National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week has begun!

How will you take advantage of this opportunity?

AEFL Week raises public awareness about the need for and value of adult education and family literacy. Its goal is to increase financial and societal support for access to basic education programs for U.S. adults with low literacy, numeracy, and digital skills. Advocates across the country use this opportunity to elevate adult education and family literacy nationwide with policymakers, the media, and the community.

What are some ways to participate this week?

• Start with toolkits and other resources for planning advocacy around AEFL week
• Customize and share NCL’s AEFL Week social media messaging for direct service providers, policy makers, and donors
• Host an online event to raise awareness of adult education and family literacy

What about next week, next month, next spring?

AEFL Week is also a great opportunity to plan out your advocacy strategy for the next 6 months or more.

• Who are your federal and state legislators? What are their positions on adult education, family literacy, digital equity? Plan out a schedule for when you will contact them over the next few months and what you will say.
• What information about literacy and numeracy levels in your specific community or locale can you obtain from the PIAAC Skills Map? How can you use that information to explain the importance of adult education?
• What information about digital access in your community can you obtain from the National Broadband Map? How can you use that information to support your points about digital literacy and digital inclusion?
• What are some of the strengths and successes of your program and your adult learners? How can you use those to illustrate the value (and return on investment) of adult education?

This AEFL Week, take the opportunity to become a more informed, more creative, and more persistent advocate. And let us know how we can help!

National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week was established when the National Coalition for Literacy worked with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Lamar Alexander (R-PA) and then-Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) to create a Congressionally-recognized designation that would draw attention to the importance of adult education and family literacy. Since then, NCL has sponsored AEFL Week in September each year on behalf of its members and the field as a whole, and has worked with Members of Congress to have the week recognized through resolutions in the Senate and the House of Representatives.