Scale LIT

💚 AEFL Week may be over, but the work continues.

Throughout Adult Education & Family Literacy Week, we saw what Adult Education Moves Us Forward looks like across our community.

🪧 Signs were passed.
✍️ Stories were shared.
📣 Voices were raised for adult education.
🤝 Adult education and workforce partners came together.
💚 Learners, practitioners, programs, and partners showed us why this work matters.

Our new AEFL Week 2026 recap brings together moments from community participation and our Adult Education Matters Because… stories, advocacy, partnership, and our Co-Enrollment as Advocacy conversation.

Thank you again to everyone who participated and helped make adult education visible throughout the week.

AEFL Week may last one week, but adult education moves people, families, careers, and communities forward every day.

➡️ Read the full recap and revisit highlights from the week: https://www.scalelit.org/blog/aefl2026

💚 What a week!

All week long, you showed us why Adult Education Moves Us Forward.

You shared your stories. You passed the sign. You raised your voices. And you helped make adult education visible across Illinois.

Thank you to everyone who participated, posted, shared, tagged, and celebrated with us during ! Every photo, message, and story helped show what adult education makes possible.

🌟 We’re also excited to recognize the two participants selected through our Adult Education Matters Because… Share Your Story activity:

🎓 Learner: Muno Mohamud — Rohingya Culture Center of Chicago

✏️ Practitioner: José Luis Mosqueda — Erie Neighborhood House

Congratulations, Muno and José Luis, and thank you to everyone who shared their story with us. Your voices remind us why this work matters. 💚

🎉 And we’re not finished yet!

Join us TODAY from 1:30–2:00 PM CT for our Virtual AEFL Week Town Hall Showcase as we come together one more time to celebrate the week, our community, and the people who move adult education forward.

💻 Join us on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Q0l6LBWESv2NmAieIhYYiw

Every learner. Every opportunity. Every step forward strengthens Illinois.

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Adult ESL Tutoring Program - Pui Tak Center The Boulevard of Chicago Pilsen Neighbors Community Council Central States SER WIOA Youth Program in Little Village

⭐ Adult education moves Illinois forward.

All week, we’ve celebrated what happens when adult learners have opportunities to learn, grow, build new skills, and take their next step.

We’ve shared stories. Passed the sign. Raised our voices. Celebrated learners and practitioners. And strengthened connections across adult education and workforce development.

Together, those individual steps add up to something bigger.

Every learner. Every opportunity. Every step forward strengthens Illinois.

💚 Thank you to everyone who has joined us for —and to those doing this work every day.

🎉 And we’re not finished yet!

Join us this afternoon as we close out AEFL Week together at our Virtual AEFL Week Town Hall Showcase.

📅 Friday, September 18
⏰ 1:30–2:00 PM
💻 Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Q0l6LBWESv2NmAieIhYYiw

Come celebrate the week, hear from our community, and help us finish AEFL Week together.

📣 What a great conversation about Co-Enrollment as Advocacy!

Today, adult education and workforce partners from across LWIA 7 came together at Richard J. Daley College for our Workforce System Partner Meeting to explore how stronger coordination and co-enrollment can help connect people to education, training, employment, supportive services, and other opportunities.

The conversation was moderated by Michael Matos, Director of Community Learning at scaleLIT, and featured:

🎤 Luis Narváez, Vice Chancellor of Adult Education, City Colleges of Chicago
🎤 Matt Weis, President & CEO, National Able Network
🎤 Raylynn Stokes, MS, Director, Adult Education Program, South Suburban College

Our panelists shared examples of how their organizations are connecting people across programs and resources, and sparked a great conversation about what stronger coordination can make possible.

And what better time to have this conversation than during Adult Education & Family Literacy Week? 💚

When partners work together, pathways become stronger.

Thank you to our panelists, everyone who joined us today, and the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership for its continued partnership and support of collaboration across LWIA 7.

➡️ Learn more about at scalelit.org/aefl

📣 Adult education moves communities forward.

Strong adult education systems need strong advocates—and during , adult education supporters across the country are raising their voices.

You can be part of that movement.

🗣️ Share a story about why adult education matters.
📊 Share a data point that demonstrates its impact.
📣 Make the ask: connect with your local, state, and federal elected officials and tell them why continued support for adult education matters to learners and communities.

Not sure where to start? Organizations including COABE the National Coalition for Literacy, and ProLiteracy offer advocacy tools and resources to help adult education programs and supporters take action.

➡️ Find scaleLIT’s AEFL Week resources and ways to get involved at scalelit.org/aefl

Adult education needs advocates. Strong communities need adult education.

💚 “Adult education empowers people, strengthens families and builds communities.”

We couldn’t have said it better.

Thank you to Aldo Vasquez and the Chicago Public Library team for joining our celebration and sharing why adult education matters to them!

Their message is also a great reminder that we want to hear from YOU!

✍️ Adult learners and adult education practitioners: finish the sentence “Adult Education Matters Because…” in 25–50 words and share your story with us.

⏰ Submissions are due Thursday, September 17 at 5 PM.

One adult learner and one practitioner will each be selected to receive a $50 gift card and be recognized during AEFL Week.

👉 Submit your story and find everything you need to participate at scalelit.org/aefl

And thank you to our partners at Chicago Public Library for helping turn learning into opportunity across Chicago. 💚

💚 Adult education moves families forward.

When an adult learner gains new skills, builds confidence, learns English, earns a credential, or takes a step toward a new opportunity, the impact can extend far beyond one person.

Adult literacy is a family issue, too. According to U.S. Department of Education PIAAC data, 82% of adults with the lowest measured literacy proficiency were parents.

That’s why investing in adult education matters—not only for individual learners, but for the families and communities around them.

During , we’re celebrating the learners working toward their goals and the educators, practitioners, programs, and partners helping them move forward.

➡️ Adult Education Moves Us Forward.

🌟 Learn more and join the celebration: scalelit.org/aefl

🎉 Join us Friday as we celebrate AEFL Week together!

There are lots of ways to be part of Adult Education & Family Literacy Week—from sharing your story and passing the sign to celebrating learners, connecting with partners, and helping make adult education more visible.

👉 Visit scalelit.org/aefl to see how you can participate throughout the week.

Then, join us Friday afternoon on Zoom for our Virtual AEFL Week Town Hall Showcase, where we’ll come together to celebrate the voices, stories, and highlights shared throughout the week.

💻 Virtual AEFL Week Town Hall Showcase
📅 Friday, September 18
⏰ 1:30–2:00 PM
📍 Zoom
🔗 https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Q0l6LBWESv2NmAieIhYYiw

Join the week. Share your voice. Celebrate adult education. 💚