PRESS RELEASE: With Governor’s Proclamation, Oregon Celebrates Adult Education and Family Literacy on September 14-18

In a proclamation, Governor Tina Kotek has established Oregon's Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, part of a national effort to celebrate and promote adult skills education

Salem, OR | The Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) is pleased to announce that Governor Kotek has declared the week of September 14-18 Oregon's Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, and we encourage partners to participate. The Governor’s proclamation, signed at the Oregon Capitol on August 18, 2026, emphasizes that education is essential for the economic, social, and cultural well-being of the State of Oregon, providing residents with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

The proclamation praises the commitment and hard work of educators in these programs. It establishes this celebratory week to raise awareness and celebrate the achievements of adult learners, and to encourage greater participation and support for adult education programs across the state as partners work together to achieve the state's Adult Education and Training Goal.

In Oregon, adult and literacy education is provided through Oregon community colleges and multiple other providers. At the center of Oregon’s adult education ecosystem is the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title II program, the foundation of the state’s Adult Basic Skills system. Through Oregon’s 15 community colleges and the Oregon Department of Corrections, Title II funding ensures that thousands of adult learners can access literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, English language acquisition, and workforce preparation each year. In 2024–25 alone, more than 13,300 adults participated in Oregon’s Title II program, earning thousands of measurable skill gains and nearly 1,200 high school credentials.

“Adult education is essential to Oregon’s future economic mobility, inclusivity, and prosperity,” said Donna Lewelling, Director of the Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development. “The Governor’s proclamation formally establishing this celebratory week for Oregon emphasizes the critical importance of adult education and literacy statewide. Oregon educators are working to ensure adult learners can access high-quality education and training that leads to stable employment, family-sustaining wages, and community resilience, and we encourage our partners to participate.”

These programs are not only expanding access—they are improving outcomes. Since the last biennium, Oregon has seen a 29 percent increase in the number of adults served in Title II programs and a 35 percent increase in median earnings six months after program completion. Nearly 2,200 Title II participants earned a GED^® and transitioned to employment or postsecondary education, marking a 25 percent increase over the previous biennium. In the past two years, Oregon has also expanded Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs—career‑aligned pathways that pair basic skills instruction with occupational training and workforce readiness skills—and is seeing that the employment rates and wages of these participants are even higher than those of other Title II participants.

Adult education programs reach learners across Oregon and reflect the state’s demographic diversity. In 2023–24, 56 percent of participants identified as speaking a native language other than English, representing more than 32 languages statewide. Sixty‑one percent of learners identified as individuals of color. With more than 239,000 working-age Oregonians lacking a high school diploma and over 160,000 residents experiencing limited English proficiency, Oregon is continuing ongoing efforts to expand equitable access to essential education and workforce services.

Oregon’s celebration coincides with the national Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, organized through the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), and with National GED® Day on September 16, 2026. Each year, adult learners, educators, partners, and advocates across the country are encouraged to celebrate and elevate the impact of adult education and GED^® completers.

How to Participate

• Help us share this news about the positive impacts of adult education! With the Governor’s proclamation, Oregon's Adult Education and Family Literacy Week is now a statewide recognition week and we encourage others to join us in celebrating the thousands of students who are benefiting from these programs, and the educators who serve them.
• Institutions and programs are encouraged to highlight success stories of students who have benefited from adult basic skills education or literacy education on social media.
• Explore COABE-sponsored resources to recognize adult learners here, including social media content and student stories.
• Explore National GED^® Day resources here including success stories to share.

Multiple partners in Oregon work together to ensure that Oregonians benefit from high-quality education and career opportunities. Adult Basic Skills programming supports coordination across the workforce ecosystem and contributes to advancing statewide workforce development, economic development strategies, and statewide prosperity goals.

Learn more about Oregon’s Adult Basic Skills program here, including the upcoming ABS Conference.