The COVID-19 Pandemic from an Adult Literacy Practitioner-Scholar Perspective: Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Should Be Going - Part 2 of 3

Oct 15, 2026

A reflection from an adult literacy practitioner-scholar examines how the Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. rapidly shifted to full distance learning in March 2020. It describes the operational and cultural upheaval, ongoing navigation of conflicting adult literacy paradigms, and the field’s tensions in pandemic and post-pandemic contexts. The text details institutional background, the move to charter status, and pandemic-era efforts to build device access, broadband support, digital literacy training, and an LMS infrastructure for adult academic needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Forum: COVID-19 and the Future of Adult Education

(Part 2 of 3) The COVID-19 Pandemic from an Adult Literacy Practitioner-Scholar Perspective: Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Should Be Going

Background

COVID-19 Pandemic: Building Infrastructure to Meet our Learners’ Academic Needs

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION Summer 2021 [http://doi.org/10.35847/SLotas.3.2.50](http://doi.org/10.35847/SLotas.3.2.50) Forum: COVID-19 and the Future of Adult Education (Part 2 of 3) The COVID-19 Pandemic from an Adult Literacy Practitioner-Scholar Perspective: Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Should Be Going Sasha V. Lotas, Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School In March 2020, Academy of Hope (AoH) Adult Public Charter School, an adult education and workforce development program in Washington, D.C., abruptly shifted—as did most schools in the nation—to a full distance learning model. This suddenness necessitated a huge teaching and learning cultural shift: In only one week, AoH transitioned from an in-classroom learning environment augmented by digital learning tools to a remote learning environment reliant on digital learning tools. Almost a year later at the time of this writing, AoH is still navigating this shift, while also learning from and becoming catalyzed by it. I write this reflection as an adult literacy practitioner-scholar—one who was deeply involved in the sudden orchestration of “lockdown” virtual schooling for adults, as well as one who has struggled with negotiating the tension of conflicting paradigms in adult literacy education, such as the tension between a Freirianbased model and a workforce-readiness model (Demetrion, 2013). While this unprecedented pandemic-year has greatly challenged all fields of our educational system, it has especially challenged the adult literacy education field. Yet, it has also shed more light on the value of the field, as well as on the value of tolerating and learning from the field’s tensions as it grows and evolvesin both a pandemic and post-pandemic world (Roumell, 2021). Background Founded in 1985, Academy of Hope began as a small grassroots adult GED program. Over the next 29 years, AoH grew from two volunteers, four students, and four GED books, to serving more than 500 students annually with over 70 active volunteers. In addition to GED preparation, AoH subsequently added the National External Diploma Program (NEDP), technology training, career counseling, and workplace literacy. In 2014, Academy of Hope became the eighth adult public charter school in the District of Columbia. (The District is rare in that it is home to over 10% of adult charter schools in the nation (Simpson-Baird, 2020).) The decision to evolve from a grassroots adult literacy program to an adult public charter school was fueled by Correspondence: [sasha@aohdc.org](sasha@aohdc.org) 50 the changing adult education landscape: both a revised common-core based GED exam and NEDP, as well as changes mandated by the statute that provides federal funds for adult education, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which superseded the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). By becoming a charter school, AoH was better able to both prepare for adult education’s demanding new role in the 21st century knowledge economy, while also remaining committed to holistically serving adult learners. We hired professionally-trained teachers and enhanced the programming offered to our learners, including workforce training and college transitional services. At the same time, we were also able to invest in critical support services: After years of experience in the adult literacy education field, we recognized that literacy classes, alone, could not sufficiently address the inequitable societal and systemic barriers facing many of our learners. COVID-19 Pandemic: Building Infrastructure to Meet our Learners’Academic Needs Understanding that adult learners could not afford to put their education or career training on hold for the duration of the pandemic, our transition to distance learning was swift and expansive. We converted 44 in-person classes into both analog and digital remote classes in the spring of 2020, allowing us to continue serving both lower and higher-level ABE

FAQs

Why did Academy of Hope shift to distance learning in 2020, and what immediate change occurred?

In March 2020, Academy of Hope abruptly moved to a full distance learning model. The change required a rapid transition from classroom learning with digital tools to remote learning that relied on digital tools.

What were the main barriers learners faced for participating fully in distance learning?

Many learners lacked access to devices and broadband. Even when devices were available, many relied on cellphones or shared devices with children who were also learning virtually.

How did the program build infrastructure to support adult learners’ academic needs during the pandemic?

It converted in-person classes to analog and digital remote formats, provided every learner with a Chromebook and internet access, offered technology bootcamps, and invested in a learning management system to host and integrate teaching tools, assignments, feedback, and assessments.

Oct 15, 2026

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