ProLiteracy Praises Discussion of Adult Literacy in Presidential Contest

All Candidates Challenged to Reveal Stance on How to Address National Crisis

April 4, 2008
Syracuse, NY

The president of the organization representing 1,200 adult basic education and literacy programs in the U.S. said he was pleased to hear presidential candidate Barack Obama say that help must be given to parents who are poor readers so that their children can be successful in school. But David C. Harvey said ProLiteracy’s membership wants to hear specifics about what Obama means by helping “at risk” parents and how much federal money he is willing to commit to supporting adult literacy programs.

In an April 2 appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews, Obama said that helping children be successful in school begins even before pre-K. “It’s also starting with at risk parents when they have their child, working with them to make sure that they are reading to their kids, and if they can’t read to them, then teaching those parents to read, making sure they have books...”

“ProLiteracy has long said that a parent is a child’s first teacher and that any effort to improve the reading and writing skills of our school children must include an adult literacy element, so to hear Senator Obama say this in a national forum is very encouraging” Harvey said. “Now I’d like to hear details of a specific program and the role that the existing adult literacy provider network will play in it to address this national crisis.”

In a written response to questions from national leaders in adult literacy that appear on the Web site Literacy President, Obama said that, as president, he would make adult education an educational priority. He indicated he would support: funding for programs targeted to helping adults gain new skills; provide retraining assistance—including basic writing and math skills— for workers whose jobs are vulnerable; and emphasize an adult education program for immigrants that includes learning English.

Harvey also challenged both Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain to make public their positions on adult education and to include specifics regarding federal funding for local adult basic education and community-based adult literacy organizations. Federal funding for such programs, made available through state grants supported by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998 (Title II of the Workforce Investment Act) has been cut by $20 million over the past five years.

“Neither Sen. Clinton nor Sen. McCain have made their positions known on the Literacy President Web site, nor have they been very specific about what they will do to address the huge adult literacy issue in the U.S. that impacts poverty, unemployment, health care costs, and crime rates in this country,” Harvey said. “The 30 million adults in this country who can’t read better than the average grade school student deserve an answer.”

About ProLiteracy: ProLiteracy supports adults and young people in the U.S. and internationally who are learning to read, write, and do basic math by training instructors, publishing instructional materials, and advocating for resources and public policies that support them. ProLiteracy represents more than 3,000 organizational and individual members in the U.S. and works with 125 nongovernmental agencies in 65 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.