1. Will you make adult education one of your education priorities?

There is nothing more important to our future than education. I was the first in my family to go to college and that has made all the difference in my life. I believe that every American must have an equal opportunity to work hard and build a better life. Giving everyone a strong education is critical to achieving this goal. As president, I will support adult education programs to ensure that we have a fully equipped workforce and that everyone has an equal chance to succeed.


2. The current adult education system serves approximately 3 million of the 93 million individuals a year in need of adult literacy services, with waiting lists throughout the United States. If elected, what steps will your administration take to increase access for new immigrants, the unemployed, underemployed, high school dropouts and others in need of assistance?

The federal government’s investment in training and employment services has dropped nearly in half over the past 20 years to only $35 per worker. I support the expansion of America’s workforce development and training programs and adult literacy education. Career counselors and training programs that draw on businesses, unions and local community colleges have been shown to be effective. For example, my Green Collar Jobs Training Program will create workforce development partnerships like these, training and employing up to 150,000 workers a year in the new energy economy.


3. Will you support intergenerational literacy programs (combining adult education and early childhood education) and other efforts directed at improving the literacy or academic skills of parents and other caregivers so they can fully support the education of their children?

Thirty million American adults have very limited literacy skills and the children of functionally illiterate parents are twice as likely to be illiterate themselves. Family literacy programs address the educational needs of both parents and children by enhancing the language skills of adults and providing age appropriate instruction to accelerate the cognitive development of children.

President Bush has drastically cut funding for family literacy. I will restore funding and give family literacy programs the support they deserve.


4. Will you support workplace education services in partnership with employers that will enable currently employed undereducated adults to improve their reading, writing, math and English in order to compete for increasingly complex jobs?

While training alone is no substitute for good trade policies, we must do more to help workers get skills and move ahead in their careers. As president, I will make an aggressive, multi-pronged effort to help workers advance by building career ladders that help low-wage workers gain skills and move up into well-paying jobs that can support their families. I will support industry labor-management partnerships that work with community colleges and educators in industries like health care and manufacturing to expand opportunities for tailored, industry-specific training. I will also support quality on-the-job and customized training for responsible businesses that agree to hire and train previously jobless workers. And I will invest in trained, professional career counselors, which is a proven, cost-effective approach to helping workers identify quality job and training opportunities.


5. In order to overcome the stigma of adults returning to school, will you use your bully pulpit to set the expectation that all adult parents, workers, and community members will enhance their potential by improving their reading, math and English skills?

I believe that high school dropout rates are unacceptably high. We must redouble o ur efforts to create the opportunities that students need to earn a high school diploma with the skills and knowledge they need to continue their education.

Surveys find that dropouts almost universally express regret over leaving school; as adults, 81 percent say that graduating from high school is important to success in life. Because one size does not fit all students, I believe we must create multiple pathways to high school graduation. I will create “second chance” schools to help former dropouts return to school and earn their diploma with flexible class times and locations as well as connections to youth development services. I will also support alternatives for students at risk of dropping out, such as smaller schools and classes, academically rigorous alternative schools, flexible and accelerated schedules, academic and other support services, career academies, and engaging coursework connected to real life experiences. New York City has achieved successes with its transfer schools and young adult borough centers. I also supports proven programs like Job Corps and YouthBuild USA.