2011 USCAL Conference on Adult Literacy

ProLiteracy and the American Library Association offered a full program of continuing education and discussion sessions. The opening general session introduced the new “Stand for Literacy” campaign, an opportunity for adult learners and literacy advocates—including librarians—to share their personal literacy stories.

Adult literacy continues to be a serious educational and economic issue in the United States. Currently, there are an estimated 32 million adults living with such low-level literacy skills that reading a children’s picture book or understanding the instructions on a medicine bottle pose a challenge.

That’s what made the first U.S. Conference on Adult Literacy (USCAL), held November 2–5 in Houston, so groundbreaking. Sponsored by ProLiteracy, the conference brought together adult learners, literacy providers, educators, librarians, advocates, and policymakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the adult literacy field in the 21st century.

The commitment of adult literacy advocates was renewed and reinvigorated during this inaugural U.S. Conference on Adult Literacy. ProLiteracy and its partners are already looking ahead to the next USCAL conference, scheduled for October 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Congrats to Ohio for Repealing the Anti-Union Bill!

Congratulations, Ohio! Labor collective bargaining rights are still alive.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A year after Republicans swept legislatures across the country, voters in Ohio delivered their verdict on a centerpiece of the conservative legislative agenda, striking down a law that restricted public workers’ rights to bargain collectively.

Labor leaders said their victory contained an important message for Republicans.

“Attacking education and other public employees is not at all what the public wants to see,” said Karen M. White, political director of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest public sector union. “It should resonate with politicians that they’ve gone too far.”

At a news conference Tuesday night, Mr. Kasich congratulated the victors and said he would assess the situation before proposing any new legislation.

“It’s time to pause,” he said. “The people have spoken clearly.”

When asked about the people’s message, Mr. Kasich said, “They might have said it was too much too soon.”

Go democracy! Now, it's time for some celebration music.

Middle Class Students Are Shrinking in College

The percentage of students from middle-income families ($40,000-$100,000) attending colleges and universities has declined significantly since 2005 as rising tuition and costs become unaffordable in this fragile economy.

But the trend has some worried that top-tier, taxpayer-funded universities are increasingly out-of-reach to middle-class students whose families might make too much for significant financial aid but not enough to afford all of the college expenses.

Experts point out that the nation's middle class, overall, has shrunk, which could account for some of the percentage dip at top-tier public universities. They also point out that average in-state tuition continues to rise.

"There has been a real change in the overall distribution of income in the country. It's becoming much more unequal," said Sandy Baum, an economist and policy analyst for the College Board. "That's making many families make difficult choices about college, especially as costs increase."

At all public, four-year universities, the percentage of incoming freshmen from families who make between $40,000 and $100,000 has dropped 8%, while the percentage of incoming freshmen from families making more than $100,000 rose 10%, according to federal data.