-old literacy pioneer, has released her new memoir, My Travels Through Life, Love, and Literacy. In her twelfth published book, Colvin shares stories about her life and her journey, over 100 years in the making.

Written by seasoned scholars who have demonstrated expertise on specific topics, ProLiteracy Research Briefs were developed to help adult literacy practitioners understand ideas that have emerged from research. They will also help researchers identify research needs by pointing to gaps in knowledge as part of an effort to provide adult educators with relevant research to inform their work. The five research topics addressed in briefs include student recruitment and participation; integrated technology; contextualized instruction; outcome measures; and student persistence.