Educating the Market: 2024 Conference Review
For four days in October 2024, adult education tutors and teachers, program administrators and advocates, researchers and literacy experts gathered along the Chesapeake Bay for professional learning, networking, and celebration.
- asset-based instruction
- student study habits
- reading strategies for students with learning disabilities
- building writing stamina
- supporting student advocacy
- administrative strategies that improve student persistence and tutor retention
“I love the fact that I get to meet people in person and exchange ideas.”
We kicked off the event with our first ever preconference Master Class in Nonprofit Storytelling, which was free to ProLiteracy members. Led by ProLiteracy staff experts, participants learned the art of crafting compelling stories and tailoring them for advocacy, marketing, and fundraising efforts. Participants looked at case studies and left with concrete practical strategies they could implement.
TV host, author, and changemaker Van Jones delivered a powerful keynote speech highlighting the exponential impact teaching someone to read has on adults and the community around them. He identified reading as the foundational skill that civilized the Western world—as different groups of people with different experiences learn to read, they present different interpretations and transform society. Jones ended his speech by emphasizing that adult educators will never know the extent to which they’ve impacted the future. “Things that seem impossible to solve might be possible because of you.”
We were honored to recognize an amazing group of adult learners, tutors, programs at our 2024 Awards Ceremony:
- Hannah Sankan, Seeds of Literacy: Frank C. Laubach Award for Adult Learner Excellence
- Vince Scalise, Adult Literacy League: Ruth J. Colvin Award for Volunteer Tutor Excellence
- Beyond Literacy: ProLiteracy Award for Program Excellence
- Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas de Panamá: Ann C. Michel International Women in Literacy Award
- Jacqueline Kirk: Dollar General Student of the Year Award
- Janet Sodell: Dollar General Literacy Innovator Award