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Welcome to Literacy New York

22% percent of New York State residents suffer needlessly from low literacy, severely limiting their quality of life and often leading to unemployment, poverty, health issues, and even incarceration.

We are here to help.

Literacy New York was founded on a vision and mission to serve adults and families most in need of literacy services.

Specifically, the Literacy New York mission is to increase the effectiveness of adult literacy practitioners and the capacity of programs so that adults, families, and communities reach their full potential.

Who We Are

Literacy New York's role is to:

Build the organizational capacity of adult literacy organizations by sharing expertise about funding and data management;
Offer state-of-the-art training for teachers, administrators, and volunteer tutors;
Advocate for adult literacy programs, particularly those that serve students with the most limited literacy skills and English language proficiency.

What We Do

The overarching vision that drives all of our work is that:

In New York State and beyond, innovative adult literacy programs collaborate to meet the literacy needs of adult students in their communities.

News & Events

Jun. 29th, 2022 9:00 am

Successful Literacy New York Conference at White Eagle 2022!

Literacy NY staff and board were thrilled to welcome 40+ participants from Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Funded programs across the state back to the White Eagle Conference Center in June. This was our first in-person gathering in a couple of years, and we saw a number of new faces, as well as old friends, as the ALE-funded cohort continues to grow to serve adult learners in numerous counties in New York State.

May. 6th, 2022 1:00 pm

Literacy New York Planning for LNY White Eagle Conference 2022

After two years, we are looking toward summer and an in-person Literacy NY White Eagle Conference 2022!

Mar. 28th, 2022 10:25 am

Want To Help Kids Read Better? A Message From Literacy Buffalo Niagara's Executive Director, Tara Schafer

The New York State legislature is currently considering an innovative approach to increasing access to adult literacy services by creating a Community Literacy Fund to support volunteer literacy tutors.

A Call to "Re-map the U.S. Adult Literacy Problem"

Our colleagues at ProLiteracy recently published this thoughtful 'white paper', First Things First: Re-Map the U.S. Adult Literacy Problem, a call to all of us who advocate for adult literacy learners to work together to create a clear vision for our field.

Immigrant and U.S.-Born Parents of Young and Elementary-School-Age Children

The Migration Policy Institute has released a report rich with data and analysis related to Immigrant and US-Born parents of young children, further underscoring the important work of programs supported by Literacy New York.

Janice Cuddahee Fund

Founded in September 2019, the Janice Cuddahee Fund honors the memory of a literacy advocate who enjoyed a long career with Literacy New York (LNY), culminating in her leading the organization as Executive Director. Janice Cuddahee's lifetime of service to LNY made our New York network the best in the nation. Janice was, as so many have said, a literacy warrior. She fought for literacy learners; she fought for the role of well-trained volunteers in adult education; she fought for NY State funding; and she fought for increased public awareness of low-level adult literacy in our state and across the nation. Sadly, we lost Janice to cancer in April, 2019.

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Advancing Adult Literacy in NY since 1974

3.9 Million