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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.

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?

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

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

Adult Literacy Statistics

LNY on Facebook

LNY on Instagram

40% of low-skilled Americans
have earnings in the bottom

fifth of the wage spectrum

On average, a
High School Graduate Lives 6 to 9 yrs

longer than a dropout

In the last 30 yrs
workers without a High School
Degree experienced an

18.5% decline in real earnings

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?

The investigative journalists at ProPublica wrote this powerful article outlining our country's approach to adult education, claiming that the U.S. "has so far neglected to connect the millions of people struggling to read with the programs set up to help them."

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.

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.

Learn More

Advancing Adult Literacy in NY since 1974

3.9 Million

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's role is to:

Latest Blog Posts

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?

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

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

Adult Literacy Statistics

LNY on Facebook

LNY on Instagram

Resources and Stories

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?

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

Janice Cuddahee Fund

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