For years, one of the biggest barriers in adult education hasn’t been a lack of programs—it’s been a lack of access.
In cities with dozens of providers, multiple funding streams, and disconnected systems, learners are often left to navigate a fragmented landscape on their own. The result? Missed opportunities, delayed enrollment, and potential learners falling through the cracks.
In the Adult Literacy Education research journal, a recent field report written by Christine Piven of the Philadelphia Business & Technology Center offers a compelling look at what the City of Philadelphia did to streamline its efforts to reach more adults.
Problem: No Clear Entry
Philadelphia had all the right pieces in place—35+ providers, workforce systems, and public investment—but there was no single, simple way for learners to enter the system.
The city tried to implement efforts like myPLACE™, which offered residents centralized access to education and career development services, but the shift to virtual services during COVID-19 and the city’s reductions to its adult education office hurt the effort. Learners still needed a clear, centralized pathway to services.
With so many disparate and discrete providers and funders, how can a resident seeking adult education resources find a single point of entry—a gateway—to connect to these available services?
—Christine Piven, Philadelphia Business & Technology Center
Solution: A Single Point of Entry
Philadelphia’s answer was deceptively simple: Create one phone number for everything.
A workforce call center already existed. The city leveraged it to create a centralized intake and referral system connecting learners to both adult education and workforce services.
Instead of building something new from scratch, Philadelphia:
- used an existing call center infrastructure,
- integrated adult education into workforce pathways, and
- aligned messaging: “Call one number for all your needs.”
This kind of system-level thinking is what makes the model both effective and replicable.
How the Model Works (And Why It Matters)
The process is streamlined into a few key steps:
- Learners call a central number.
- Staff assess each person’s location, schedule, and goals.
- A shared database identifies matching programs.
- Learners are scheduled for intake/assessment.
- Providers and learners receive confirmation and next steps.
This removes a major burden from learners: figuring out where to go first.
Just as importantly, it ensures they are matched with appropriate services—not just the nearest or most visible option.
More Learners, Better Connections
The results are hard to ignore. This strategy both increased awareness. It also increased conversion into services, which is where many systems struggle.
- Calls for adult education services grew from 0 in 2020 to 61% of all calls in 2023.
- 3,700+ unique learners were served in just over two years.
- 88% of validated learners were successfully connected to an intake appointment.
One early challenge revealed a key equity issue: Non-English speakers couldn’t navigate the system after hours due to English-only voicemail. To remedy this, they integrated language access into the system’s design, adding multilingual phone options and real-time translation services.
What Adult Literacy Programs Can Take Away
Whether you’re a local provider, coalition leader, or state administrator, there are clear lessons here that can be scaled to meet the demands of your community:
1. Leverage Existing Systems
Philadelphia didn’t create a new intake structure—it partnered with the workforce system. Look for infrastructure that already exists (call centers, hotlines, intake systems) and integrate adult education into it.
2. Simplify the Entry Point
Multiple providers shouldn’t mean multiple starting points. A single, well-communicated access point can dramatically increase participation.
3. Data + Coordination
The shared database and coordinated scripts made the system functional, not just conceptual. Alignment across tools, staff training, and communication is essential.
4. Include Feedback in the System
Continuous improvement wasn’t an afterthought—it was built into weekly operations. Create structured ways to capture and act on both learner and provider feedback.
5. Design for the Learner Experience
From scheduling to language access, the system centers on ease of use. If it’s not simple for learners, it’s not working, no matter how strong the programs are.
The Bigger Opportunity
What Philadelphia demonstrates is bigger than a call center.
It’s a shift from a provider-centered system to a learner-centered network—one where access, navigation, and coordination are treated as essential infrastructure.
Improving instruction matters—but improving access to instruction may be just as important.