Kenney changes name — not mission — of literacy group
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Mayor Jim Kenney signs an executive order rebranding the Mayor's Commission on Literacy as the Office on Adult Education.(Tom MacDonald/WHYY)
The Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Literacy has a new name, but the same mission.
Mayor Jim Kenney signed an executive order changing the name Thursday to help transition the group to a unit under the managing director.
Managing Director Mike DiBerardinis will now oversee the newly dubbed Office of Adult Education.
“It’s elevating the importance of this work in this administration and giving it the reach and breadth that it deserves,” DiBerardinis said.
Kenney said the rebranding is designed to integrate the office with other city services including “parks department, the schools, libraries and recreation centers.”
About 20 percent of Philadelphia adults lack basic literacy skills, according to past estimates. A 2009 report said half of the city’s adults lack the literacy necessary to compete for modern jobs.
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