South Suburban College celebrating National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week

10/22/2009

SOUTH HOLLAND, IL â€" This week the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) and South Suburban College (SSC) are celebrating National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. This Congressional declaration is the culmination of literacy advocacy and outreach resulting in 26 co-signers in the U. S. House of Representatives, including Representative Phil Hare (D-IL).

Adult Education and Family Literacy programs funded by the ICCB serve adult students who need to improve their basic literacy and math skills, improve their oral and written English, practice for the GED Tests to attain a high school equivalence certificate, and prepare for postsecondary education or training, and employment. According to the latest national survey of adults, over 93 million American adults have Basic or Below Basic literacy skills that limit their ability to advance at work and in education. In Illinois, more than 1.8 million adults do not have a high school diploma and approximately 2.34 million immigrants speak a language other than English in their homes.

Geoffrey Obrzut, President/Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Community College System states that "there continues to be a growing need to provide more adult education services to more individuals."

South Suburban College's Division of Community Education provides residents of local community college District 510 with a wide-range of opportunities for adults to build the basic skills required for success. Students can take classes to improve their opportunity for advancement in today's competitive job market or to further their education through the Adult Basic Education (ABE), General Education Development (GED) and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. These programs are conveniently offered both full-time and part-time, and at multiple locations.

SSC's Community Education staff is well-trained to administer to the needs of their students. All of the Community Education programs are offered free of charge (Federal funds in the amount of $298,923 provides 32% of the support of these programs).

"Our Community Education programs offer an important opportunity for our residents to go back to school to acquire the skills they need to succeed in the workforce," said Jane Ellen Stocker, SSC Vice President of Enrollment & Community Education. "We offer one of the few full-time programs in the state, and we are proud to be a part of the Illinois Adult Education System with wonderful support from our ICCB."

For more information about Community Education registration dates and locations, or for general information about SSC's Community Education programs please call 708-596-2000 x2240 or x2385. For more information about Illinois Adult Education and national adult education facts, visit the following websites:

• Illinois Adult Education
• National Coalition for Literacy

Documents

• Press Release

Website

Illinois Adult Education