Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has designated Sept. 22-28 as Kentucky Adult Education Week.
Local adult education centers will sponsor community events and activities to raise awareness of free, academic skill-building services available to qualified adults. The state observance coincides with National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week set by the United States Congress.
“It’s a pleasure to recognize the important work that our adult education programs are doing to raise educational attainment levels among Kentuckians. This work ultimately affects our families, communities and the state economically, culturally and socially,” said Beshear.
Reecie Stagnolia, vice president for Kentucky Adult Education, Council on Postsecondary Education, said, “Roughly 400,000 working-age adults lack the high school credential they need to prepare themselves for college or career. While we’ve had great success in reducing Kentucky’s population without a high school diploma, much work remains. We are grateful to Governor Beshear for designating Kentucky Adult Education Week to bring attention to this important issue.”
According to the Adult Education Act of 2000, adult illiteracy is a fundamental barrier to every major challenge facing Kentucky, including early childhood education, education reform and economic development efforts. The national and state week is an opportunity to spotlight the many opportunities available across the Commonwealth in an effort to serve more adults.
Lee Ann Branham, assistant director of Greenup County Adult Education, said, “We hope to get more community involvement and more recognition of the adult education needs of our region. We also hope to raise awareness of all the services offered by our program.”
Greenup County Adult Education activities include a 5K race, displays at local public libraries and the Book-It Challenge that calls for adults to submit a photo of themselves reading to a child. The photos will be posted on the program’s Facebook page.
Story provided by Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
