Advocacy through the Lens of “Literacy for Justice”

A Greenhouse Meeting Hosted by the Urban Alliance for Adult Literacy

October 8, 2026

Please introduce yourself (in the chat)

• Your name
• Organization and community you’re based in
• Adult foundational education (AFE) coalition (network) you work with, if any

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(This session is being recorded and will be posted on our website.)

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Presenters

Presenters from the Literacy Assistance Center

• Ira Yankwitt, Executive Director
• Sierra Stoneman-Bell, Director of Strategic Initiatives

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Moderators: Urban Alliance Steering Committee Members

• David J. Rosen
• Paul Jurmo

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Why this topic?

• The Literacy Assistance Center has a long (40+ years) history of working with partners to provide supports (advocacy, policy development, research, professional development, data management …) to NY City’s diverse adult foundational education (AFE) efforts.

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• Two recent LAC initiatives might be of special interest to those working in other urban communities:
• Generating increased funding for improving quality of AFE services
• Literacy & Justice Initiative

Today’s agenda

First hour

• 40-minute updates by Ira and Sierra about:
• Recent city funding increases focusing on quality improvement
• The Literacy & Justice Initiative
• Q & A: 10-15 minutes

Additional 30 minutes: Less-formal discussion.

Please post questions and comments in the chat. We’ll discuss them in Q&A and less-formal discussion.

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What We’ll Cover

• The Literacy Assistance Center (LAC)
• Who We Are
• What We Do
• How We Do Advocacy
• Our Advocacy Success in NYC: 2016 - 2026

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• How We Shifted the Discourse
• Adult Literacy Education as an Immigrant Justice Issue
• The Investing in Quality Report
• The Literacy & Justice Initiative

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• How We’ve Changed the Funding Model
• Adult Literacy Pilot Project
• Adult Literacy Forward

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• Why We Believe We’ve Been Successful

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• Ask and Discuss: Does Any of This Seem Relevant to You?!

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The LAC: Who We Are

The Literacy Assistance Center (LAC) is a 43-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening and expanding the adult education system, and to advancing adult literacy as a core value in our society and a foundation for equal opportunity and social justice. www.lacnyc.org

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The LAC: What We Do

• Professional Development and Technical Assistance – for approximately 80 publicly funded adult literacy programs in NYC (mostly Community-Based Organizations (CBOs))
• Data Management and Analysis – for 130 state-funded adult literacy programs throughout NYS and for 63 city-funded programs in NYC
• Advocacy – mostly in support of CBO adult literacy programs in NYC
• Over 90% of our funding comes from the state and city

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How We Do Advocacy

• As part of the New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL), our longtime citywide advocacy coalition www.nyccaliteracy.org
• Through the lens of the LAC’s Literacy & Justice Initiative, www.literacyjustice.org
• As part of other city and statewide coalitions (e.g. The New York Immigration Coalition, The People’s Plan)

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Our Advocacy Success in NYC: 2016-2026

• In FY 2015-16, there was ~$5M in city funding for community-based adult literacy programs.

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• In FY 2026-27, there is $26.5M in city funding for community-based adult literacy programs.

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• This includes $14.5M in New York City Council funding for 63 programs to provide ESOL, ABE, HSE, BENL, civics education, and/or digital literacy classes at a rate of $425 per instructional hour (the equivalent of $102,000 for a class that runs 6 hours a week for 40 weeks).

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[Note: At $125.8 billion in FY27, the budget of NYC is larger than the budgets of 45 states.]

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How We Got Here: Shifting the Discourse

• 1.7 million immigrants in NYC with limited English proficiency or without a HS diploma.
• In 2013, NYC elected a progressive Mayor and a more progressive City Council. We began to identify supportive CMs and those in the admin.
• We framed our advocacy for adult literacy education within the broader context of immigrant rights, immigrant access, and immigrant inclusion. Argued that the expansion of ESOL classes is a fundamental social justice issue in a “sanctuary city” that claims to be committed to safety and opportunity for all immigrants.
• From FY2015-16 to FY2016-17, city funding was increased from ~$5M to $15.5M, of which $9.5M was just for one year.

Testimony Before the NYC Council Immigration Committee, Spring 2016:

“This is an administration and City Council that champions social and economic rights and justice; and yet the current level of investment in the adult language and literacy services that are fundamental to access and equity for so many immigrants does not reflect that vision. The de Blasio administration and the City Council have made unprecedented investments in Universal Pre-K and afterschool programs, demonstrating a profound commitment to educational achievement for all of New York City’s children….there should be a parallel adult literacy program created for the parents of those children as well….This is a City that champions basic human rights. Let’s recognize Universal Literacy as one of them.”

How We Got Here: Shifting the Discourse

• Details 14 "Building Blocks" of a comprehensive, community-based adult literacy program, identifies the resources needed to fully implement the Building Blocks, and includes a first-of-its-kind cost model budget.
• The model budget yielded a cost of $7,400 per seat, or “slot,” for 400 hours of instruction and connected support. The report used the "cost per slot" because it is a more reliable and stable unit of measure than "cost per student" due to the variability of program models and periods of student engagement. The $7,400 cost per slot equated to an Instructional Hour rate of $333 per hour.
• In the winter of 2020, NYCCAL began to advocate for the NY City Council to invest in a pilot project that would test the hypothesis that greater levels of investment would lead to wider and deeper outcomes and impacts for students and communities. 

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Investing in Quality: A Blueprint for Adult Literacy Programs and Funders

(December 2017)

How We Got Here: Shifting the Discourse

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Build solidarity with the wider social justice community to advance adult literacy education as part of a comprehensive equity agenda.

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Significantly expand educational opportunities for the 2.2 million adult New Yorkers in need of literacy justice.

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How We Got Here: Shifting the Discourse

LITERACY & JUSTICE: A CALL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION

(December 2020)

“….We envision an adult education system that honors the diversity of our students and their self-determination and that embraces the power and potential of adult literacy programs to align their work with broader campaigns for human rights and social justice.

Adults who need educational opportunities live on the forefront of struggles for racial justice, immigrant rights, civil rights, gender equity, workers’ rights, fair housing, educational equity, universal healthcare, voting rights, environmental justice, police accountability, and carceral reform, where grassroots organizing efforts are leading the way to improve conditions and make systemic change. These efforts can be strengthened by integrating adult literacy skills-building into these movements, as well as by engaging adult literacy students around social, political, and economic issues in their classes and explicitly developing their skills as community leaders.”

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How We Got Here: Shifting the Discourse

LITERACY & JUSTICE: A CALL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION

(December 2020)

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“Adult literacy education can provide the space for community members to read, write, and speak the truth of their lived experience; to build understanding and solidarity across differences; to examine historical and current systems of oppression and envision alternatives; and to claim the power to transform the cultural, social, political, and economic structures that circumscribe their lives. Through adult literacy programs, students gain valuable skills and connections to community resources and family supports. In its most powerful forms, adult literacy education can be a catalyst not only for individual empowerment but for critical consciousness and collective action.”

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How We Got Here: Shifting the Discourse

Testimony Before the NYC Council Immigration Committee, Spring 2021:

…[T]here are more than 2.2 million adults in New York City without English language proficiency or a high school diploma. Many of these New Yorkers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, performing the essential work that has been sustaining our communities – as grocery workers, delivery workers, home care workers, and parents….

…Adult literacy education is an immigrant rights issue, a feminist issue, a racial justice issue, and an issue of educational justice. The majority of adults in NYC with limited literacy skills are women and people of color. Over 75% are immigrants, including many who are undocumented. Others are BIPOC who were born in the US and underserved by the public school system. Adult literacy education can provide the foundation for greater security and autonomy, as well as the tools to access, navigate, analyze – and ultimately transform – social, political, and economic systems and conditions….

…[W]e need to recognize and capitalize on the role that adult literacy programs can play in furthering racial, social, and economic justice by linking adult literacy students to movements and campaigns relevant to their lives and emanating from their communities. Adult literacy education is about cultivating individual leadership and building community power….

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Changing the Funding Model

In FY 2021-22, the NYC Council invested $2.5M in the Adult Literacy Pilot Project:

• Purpose: To strengthen existing programs and test the hypothesis that increased funding per student will lead to stronger programs and greater outcomes for students and communities
• Funding awarded to 19 adult literacy programs run by community-based organizations across NYC
• $70,000 - $150,000 per program
• Pilot programs were not required to increase student enrollment
• 4,537 adult literacy students impacted
• Average of $650 additional funding per student

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Changing the Funding Model

The Pilot Project recognized 18 outcome and impact areas:

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Changing the Funding Model

Changing the Funding Model

In FY 2024-25, the NYC Council increased the funding from $2.5M for 19 programs to ~$8M for 42 programs:

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• Up to $100,000 of each Pilot award could be used flexibly for program enhancements and/or service expansion.
• Any amount of Pilot funding over $100,000 had to be used for service expansion at a rate of $425 per instructional hour. (This was based on the effective instructional hour rate from the LAC’s 2017 Investing in Quality report, adjusted for inflation.)

Changing the Funding Model

“Adult Literacy Forward has been a transformational funding model for Fifth Avenue Committee – one that not only strengthens our programs, but unlocks possibility, dignity, and power in the communities we’re so proud and honored to serve. With investments in new staff, new learning opportunities, leadership support, and professional development, we have built stronger programs and a more resilient and engaged community of educators.…The results are clear: stronger engagement, persistence, retention, and measurable skill gains.”

-- Fifth Avenue Committee

Changing the Funding Model

“The flexibility of this funding...allows us to look beyond the curriculum and support the whole student, meeting the unique, complex needs that often stand in the way of learning. Because we can offer this more personal, tailored approach, we’re seeing a renewed sense of motivation and steady attendance in our classrooms. We aren't just teaching literacy and digital skills; we’re giving our participants the tools and confidence they need to navigate their daily lives and future academic goals.”

-- Urban Health Plan

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Korean Community Services ESOL students present their Crossing Bridges: Elements of Culture Project

Changing the Funding Model

“The impact of these enhancements has been clear: more students are enrolling, staying engaged, and making meaningful progress toward their personal, academic, and professional goals.”

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-- Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement

Increased students and/or instruction

Improved program impact/success

41 programs reporting

8,547 students were served in FY26.

27,000 instructional hours were provided.

Changing the Funding Model

• In FY 2025-26, the NYC Council renamed the funding Adult Literacy Forward and invested in creating a dedicated data collection system (NYC RISE).
• In FY 2026-27, the NYC Council renamed the funding NYC RISE with Adult Literacy Forward (ALF) and folded in an additional $6.5M and 21 programs with other Council funding, creating a $14.5M funding stream with 63 programs.
• NYC RISE with ALF supports classes in ESOL, ABE, HSE, Basic Education in the Native Language, civics education, and digital literacy, as well as program supports and student services such as increased staff capacity, professional development, classroom infrastructure, contextualized curriculum and instruction, counseling, and case management.
• Combined with $12M in competitively bid, multi-year contracted funding, the city’s annual investment of $26.5M in adult literacy education eclipses the total WIOA Title II dollars that come to NYC.
• Our advocacy focus now is on having any future funding adhere to a similar funding model as NYC RISE with Adult Literacy Forward.

Why We Believe We’ve Been Successful

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• We’ve had champions among City Council members and City Council staff who’ve had lived experience with adult literacy education and who have seen how it can impact people’s lives and support families and communities.
• We’ve focused on adult literacy education as a civil rights, a human rights, and a social justice issue, not just as a workforce or economic development issue.
• We’ve highlighted the range of supports, services, and resources that community-based adult literacy programs can provide and the full range of outcomes and impacts they can have.
• We’ve had City Council members who see adult literacy education as an immigrant justice issue and an educational justice issue.
• We’ve had a strong, sustained grassroots coalition that has included members and supporters from other strong coalitions.

Questions & Comments?

Please post your comments and questions to the chat and/or raise your hand now. . .

. . . (and stay on after this presentation for additional discussion if you can.)

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Thanks!

We appreciate your interest and participation in this discussion and other Urban Alliance activities! (Visit https://www.urbanallianceforadultliteracy.org for more information and to see a recording and slides from this presentation.)

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Activities include our Adult Literacy Café Discussion Group. Email urbanallianceforadultliteracy@gmail.com with “Join Adult Literacy Cafe" in the message header.

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To get on our mailing list, email  urbanallianceforadultliteracy@gmail.com with “Mailing List" in the message header.

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We are also recruiting candidates for our Steering Committee. If interested, email urbanallianceforadultliteracy@gmail.com with “Steering Committee" in the message header. 

Discussion (continued)

For the next 30 minutes, let’s share. . .

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• your questions and comments for the presenters and others who are here now (using the chat or by raising your hand and unmuting yourself when called on).
• a bit about yourself and your work with issues like those discussed previously.