Professional Development
The Literacy Assistance Center (LAC) provides professional development workshops, webinars, courses and on-site technical assistance to adult literacy and out-of-school youth educators who work in community-based organizations, libraries, union-based adult education programs, school systems and community colleges. Our areas of expertise include: standards-based reading, writing, math and science instruction; teaching English to immigrant adults, including those with limited literacy in their native languages; incorporating digital literacy and instructional technology into adult education and out-of-school youth programs; adult language, literacy and high school equivalency assessment; Spanish high school equivalency instruction; teaching about social issues in the adult education classroom; and integrating academic instruction and English language development into occupational education classes.

The LAC works in partnership with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development to offer training, technical assistance and coaching to over 100 community-based adult literacy, adolescent literacy, and workforce development programs. The LAC serves as the New York State Education Department's Support and Technical Assistance Center (STAC) for New York City, providing programmatic support to 21 state-funded adult literacy programs housed in community-based organizations, city colleges, and public libraries. The LAC also has worked in collaboration with the Educational Testing Service's  (ETS) HiSET® program, offering professional development services to adult educators in states and territories that have adopted the HiSET®,  one of three national high school equivalency exams.

The LAC offers customized training, coaching, consulting and curriculum development services to organizations and institutions that provide - or are interested in providing - adult basic education, English for speakers of other languages, and high school equivalency classes. Some of the organizations and agencies that have contracted with us include:
  • The American Institutes for Research
  • The New York City Department of Education Office of Community Schools
  • The New York City Department of Education Division of Family and Community Engagement
  • The NYC Workforce Development Corporation
  • The New York Public Library
  • The Queens Public Library
  • The SEIU 32BJ Training Fund
  • The SEIU 1199 Training and Employment Funds
  • The Fingerlakes Regional Adult Education Network
  • YouthBuild USA
  • ProLiteracy/New Readers Press
  • School for International Training/​World Learning
  • The U.S. Department of Education, LINCS initiative
  • The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education
  • The Georgia Technical College System
  • The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  • The Louisiana Community and Technical College System
  • The Maine Department of Education Office of Adult Education & Family Literacy 
  • The Iowa Department of Education Division of Community Colleges
  • The Nebraska Department of Education
  • The CA Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) for Adult Educators
  • Northern Kentucky University
  • Essex County College (New Jersey)
  • Community College of Baltimore County (Maryland)
  • Harford Community College (Maryland)
  • Frederick  Community College (Maryland)
  • Howard County Community College (Maryland)
  • Grace Outreach (Bronx)
  • Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (Brooklyn)
  • YouthBuild Philly
Public Workshop Calendar
LAC Sample PD Workshops
FELT
TEALL
TESLA
To receive our calendar of public workshops via email, request to join the Adult Literacy Professional Network (ALPN) Mailing List by emailing Nell Eckersley. Put "Join ALPN" in the subject line.
"Several LAC staff members visited us to observe current instruction, dialogued intensively with us to understand our hoped-for future direction, and then designed a customized set of training workshops, delivered at our site, over a three month period. These workshops were wildly successful....The work of the LAC is really about economic development – the more that the Literacy Assistance Center can provide similar training in the future, then more New Yorkers can move themselves forward in the workplace utilizing increased educational credentials."
- Andrew Rubinson, Executive Director, Grace Outreach

For more information about LAC Professional Development or Customized Services, please contact Ira Yankwitt, Executive Director, at [email protected].