Colleagues, good news on the Senate Dear Colleague. Deborah============ Forwarded message ============From : Lenehan, Moira (Reed)<Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov>To : "'Deborah Kennedy'"<deborah.kennedy@key-words.us>Date : Mon, 01 Apr 2019 11:37:34 -0400Subject : RE: Adult Education and the President's Budget============ Forwarded message ============ 

Colleagues, good news on the Senate Dear Colleague. Deborah============ Forwarded message ============From : Lenehan, Moira (Reed)<Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov>To : "'Deborah Kennedy'"<deborah.kennedy@key-words.us>Date : Mon, 01 Apr 2019 11:37:34 -0400Subject : RE: Adult Education and the President's Budget============ Forwarded message ============ Hello.  The FY 20 Dear Colleague letter is circulating.   I’ll keep you posted on cosigners.  The letter is below.   Senator Reed invites his colleagues to join him in requesting that funding for adult education be provided at the level authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Grant.  Deadline to sign is COB, April 10.  For more information or to sign on , contact Moira Lenehan at 4-5217, moira_lenehan@reed.senate.gov.   FY 19 Cosigners:  Senators Reed, Blumenthal, Baldwin, Brown, Cantwell, Coons, Cortez Masto, Duckworth, Durbin, Gillibrand, Hassan, Hirono, King, Markey, Merkley, Murphy, Sanders, Shaheen, Smith, Stabenow, Van Hollen, Warren, Whitehouse     April XX, 2019   The Honorable Roy Blunt                                          The Honorable Patty Murray Chair                                                                           Ranking Member Subcommittee on Labor, Health and                          Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education                                Human Services, and Education Senate Committee on Appropriations                        Senate Committee on Appropriations Washington, D.C. 20510                                            Washington, D.C. 20510     Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Murray:   Thank you for recognizing the urgent need to boost funding for the Adult Education State Grant Program in FY 2019. The increased funding will strengthen adult education programs and put more adults on a pathway to greater career opportunities and enhanced economic security. As your Subcommittee considers the Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, we urge you to continue to expand opportunities for adult learners and fund adult education at the authorized level of $678.6 million included in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.   The need for strengthening the skills base for working adults continues to grow. Increasingly, middle-skill and sustainable wage jobs require education beyond high school. Yet, according to U.S. Census data, more than 22 million working age adults have less than a high school diploma. Moreover, an estimated 36 million adults in the U.S. have low skills with nearly one in six having low literacy skills and one in three having low numeracy skills.   Adult education can make a transformative difference for these Americans. Adult participants in basic skills programs experience mean income gains of 53 percent over ten years, compared with an income drop of two percent for nonparticipants. Those who participate for 100 hours or more demonstrate a substantial increase in their literacy skills, are significantly more likely than nonparticipants to achieve a high school credential, and continue to improve their skills after program completion. Adult basic skill program graduates are far more likely than nonparticipants to enter postsecondary education and receive credits, as well as to vote in national elections. However, existing programs are able to serve fewer than ten percent of those in need, and two thirds of programs are struggling with long waiting lists.   Without robust support for adult education, the U.S. is at risk of losing the skills race to global competitors. According to PIAAC (OECD’s Program of International Assessment of Adult Competencies), Americans lag behind the international average for basic skills in literacy and numeracy and “problem-solving in technology-rich environments.” While other nations show consistent progress in increasing the education levels of their adult populations, U.S. adults have not made similar progress. The international Survey of Adult Skills (OECD, 2013) found that our average performance in literacy and numeracy was significantly lower than the international average.   Simply put, we cannot meet our economic goals without a significant and sustained investment in building the skills of working class adults. We urge you to work towards increasing funding for adult education to the authorized level of $678.6 million for Fiscal Year 2020.   Thank you for your consideration of this important request.     Sincerely,     From: Deborah Kennedy <deborah.kennedy@key-words.us> Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 9:59 AM To: Lenehan, Moira (Reed) <Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov> Subject: RE: Adult Education and the President's Budget   Yes. ProLiteracy has put out a white paper that summarizes Steve Reder's research. Here's the cite: Morgan, K., Waite, P., & Diecuch, M. (2017). The Case for Investment in Adult Basic Education. Syracuse, NY: ProLiteracy. Retrieved from https://www.proliteracy.org/Portals/0/Reder%20Research.pdf?ver=2017-03-24-151533-647 The white paper is attached. Deborah       ---- On Thu, 21 Mar 2019 18:33:15 -0400 Lenehan, Moira (Reed) <Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov> wrote ----   Thanks.  Can you send me a citation to the research?   From: Deborah Kennedy <deborah.kennedy@key-words.us> Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2019 10:17 AM To: Lenehan, Moira (Reed) <Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov> Subject: RE: Adult Education and the President's Budget   Moira, thanks for sharing the draft. I'm attaching a Word file with a suggestion for an added paragraph that highlights adult education outcomes. The info in that paragraph comes from research done by Dr Steve Reder at Portland State University. Please be in touch again if you'd like further resources or information. Deborah       ---- On Wed, 20 Mar 2019 18:20:19 -0400 Lenehan, Moira (Reed) <Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov> wrote ----   Hello.  We are working on the Dear Colleague letter for adult education.  Below is a draft based on last year’s letter.  Are there any updates to the statistics that you would suggest.  Any examples that we should highlight?   Thanks.   Moira   Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Murray:   Thank you for recognizing the urgent need to boost funding for Adult Education State Grant Program. The increased funding will strengthen adult education programs and put more adults on a pathway to greater career opportunities and enhanced economic security. As your Subcommittee considers the Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, we urge you to build on that increase and fund adult education at the authorized level of $678.6 million included in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.   WIOA made transformative changes to our adult education system. Adult Education State Grants support career pathway programs that are a crucial to ensuring that we meet the needs of employers nationally and advance our economic competitiveness globally. There is a new focus on preparing our students to be college and career ready and equipping them with essential skills. Additionally, Integrated Education and Training (IET) models combine academic instruction with occupational skills training, providing opportunities to educate our students further faster. However, the promise of WIOA will not bear fruit unless we invest the necessary resources in our adult education systems throughout the states.   The need for strengthening the skills base for working adults continues to grow. Increasingly, middle-skill and sustainable wage jobs require education beyond high school. Yet, according to U.S. Census, America Community Survey data, 12 percent (24 million) of working age adults have less than a high school diploma. Individuals without a high school diploma are twice as likely to be unemployed, three times as likely to be in poverty, four times as likely to have poor health, and eight times as likely to be incarcerated. Moreover, an estimated 36 million adults in the U.S. have low skills with nearly one in six having low literacy skills and one in three having low numeracy skills.   As a result, the U.S. is at risk of losing the skills race to global competitors. According to PIAAC (OECD’s Program of International Assessment of Adult Competencies), Americans lag behind the international average for basic skills in literacy and numeracy and “problem-solving in technology-rich environments.” While other nations show consistent progress in increasing the education levels of their adult populations, U.S. adults have not made similar progress. The international Survey of Adult Skills (OECD, 2013) found that our average performance in literacy and numeracy was significantly lower than the international average.     Simply put, we cannot meet our economic goals without a significant and sustained investment in building the skills of working class adults. We urge you to work towards increasing funding for adult education to the authorized level of $678.6 million for Fiscal Year 2020.     Sincerely,     From: Deborah Kennedy <deborah.kennedy@key-words.us> Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 9:18 AM To: Lenehan, Moira (Reed) <Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov> Subject: Adult Education and the President's Budget     Good morning, Moira,   I just wanted to touch base with you about the proposed budget that the White House released yesterday. I'm sure you already know that the budget proposes a 24% reduction in funding for WIOA Title II (AEFLA), along with a $60 million addition to the WIOA national leadership funding for a pre-apprenticeship program.   I'm well aware that this is just the beginning of the long process of budget negotiation, and that the White House budget as proposed is unlikely to be passed by Congress. As your office takes up its work on the 2020 budget, the National Coalition for Literacy stands ready to provide information on the likely effects of a reduction in Title II funding and the potential problems associated with designating funds specifically for pre-apprenticeship programming. Please feel free to be in touch with me directly at any time.   Cordially,   Deborah     Deborah Kennedy Senior Consultant / Owner, Key Words President, National Coalition for Literacy   office: 202-364-1964 (September-May) office: 603-293-2402 (June-August)   www.key-words.us www.national-coalition-literacy.org