Background

Adult education students in large urban areas such as Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago and Houston comprise a significant portion of all students served in federally funded adult education programs.1 The challenges and opportunities that adult education stakeholder groups face in these large urban areas are often times noticeably distinct from those confronted in other areas of the county. 2 All students, regardless of geographic location, should graduate from high school prepared for college and a career and have the opportunity to complete at least one year of postsecondary education. To achieve these goals, educators, including adult educators, must dramatically improve student achievement and close the achievement gap. Extending these goals to urban settings will require new thinking and thoughtful conversations among federal, state and local adult education leaders.

Overview

Through a series of summit meetings, this initiative will explore the needs and concerns of adult education students, teachers, and local program administrators in large, urban settings. The benefits to the five participating cities are expected to include: enhanced teacher capacity for providing evidence-based instruction, access to evidence-based resources, and technical assistance in building capacity for coordination among key partners. Please note, this project will encourage participants to pay special attention to expanding teachers' knowledge of adult reading acquisition and strengthening their skill in teaching reading.

Project Milestones

• Selection of five cities, Fall of 2009- Spring of 2010
• Five meetings of city teams, 2010-2011

Outcomes and Products

• Three Policy Briefs, Fall 2011

Contact:

Sheryl Adler

1 For example, in a February 19, 2009 speech in New York City, Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan noted how New York City accounted for more than 40% of student enrollment in New York state.

2 See, for example, Martin, L. and Rogers, E. (Eds.) (2004). Adult Education in an Urban Context: Problems, Practices, and Programming for Inner-City Communities. New Directions for Adult and Continuuing Education. Number 101. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Or, Rodgers, A. (2005). Urban Literacy: Communication, Identity and Learning in Development Contexts. Hamburg, Germany: UNESCO Institute for Education.