About the Campaign
How It All Started
Educate & Elevate is a national public awareness and advocacy campaign led by the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), uniting over 82,000 adult education leaders to champion adult learning opportunities across the U.S.
Launched in 2017, the campaign emerged as part of COABE's strategic efforts to raise visibility for adult education, shift public and policy conversations, and secure increased funding.
Campaign Objectives
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Demonstrate the value adult education delivers to students, workers, businesses, communities, and the economy.
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Promote economic and social mobility by highlighting how skills-building leads to better jobs, self-sufficiency, and growth.
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Empower educators with tools and resources to advocate effectively with policymakers, funders, and stakeholders.
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Amplify success stories, innovations, and testimonials through a dedicated website, videos, toolkits, webinars, surveys, and a community of practice.
The campaign continues to drive national recognition, media features, and funding advocacy for adult education programs. For more, visit educateandelevate.org.
Why a Campaign?
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America is at a crossroads. We need every person in our nation ready to contribute to America’s competitiveness. The new White House Administration needs to know the value we bring as an adult education system and why funding is a high priority.
What are the benefits for participation?
Any adult educator and adult education organization may participate in the campaign. When you submit a success story, your organization will be highlighted on our website. You will also receive marketing materials, including webinars that will show you how to successfully advocate for your program at the local and national levels. Collective storytelling and outcomes data make an impact on policymakers in helping them understand the value we bring to their priority agendas.
Lead | Equip | Empower
Advocacy Tools to Help Raise Your Voice
Please let legislators know that the increased funding for adult education is critical to our hard work in the field.
You can send an email below and/or make a phone call. You are welcome to add impact data showcasing your work in the editable email below.
Take action today to let your legislators know that Adult Ed is important!
Adult education can be highly effective in preparing students for the world of work by teaching them contextualized workplace competencies and study skills that help them to become lifelong learners. These competencies are important for success in today’s economic landscape as they align students’ skills with the market demands of business and industry. As part of the Workforce System and its partners funded by the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA), Adult Education provides an entry-point into job training and employment for 1.5 million adults each year by serving students with high school equivalency, industry-recognized training and credentials and wrap around services.
Your successes and the strengths that adult basic education bring to individuals, families and communities is easily overlooked by the news media and elected officials. To help you be your program’s best advocate, COABE has assembled a Media Outreach Toolkit. These tools and templates are designed to make it easier for you to offer story ideas, submit “op-ed” opinion pieces, and garner editorial and columnist support.
State fellows together with association and state agency leaders from across the country will meet with their members of congress during Adult Education and Family Literacy Week (AEFL) to share the value of Adult Education. We speak with one voice as we call for $810 million for the Adult Basic Education State Grants program in Fiscal Year 2024 to enhance adult education programs and increase the number of learners they serve, and as we advocate support for the bipartisan, forthcoming Adult Education WORKS Act and the bipartisan Strengthening Research in Adult Education Act.
Contact advocacy@coabe.org with any questions.
