Phila. Literacy And Career Education Program Continues To Expand
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is picking up where his predecessor left off in the battle against low literacy.
The Mayor took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the fifth MyPlace campus, this one in Center City. MyPlace opened two years ago, offering online group classes for low literate adults. Jennifer Kobrin of the Mayor's Commission on Literacy says the agency has already helped served more than 9,000 people.
"They come from 89 countries, they speak over 29 different languages. Over 50 percent are reading at below a sixth grade level when they come to us," said Kobrin.
Mayor Kenney is hoping MyPlace will continue to expand. He says literacy is the key to avoiding poverty.
"To being able to read and to communicate and to write and to fill out a job application and to pass a test because without it we're never going to break that cycle of poverty," said Mayor Kenney.
