NYCCAL is kicking off New York State advocacy for FY 2023 (April 1, 2022-March 31, 2023) with our annual State Advocacy Day on Monday,  February 28. 

Join State Advocacy Day by signing up for virtual meetings with elected officials and joining us on a social media push.

OUR MESSAGE:

• Students in adult education programs have been hit hard by the pandemic: many lost loved ones, jobs and incomes; others have continued sustaining our city as essential workers and parents; and many have been excluded from COVID-19 relief. 
• Since adult literacy providers shifted their classes online last year to protect the health of their community members, these programs continue to be a lifeline for students whose lives and communities have been upended by the pandemic and who need support as the city recovers. 
• NYCCAL thanks the Governor for including $7.8 million in the Executive budget to keep programs whole but more money must be invested in Adult Literacy Education (ALE) programs. 

OUR ASK: 
Invest an additional $15.6 million in FY23 to support the ALE Stabilization and Enhancement Fund to begin to stabilize and enhance ALE programs by increasing the rate per student, allowing providers to better serve the over 5,600 New Yorkers enrolled. This fund would supplement ALE contracts and increase investment in per-student funding in Adult Literacy Education. It will lead to strategic investments in resources, services, and supports, and will lead to greater outcomes and a wider range of impacts for adult literacy students, their families, and their communities. 

JOIN US:
To attend Zoom meetings, all participants (individuals and groups) must fill out the RSVP form and provide contact information by February 22. If you have program participants who want to join our legislative meetings, we welcome them to join us. Simply include their information in this form before February 22.

Meetings may be as short as 15 minutes (they will be scheduled for 30 minutes), and it is likely that not everyone will get to speak beyond introductions. We also anticipate fewer meetings per organization than previous in-person years. 

Lastly, we ask anyone who is interested in participating to keep your schedule flexible the week of Feb 28 and be prepared for last-minute scheduling changes. 

RSVP by 2/22 here for meetings.  Join us on Twitter and Instagram on February 28 by posting why adult education is important to you.  See our hashtags, sample messages, prompts, lists of elected officials, and more in our NYCCAL State Social Media Toolkit.
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​RESOURCES:
NYCCAL State Social Media Toolkit
NYCCAL FY23 State Advocacy One-Pager
State Advocacy Day #LiteracyLiftsNY Image

The New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL) has presented a proposal to the New York City Council to request $10.5 million for a one-year pilot project in FY22 designed to maximize the role adult literacy programs can play in advancing COVID recovery, and to demonstrate that greater investment in wrap around support services and resources for adult literacy students lead to significantly greater social and economic benefits for those students, their families, and their communities.  See the Investing in Quality Pilot Proposal at this link and the Q & A regarding the proposal here.

The City budget will likely be passed in July so we still have time to advocate for baseline funding of $12 and the Investing in Quality Pilot Program.

Actions to take:
Contact your elected officials
Post messages on social media (Photo Prompt--you'll be asked to make a copy)
Call 311 and ask for the city to fully fund adult literacy programs.   

Talking points:
You can talk about how challenging FY21 was, how much programs worked to transition online and modernize options to ensure students can access classes during and beyond the pandemic; the historic underfunding, the new costs given program changes 

Use our hashtag: #LiteracyLiftsNYC 

Find Your City Council Member: https://council.nyc.gov/districts 

On Friday May 29, 2020, we ask that you participate in a virtual celebration Mental Health Awareness Week by sending out Tweets and Instagram messages to our elected officials to support funding for Adult Education and show how our programs support students' mental and emotional health.

Sample Tweets 

• Adult Education promotes mental health  and adult literacy for learners. By maintaining classes in remote settings during this crisis, we are providing ways for them to cope and learn. Please restore funding FY2021 #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek2020 
• Mentally healthy parents help their children receive a better education. Support Adult Literacy Programs #LiteracyLiftsNYC #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek2020

Send Tweets mentioning the Mayor (@NYCMayor), Speaker Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo), and your Council Members, and tag NYCCAL (@nyccal).

Instead of our social media Friday this week, we’d love students, teachers, and providers to submit videos to accompany the testimony before our Thursday, 5/21’s NYC Council Hearing on Immigration, (Remote Hearing scheduled for 9:30-11:00am).

Key points to hit in the 1-minute video:

• Why is your adult literacy program (HSE, ABE, or ESOL English classes) important to you?
• We want $12 million to be included in the city budget to restore Adult Literacy funding for FY2021 so that our adult learners do not lose access to these critical programs.

Upload videos to this Google Photo Album (https://photos.app.goo.gl/rxxooQzeLXVoU4KM7).
If your students are able to, tweet your videos at City Council (instructions included below). Otherwise, teachers and providers can tweet on their behalf.

We are continuing our Virtual Advocacy Rallies every Friday for the next few weeks.

On Friday May 15, 2020, we ask that you participate in a virtual celebration of Mother’s Day by sending out Tweets and Instagram messages to our elected officials to support funding for Adult Education.

Sample Tweets 

• Adult Education educates parents! Help parents support their children- restore $12m for Adult Literacy! #LiteracyLiftsNYC #MothersDay
• Educated parents help their children receive a better education. Support Adult Literacy Programs #LiteracyLiftsNYC #MothersDay

Send Tweets mentioning the Mayor (@NYCMayor), Speaker Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo), and your Council Members, and tag NYCCAL (@nyccal).

Read More for Sample Messages, Hashtags, More Social Media Handles of City Council Members...

Join us for the 2020 #LiteracyLiftsNY Advocacy Day on Wednesday, February 5,

Each year, the New York Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL) and Literacy NY (LNY) meet in Albany to advocate for Adult Literacy Education funding. By meeting with elected officials who have a final say in the State budget, NYCCAL's Advocacy Day is our chance to emphasize the importance of supporting and expanding Adult Literacy for all New Yorkers.

To kick off the day, Assemblymember Ron Kim will join us to host a rally for Adult Literacy in the State Capitol Building. We'll spend the rest of the day meeting with State Senators and Assemblymembers to demonstrate the widespread need for expanded access to adult literacy. Join us to make sure our Albany representatives hear our message loud and clear: #LiteracyLiftsNY!

If you are interested in going and maybe bringing some students, please register here

LOGISTICS:
WHO: New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy
WHAT: #LiteracyLiftsNY Advocacy Day
WHEN: Wednesday, February 5 (meet in Albany at 10:30am)
WHERE: New York State Capitol (btw State St. & Washington Ave)
WHY: Advocate for Adult Literacy Funding in New York State

GETTING TO AND FROM ALBANY:
From NYC: NYCCAL members will have access to 2 buses with centralized pick-up locations throughout NYC. Due to limited space, we're currently capping bus registration for organizations at 20 people. Remaining seats on a first-come, first-serve basis.

From Upstate: Please meet NYC participants at 10:45 AM at the State Capitol.

Please contact Lena Cohen and Ariel Savransky  with any questions. Thank you!

It's that time of year again to join together for a #LiteracyLiftsNY Day in Albany on Wednesday, February 5th!   

We know the beginning of the year is hectic but our decision makers need to hear from YOU and your students! 

​Each year we talk to many elected officials who understand that Adult Literacy is underfunded and the difficulties this causes our community and we need to keep making sure they hear our message!  Throughout the day we will meet with legislators about the NYCCAL priorities and make sure they see our faces and understand #LiteracyLifts!   
 
Details on how to sign up and other day of logistics will be added soon.