Exclusive: First lady Lori Shapiro gets an up-close look at Philly's adult literacy crisis
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Pennsylvania first lady Lori Shapiro listening to Beyond Literacy graduates on Thursday during a surprise visit to the group's Philly headquarters. Photo: Isaac Avilucea/Axios
First lady Lori Shapiro sat on the couch in Carol's Corner, the tutoring wing at Beyond Literacy, listening to graduates tell their stories about how the Philly program changed their lives.
Why it matters: Thursday's unexpected visit from Gov. Josh Shapiro's wife — which came together in whirlwind fashion — was a major boost for Beyond Literacy, an adult workforce development program aimed at giving Philadelphians the gift of learning.
The big picture: More than half a million Pennsylvanians struggle with the basics — math, reading and writing.
- Philadelphia has the second-lowest literacy and numeracy scores among Pennsylvania counties, Dawn Hannah, Beyond Literacy's executive director, told the first lady, while holding court with several of the nonprofit's supporters, including State Sen. Vincent Hughes.
Between the lines: The group serves thousands of Philadelphians every year, but hundreds more are wait-listed.
- Hannah had two big asks of the first lady: more funding to support the Philly program, and to push for policy changes that would make it easier for groups like hers to sustain themselves.
- "We're old school. We're new school. We're lit," Hannah said.
By the numbers: Pennsylvania directs about $17 million a year to adult education — a sliver of which goes to programs like Beyond Literacy.
- That's a fraction of the state's nearly $12 billion yearly investment in K–12 public education.
- Hannah tells Axios her group has to stretch its $5.7 million annual budget to do the work.
Yes, but: The group is much like Philly's patron saint, Rocky — it punches above its weight.
Zoom in: Wearing a tri-color dress for the last-minute occasion, Dorrie Miller-Abdul-Rahim said she's now planning to enroll in college classes after graduating from Beyond Literacy's program earlier this year.
- She sobbed as she recalled her journey from struggling to read as a kid to delivering a speech to one of the state's most prominent women — the wife of a possible future presidential candidate.
What they're saying: After passing her final exam, Miller-Abdul-Rahim jumped up and down despite a bad back, not knowing "whether to cry or whether to laugh."
- She did a little bit of both on Thursday, as did her Beyond Literacy peers.
- "I'm here by the grace of God," Sophia Warren told the first lady.
- Warren was shot in the head in her 20s, and was hit by a bus later in life. But she's still standing, and graduated this year.
Reality check: There were too many testimonials to count, including another from Keith Henderson, a technical operations manager at PECO and one of Beyond Literacy's board members.
- The utility company now has Beyond Literacy run its prep classes after seeing immediate results with job candidates who had struggled to pass its tests.
- "Our pass rates were abysmal," he told the first lady. "They proved themselves in six months."
Despite the success, the need for workers outstrips the number of recruits who can take the prep classes every year, Henderson said, imploring the first lady to help pull strings.
- "We're already behind the eight ball. Putting it off, doing 100 per year, it's not going to move the needle," he said.
What's ahead: Before being whisked off in a black SUV, Shapiro demurred when asked whether she'd bend her husband's ear about Beyond Literacy's needs.
- "I'm just going to say that I came here to see the amazing work that they do and see how it impacts lives, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be here and meet with some of the learners and meet with the amazing people who work here," she told Axios.
Hughes took it a step further.
- "I'm going to have the conversation with her husband."