Our History

On April 6, 2024, the NYC Consortium for Adult Basic Education is presenting the 45th annual Adult Basic Education Conference for adult educators. The Consortium is a non-profit association comprised of teachers, staff developers, administrators and volunteers who meet on a regular basis to select and organize workshops and identify a pertinent issue affecting the adult education community for discussion in a plenary session.

The History of the New York City Adult Basic Education Conference

In 1979, a group of educators met to create a forum for addressing the needs of the adult education community in New York City. Among our founding members were: Alice Osman and Bonnie August (CUNY), Myra Baum, Joan Miller and Fiona Armstrong (NYC DOE). The first conference was held on the campus of Fordham University at Lincoln Center in 1980. Over the years, the Consortium's Planning Committee has included members from the NYS Education Department (Lois Matheson, Garrett Murphy), the Bank Street School of Education (Virginia Kwarta), the Brooklyn, Queens, and New York Library Systems, the Community Development Community (Fatiha Makloufi, Mae Dick), CUNY Office of Academic Affairs (George Bock, Hazel King, Linda Brown), the IGLWU, District 65 UAWI, the Consortium for Worker Education (Toby Emmer), the YMCA, Literacy Partners (Mary Lee Raymond Diamond, Sally Ashley), NYC DOE/OACE (Hannah Letterman, Robin Asserson, Betty Gottfried, Jean Pilger, Judy Moses), Riverside Adult Language Program, and Union Settlement Association (Maria Quiroga.)  From its inception, the Literacy Assistance Center has been closely associated with the ABE Conference. Jacqueline Cook, Dan Rabideau, Karen Griswold, Fran Richetti-Joyce, Beth Godley, Ira Yankwitt, Alecia D'Angelo, Mariann Fedele, Elyse Rudolph, Lisa Van Brackle and Nell Eckersley have all played a significant role in the ongoing development of the conference.

The 2021 ABE Conference Planning Committee includes current and former members from the NYC Dept. of Education’s Office of Adult & Continuing Education, the New York Public Library, CUNY and CWE as well as the son of the Chair Emeritus of the New York City Basic Education Conference Committee, Carolyn Fernando. 

The Mission of the New York City Adult Basic Education Conference

The mission of the ABE Conference is to provide high-quality professional development to adult educators working in programs offering instruction to the diverse population of teens and adults enrolled in ESOL, BE/HSE/TASC, Civics, and Work Readiness Education programs in New York City. At the conference, often-isolated educators enjoy opportunities to network, to share experiences, resources and ideas, to support each other and to expand their professional knowledge.

The ABE Conference has always been informed by a social conscience, a dedication to promoting the progress of our teen and adult students, and a deep concern for increasing the well-being of the diverse community of practitioners in the field by addressing their professional development needs and working conditions. Adult educators participate in interactive workshops facilitated by outstanding practitioners from New York City and beyond. Workshop facilitators and guest speakers share research, innovations, skills, specialized knowledge and best practices. We urge dedicated New York City educators in the community of adult language and literacy programs throughout the city to join our planning committee for the 2024 NYC Adult Basic Education Conference.