Adult Literacy Project

Job seekers who lack a high school diploma or polished interviewing skills face major obstacles in their career search. WHYY has joined forces with the Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) in Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties for the WHYY Adult Literacy project. The goal is to make it easier to get these basic skills training. Thanks to a $188,000 grant from Pennsylvania Public Television Network (PPTN), WHYY installed computers with digital television receiver cards at 20 locations. These community-training sites can now offer basic workplace skills and GED preparation video courses in a more convenient setting and at the learner’s convenience.

WHYY uses its new digital television transmitter to "datacast" complete sets of video courses along with workbooks and background information to these remote sites in a fraction of the time it would take to send them through the Internet. And, the information can be updated at any time.

In Montgomery County, for example, 44 students have used the training programs, and students report that the videos bring lessons to life without "talking down" to them. At the Pottstown campus of Montgomery County Community College, four of 22 students using the program have already received their GEDs – one of them scoring 400 points over the minimum. This two-year pilot project is just one example of how WHYY can use its many distribution channels to help solve education and workforce challenges in our region.

Susan Knoble, Executive Director (left) of WHYY Adult Learning Service, inaugurates the Adult Literacy program with members of the participating community-based organizations in Philadelphia.

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