[NLA] Celebrating 35 Years of the AELS

[Thomas Sticht]

Celebrating 35 Years of the Adult Education
& Literacy System (AELS) of the United States

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

The Adult Education Act signed into law early in fiscal year 1967 created
what I call the Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) of the United
States. The AELS consists of the 3500+ programs that receive funds from
and operate according to the rules of the State Grants program of the
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998.  As a publicly supported
education system, the AELS takes its place alongside the public K-12
school system for children and the public higher education system for
adults. In program year 1999-2000 the AELS served some 2.9 million adult
learners.

Fiscal year 2002 marks 35 years of the AELS. In celebration, I have been
conducting a speaking tour across the nation. To date I have given
presentations in New York, California (twice), New Mexico, and Minnesota.
Over 1,300 adult educators, adult students, government officials, and
business representatives have heard about the AELS as the third major
component of public education in America.

On my tour I have had the pleasure of meeting in person a good number of
members of the NLA list. I have had some solid discussions about issues
facing adult educators in the different states, and I have been impressed
by the thoughtfulness and dedication that NLA list members show in their
advocacy and other efforts to advance adult literacy education in their
states.

This month I wrap up my tour with just two more stops. For those who may
be interested in stopping by to say hello, following is a list of dates,
places, and contacts:

October 18
Washington, Seattle
Delight Willing
Seattle University
dwilling at seattleu.edu

October 23
Massachusetts, Marlborough
Charlie Houghton
Massachusetts
Coalition for Adult Education
charlie at mcae.net


THE ADULT EDUCATION & LITERACY SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES
Serving America’s Adult Learners for 35 Years!





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