Welcome! Read the latest issue of PROGRESS, featuring "The Science of Reading" in Virginia. Read PROGRESS

Community

Connect with each other.

Listen to “Voices from the Field” podcasts or learn what other adult educators and programs are doing across the state in “Stories from the Field”.

Here you will also be able to learn more about our many partners who provide support to adult education throughout Virginia.

Voices from the Field

Listen to interviews with leaders in adult education to learn about what is happening in the field and throughout Virginia.

 

Stories from the Field

Many adult educators have expressed a desire to hear more from their peers around the state. We have launched “Stories from the Field” to answer that call. Here, you’ll find news and events from adult education programs, spotlights on program initiatives, student success stories, and even discussions of challenges facing our field. Hear straight from our very own Virginia teachers, managers, staff, and learners.

Our Partners

As part of The Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center works closely with these agencies and organizations who support our efforts in furthering adult education and literacy throughout the Commonwealth.

Virginia Department of Education

The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center (VALRC) is funded primarily with leadership funds under the Adult Education and Literacy Act administered by the Virginia Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). VALRC works closely with OCTAE to provide professional development, technical assistance, resources, and information to adult educators statewide.

Virginia Commonwealth University

Founded in 1838, VCU is a major research university located in the heart of Richmond. It has a student enrollment of 31,242. The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, established in the mid-1980s, is housed in VCU’s School of Education under the Department of Teaching and Learning. The SOE, ranked 16th among U.S. graduate education programs by U.S. News and World Report, offers undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in adult learning.

Virginia Literacy Foundation

The Virginia Literacy Foundation (VLF) works with public and private organizations to improve literacy for individuals in the workplace. The VLF has spent nearly 25 years building and sustaining a statewide network of community-based literacy organizations. The VLF and VALRC work together to develop and conduct training programs to support community-based literacy organizations across the Commonwealth.

Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education

The Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE) is the professional organization for adult educators in Virginia. The mission of VAACE is to improve the practice of adult education, enhance the status of the adult education profession, and advocate for lifelong learning and the adult learner.

Virginia Community College System

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and VALRC collaborate on a number of initiatives to support adult learners along their career pathway. Since 2008, our two organizations have teamed up to bring the PluggedInVA (PIVA) program to regions across the state. Developed by VALRC, PIVA is a career pathways program that provides motivated adult learners with a contextualized General Educational Development (GED®) curriculum integrated with industry-specific technical training as a means to develop essential workplace skills for entry-level jobs in targeted industries.

Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services

The Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) has been an important partner with VALRC for many years as both organizations have worked to identify and implement programs and services to help adults with disabilities gain the skills they need to be successful and productive.

Virginia Department of Corrections

VALRC collaborates with the Virginia Department of Corrections to conduct training and provide resources to adult educators working in the schools within Virginia’s prisons.

Virginia Department of Social Services

VALRC has partnered with the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) for more than 25 years on a number of projects. In their role as a workforce partner, VDSS works to identify and remove barriers that may keep adult learners from achieving their desired outcomes for skill and education attainment. Through their Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare (VIEW) and SNAP Employment and Training programs, VDSS case managers engage Virginians in a comprehensive work-readiness assessment and refer individuals to adult education in order for them to further their career path and meet their goals.

Virginia Career Works

Virginia Career Works is our workforce partner who prepares and connects job seekers with employers who are hiring through their training providers and network of professional partners. They provide a common referral portal which encompasses all workforce partners to match individuals across the Commonwealth of Virginia with critical training, career, and support resources in order to advance along their career pathway.

Virginia Employment Commission

The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), a partner in the Virginia Workforce Network, is the public employment service established to assist workers in finding suitable jobs and help employers find qualified workers. The VEC offers career assistance for job seekers, employment services for veterans, and employer services for businesses of all sizes. It also administers the unemployment insurance program that provides temporary financial assistance to individuals who become unemployed through no fault of their own. They seek to alleviate hardship for the unemployed, prevent unemployment, and promote reemployment.

 

Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired

The Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) provides services and resources which empower Virginians who are blind, vision impaired, or deafblind to achieve their desired levels of employment, education, and personal independence. DBVI provides an array of specialized services to blind Virginians of all ages to assist them in attaining the skills, confidence, and positive outlook that are critical to independence.

Connect with Virginia's adult education network!

VALRC maintains electronic mailing lists which reside on a server at VCU. We receive and disseminate messages by e-mail to those subscribed to our lists. Subscribers may send messages to those on the lists and will receive messages sent to the lists according to preferences and specializations. Simply sign up at the bottom of our website to “Get the Latest News”.