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Mayor’s Commission on Literacy Launches myPLACE, A Network of Learning Centers for Adults

February 21, 2014 Category: Uncategorized

“Literacy is freedom,” said Mayor Nutter at a recent ribbon cutting event for the myPLACE Learning Centers.

If that is the case, Philadelphia is in bad shape.

The majority of working-age adults in the city – about 550,000 people – do not have the literacy skills they need to compete for jobs in the current economy, according to Philadelphia Works, the city’s workforce development agency.

Between 20 to 30 percent of Philadelphians lack basic literacy skills, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

To combat these staggering numbers, the Mayor’s Commission on Literacy (MCOL) is partnering with community organizations to build a network of myPLACE hubs where adults can improve their literacy, computer skills, and educational attainment.

The hubs are designed to expand the capacity of adult education in Philadelphia by helping individuals determine their educational and professional needs and then developing a plan to meet those needs through programs available around the city.

Here’s how it works: participants schedule a meeting with a coordinator at one of three myPLACE campuses where they take a series of tests to determine their educational and professional background. The coordinator then works with the individual to develop plan and work towards getting enrolled in the right programs.

This appointment also includes a registration that enters the individual’s information into a database managed by MCOL and shared with other education-based organizations. This database is similar to a student information system or alumni network in that an individual’s information will stay in the database permanently.

“It basically sets up a learner’s transcript,” said Judith Renyi, executive director of MCOL. The transcript includes assessment scores, demographic information and educational and professional history.

“What this means is that if you have an open seat, you can search for a learner and plug them in,” Renyi added, referring to literacy agencies.

What happened prior to this program is that individuals often found themselves having to shop around the system for the right class and for open seats. This delay, Renyi said, contributes to individuals losing their momentum to learn and never moving forward with their education.

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Hard at work on the public computers at Congreso, now a myPLACE campus.  


The first three myPLACE campuses:

In addition to the myPLACE campuses, there are 13 other organizations in the city that will plug client information into the database and work with the campuses to enroll individuals in their programs.

“We were particularly interested in organizations that have the capacity to enroll some of the people in their own classes, but are also willing to partner with other organizations,” Renyi said. “We need a willingness to share the learners.”

“This is a systems approach,” said Rebecca Wagner, executive director of the Community Learning Center.

Meeting the Demand

One thing that literacy agencies are uniquely situated to notice is that people want to learn and they want to improve themselves. The issue is matching capacity with demand.

The 4,300 seats available at the six state-funded literacy agencies in Philadelphia are often filled before MCOL can refer an additional 3,500 people that reach out to the agency for assistance, according to MCOL.

“We get about 50 calls a week,” Renyi said. “People want to work. That’s where the motivation comes from.”

Prior to this program, people would get placed on waiting lists and MCOL had little ability to track whether or not they eventually got in. This system is attempting to round these people up and keep them on the rolls.

Starting in March, MCOL will also launch its own online course system, myPLACE Online, so that individuals can begin learning immediately. These courses will be oriented around three commonly sought careers, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics. These industries were identified as having entry-level jobs available.

In the two weeks since the program launched, 201 people have already enrolled for an interview at myPLACE campus and 68 people have signed up for classes. MCOL also announced that it is hoping to eventually add three more myPLACE campuses.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-d9IHxyqsk&w=560&h=315]

Video by Al Dia of ribbon-cutting of Congreso myPLACE campus.

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Office of Adult Education

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