Four ways to celebrate Adult Education and Family Literacy Week

September 18-24 is Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, and NCFL is joining our partners in the field to celebrate and bring awareness to the importance of family learning. 

According to the National Institutes of Health, “a mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of her children’s future academic success, outweighing other factors, such as neighborhood and family income.” Data from this Gallup study commissioned by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy indicates that if all adults could attain the equivalent of a sixth-grade reading level, the country could generate an additional $2.2 trillion – or 10% of GDP – in annual income! For families improving their lives through education, the impact is more personal. Watch this video to hear how the adult education program at Americana Community Center in Louisville, Kentucky, is so important to two participating mothers.

For over 30 years, NCFL has delivered the four-component Family Literacy model that includes children’s education, adult education, parent education, and interactive parent-child literacy and learning activities (Parent and Child Together [PACT] Time®). Independent evaluation of our programs has revealed positive insights for participating families. Parenting adults have reported getting a better job or earning more money, families increase literacy, technology, and work-based skills, and parenting adults increase their confidence in themselves as their child’s first and most important teacher. We know that when parenting adults and children are engaged in learning together, the whole family benefits, contributing to a thriving, equitable community.

This week, help spread awareness of and build support for adult education and family literacy services in your community with these four ways: 

1. If you’re part of an adult education or family literacy program, make sure your organization is listed in the National Literacy Directory. 
2. Learn the impacts of low literacy from this fact sheet by ProLiteracy. 
3. Use the National Coalition for Literacy’s toolkit with messaging to copy and share on your social media handles. 
4. Head over to the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) website for an easy way to contact your legislators to express your support for adult education investments, as well as to access other ways to get involved.

Learning is a lifelong endeavor that is essential to family and community success. Family literacy supports families in building literacy, technology, and workforce skills—skills fundamental to developing identity, agency, well-being, and prosperity across generations. Join the conversation and find resources in adult education and family literacy by following #AEFL2022, #AdultEd2022, and #AdultEdLiteracyWeek on your social media platform of choice!