Feb. 9-15 proclaimed as Arizona Adult Literacy Week
FLAGSTAFF — Coconino Community College is joining others across Arizona to celebrate Arizona Adult Literacy Week, Feb. 9-15, as proclaimed by Gov. Jan Brewer, the college reported in a media release.
“It is an important issue to b ring to people’s attention,” Greg Cross, who handles CCC’s Adult Education, stated in the release. “In Families where literacy levels are low, they are unable to pass on literacy skills and it becomes a cycle.”
About 20 percent of Arizona’s adults experience literacy issues that impair their lives and families, according to Gov. Brewer’s office. It impacts Arizona economy and harms the ability to work productively.
For many, it’s not that they cannot read, but they read at such low levels that they are unprepared for college level reading, Cross said.
The college is one of several locations that offers an adult education program in Arizona and serves between 300 and 400 students per year. Part of the program prepares students for the Arizona High School Equivalency Exam and the other part of the program works with immigrants to raise their English language skills.
Last year, Arizona’s adult education providers supplied more than 1.5 million hours of instruction to improve the literacy of Arizona’s adults.
Visit www.coconino.edu for more information.