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What We Do

Join us in Houston, Texas!

We'll be in Houston, Texas, from November 2-5, 2011 for the inaugural United States Conference on Adult Literacy™ (USCAL), with workshops, presentations, and speakers for a professional development event you don't want to miss!

USCAL 2011 National Conference
November 2-5, 2011
Westin Galleria
(Overflow Hotel: Westin Oaks)
Houston, Texas

The adult literacy and basic education field today faces enormous challenges related to funding, changing public policy, and a push for more evaluation and outcome measures—all while experiencing an unprecedented increase in demand for services in a down economy.

With 26 national partners, USCAL will explore what these challenges mean for instructors and tutors, program managers, policymakers, and adult learners, with a focus on how to promote innovation and build collaborations among community-based adult literacy, workforce training, social service, and education programs and providers to expand and improve services. USCAL will also provide innovative and exciting professional development opportunities on core skills for the adult literacy and basic education professional. By working together, organizations across multiple sectors can build a stronger adult literacy and basic education field.

Specifically, the conference will focus on:

  • Creating successful collaborations and community linkages to expand and improve community-based adult literacy and basic education programs, particularly between workforce development, health, library, financial, corrections, and citizenship service sectors.
  • Improving instruction in adult literacy, basic education, or English language learning programs.
  • Recognizing literacy as a human right and demonstrating the connection between literacy, social justice, and social change.
  • Supporting literacy for social change in a global context.
  • Promoting adult learner leadership and governance in programs, workplaces, and communities and in adult learner advocacy efforts at the local, state, and federal levels.
  • Leading and managing adult literacy and basic education programs in tough economic times, with a focus on enhancing the skills of senior program managers, board chairs, and executive directors.
  • Using technology and digital literacy to enhance learning.
  • Transitioning adult learners to new learning environments, the workplace, and post-secondary education, while promoting career pathways.

Register online or complete and mail to ProLiteracy the registration form.

Hotel reservations are now being accepted on the Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks website. The group rate of $145 is available until October 4, 2011, and is subject to availability.

Sign up to receive notifications about USCAL!

USCAL Partners:

  • American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE)
  • American Library Association (ALA)
  • Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD)
  • Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)
  • Correctional Education Association
  • Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy
  • Home Builders Institute
  • Home Safety Council
  • Houston READ Commission
  • Interweave Solutions
  • Jobs for the Future (JFF)
  • Kentucky Educational Television (KET)
  • Literacy Funders Network
  • Literacy Powerline
  • Literacy Texas
  • National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs (NAASLN)
  • National Coalition for Literacy
  • National Forum on Information Literacy, Inc. (NFIL)
  • ProLiteracy Council of State Organizations
  • Senior Service America
  • Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
  • Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL)
  • The Coalition of Lifelong Learning Organizations (COLLO)
  • Voice of Adult Learners United to Educate (VALUE USA)
  • Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource Network (WE LEARN)
  • World Education

Thanks to our members for their feedback, which enabled us to design the new format of USCAL with workshops to help members succeed in an era of both unprecedented demand for adult literacy and basic education services and funding cutbacks.