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Good afternoon everybody. I'm really pleased to be here as the Assistant Secretary for
OVAE, and I am joined by the Deputy Assistant Secretary Frank Chong and Glen Cummings and
we have an outstanding team of professionals in OVAE.
As Martha and Bill mentioned, the President has set ambitious goals for ensuring that
the U.S. has the most highly educated and most competitive work force and these goals
guide our work in OVAE daily. In order to meet the President’s goal for ensuring that
every American commits to at least one year of post secondary education or training, we
have to look beyond the traditional pipeline of students leaving the K through 12 system
and re-engage adults in learning. Once we do that, we will discover tremendous untapped
potential. There are approximately 75 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 who
do not currently hold a post secondary credential and are not currently enrolled in college.
The benefits that could be realized through successful engagement of adult learners can
be measured in many ways. Not the least of which are the economic returns to the educational
attainment.
Research by the World Bank estimates that if the United States increased the average
years of schooling completed by the adult population from the current 12 years to 13
years – that’s just adding one year of post secondary education, our gross domestic
product would rise by more than $280 billion. Who are the adult learners? Not surprising,
they are a very diverse group. Some adult learners are high school graduates who have
been away from high school for some time but could benefit enormously from additional education
and training to increase their education earnings and advance their careers. A typical Associate's
Degree holder can expect to earn 28% more over the course of his or her work life than
a high school graduate.
Recent U.S. Census data reports that there are approximately 40 million adults without
a high school diploma in the United States. While the cost of not having a post secondary
credential are high, the cost to the individual, to their family, and society of not having
a high school diploma or its equivalent are unattenable.
Last month, the unemployment rate among those with less than a high school diploma was 15%,
7% higher than the unemployment rate among those with some college or an Associate’s
Degree and over three times the unemployment rate among those with a Baccalaureate Degree
or higher.
About two million immigrants come to the United States each year seeking jobs and better lives
– the promise of America. About 50% of them have very low literacy levels and lack
high school education and English language skills severely limiting their access to jobs
and job training, college and citizenship. Other immigrants are highly skilled and educated.
Many immigrant professionals who just lack the English language skills and other credentials
necessary for greater success in this country. There are 93 million people in this country
who lack the basic literacy and numeracy skills required to compete for good jobs. One in
four U.S. working families is low income and one in five of the children live in poverty.
Parents and caregivers in many of these households lack the education and skills to earn a family
sustaining wage. If parents can’t read to their children. They can’t read themselves,
they can’t read to their children. They can’t help them do their homework. The negative
impacts of low literacy are too often compounded across generations. One in every 100 U.S.
adults, 16 years or older, is in prison or in jail. 95% of incarcerated people return
to our communities and it is hard enough for them to find jobs burdened with a prison record,
but nearly impossible if they lack the necessary education and basic skill levels.
These are the existing things that we are doing in OVAE to assist these populations
to increase their English literacy skills, their language skills, literacy skills and
numeracy skills, through family literacy, GED completion, transition to and through
college. There are new efforts that are going on also in OVAE. We are working on the reauthorization
of the Workforce Investment Act which was passed in 1998 and is administered by both
the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. It’s been over a decade since
the Workforce Investment Act was updated, and we need to retool the system to better
meet the needs of the rapidly growing global economy.
We are also working on community college investments. As you know, the passage of the Health Care
and Education and Affordability Reconciliation Act includes an historic $2 billion of investment
in community colleges. Again, we are working very closely with the Department of Labor
on these grants to ensure that education and training is aligned with the workforce needs
so that students graduate with the skills that they need to get and keep good jobs.
We all have a lot of work to do to meet the President’s goals, and we need to make sure
that we’re working across ED and all the Federal agencies.
If I could leave you with one thought, it is that all of the children we are working
so hard for under the Reauthorization of ESEA and all of our early child care efforts also
have adults in their lives. The skills and educational levels of these adults have a
direct and serious impact on the educational outcomes of the children. In closing, let
me just explain a little bit about the two students that stand in front of you. I attended
their graduation while I was the President of Dorcas Place at the Community College of
Rhode Island. Margaret on your left came to Dorcas Place because she wanted to learn to
read so she could open a soul food restaurant. Not only did she learn to read, she got her
GED, she received a Culinary Arts Certificate, received her Associates Degree and she opened
her soul food restaurant.
Jackie, in the middle, came to Dorcas Place because she wanted her children to be proud
of her and she wanted to show her mother that she could be somebody. She got her GED and
was incarcerated for a bit but then came back to our Bridge to College program and graduated
from the Community College of Rhode Island and you can see --her children are very proud
of her.
Thank you very much.