COABE CEO visits Puerto Rico for venue scouting, educational advocacy
Sharon Bonney explores sites for strategic events and discusses the impact of financial literacy.
Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) CEO Sharon Bonney recently visited Puerto Rico to explore venues for the association’s upcoming Strategic Planning Session in July and a gala for the new Educate and Elevate Foundation.
In an interview with News is my Business, Bonney said she also met with officials from the local Education Department during her visit.
“We are checking out venues because we have two things going on,” Bonney explained. “One is we hold the largest convention for adult educators in the world annually, and we are looking for a space for that, and we are also launching the Educate and Elevate National Foundation, and we will probably be holding a gala in Puerto Rico for that. We are looking to hold it in the fall at a time when typically, the rest of the country is cold and wet, so we think it would be great to bring folks to Puerto Rico.”
Bonney shared that the foundation involves leaders in adult education who “stand united in a national campaign to move learning opportunities forward for all Americans to achieve economic mobility.”
“We are helping adult learners who need emergency funds because oftentimes adult learners have various delays in finding employment,” she said, while noting that by helping educate them, they are also helping their children.
“So the family members of the first-generation adult learners will be able to access funding for scholarships,” Bonney added.
Moreover, Bonney highlighted that it is Advocacy April, during which COABE raises awareness about the transformative power of adult education and its role as an economic talent pipeline for workforce sectors.
“Advocacy April is the month when we are really taking off our adult education fellowship, and what this fellowship does is train local administrators on how to talk to mayors, governors, members of Congress about the value of adult education,” she said. “We have an entire fellowship program devoted to this.”
She added that “it gets even better during September,” which is Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. During this week, COABE sends a resolution to Congress and promotes a month’s worth of activities.
Bonney also mentioned that April is Financial Literacy Month, and COABE collaborates with organizations like the Jumpstart Coalition and the National Endowment for Education.
“We will most likely have a financial symposium bringing together our partners,” Bonney said. “What we do is we highlight financial literacy month on social media campaigns and our e-blast that goes out to over 50,000 active members” to highlight financial literacy “because these adult learners often come into our programs impoverished, so it’s super important to help them with financial literacy to help understand what sort of banks to go for when they are trying to get a card for example.”
Bonney emphasized the significant impact of adult education in aiding learners to escape poverty and secure better-paying jobs to support their families.
Among the adult learners who join the program are high school dropouts, immigrants who are new English speakers, people needing to update their digital skills, and those who require assistance using a computer or with resume writing or getting ready for an interview, she noted, adding that more than 70% of COABE’s adult learners are Latinos.
