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Adult Literacy Facts | page 1 | page 2

American businesses are estimated to lose over $60 billion in productivity each year due workers’ deficiencies in fundamental reading, writing, and math skills. The number of companies reporting skilled worker shortages more than doubled between 1995 and 1998, from 27% to over 47%.

The SIBL Project is committed to reducing these rising numbers through a 3-point annual public relations/education campaign that will hit the streets, homes and places of business where attitudes will shift and hearts will open to yield a greater public demand for equal rights in the area of adult literacy education.

In California, 24% of adults perform at the lowest level of literacy – this amounts to more than 5 million adults who cannot function effectively as citizens, workers, and family members. In San Francisco, 30% of the adults scored in the lowest level of the National Literacy Survey.

Each year, The SIBL Project will focus on a different state’s adult literacy agenda, highlighting the stories unique to that region. The State of California gave seed money to the 2001-2002 campaign, in support of our focus on the needs of the Bay Area adult literacy coalition.

As the education level of adults improves, so does their children’s success in school. Children of adults who participate in literacy programs improve their grades and test scores, improve their reading skills, and are less likely to drop out of school.

The SIBL Project harnesses the universality of song to connect generations and cultures together to perpetuate the legacy and power of reading for all.

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