Hudson County Community College students enjoy a sharing a book together in the College’s Culinary Arts Park on the Journal Square Campus.

Literacy is the cornerstone for lifelong learning and success, but New Jersey has fallen behind. Despite being fifth in the United States for adults with bachelor’s degrees or higher, New Jersey has the fifth lowest literacy rate in the nation. According to World Population Review, 17% of Garden State adults lack basic prose literacy skills, and only 42% of third graders met or exceeded reading proficiency standards in 2023. Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to mandate literacy screenings in grades K-3 beginning next year. He established the Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery to provide online resources and free training that address post-pandemic literacy issues that disproportionately affect multilingual learners, and Black, Latino, and disabled students.To explore this crisis and determine solutions, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will hold a Literacy Forum on Thursday, November 14, 2024, beginning at 9 a.m. Panels of literacy experts and community leaders will discuss how to improve literacy for better outcomes in primary and secondary education, employment, and other aspects of life. The event will be held at the HCCC Culinary Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City, NJ. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/HCCC-LITFORUM. More information may be obtained by contacting Dolly Bacal at [email protected]. The panels are: “Early Childhood Literacy” with Peggy Kaye, author and early childhood education teacher; Sharon Benjamin, HCCC Adjunct Professor, Speech, Composition, and Reading; Dr. M. Jawaad Hussain, Reach Out and Read NJ Co-Medical Director; Mark Hill-Lloyd, Trinity Faith Church in Jersey City; Jackie Anderson, Early Literacy Program Manager, Jersey City Public Library Learning Center; Cherese T. Bracey, author and CEO of Reading Reaps Rewards Early Childhood Enrichment Program; and Amanda Jacobs, Director of Academic Planning and Solutions, Early Learning, Scholastic. The discussion will be moderated by James McGreevey, former New Jersey Governor and Executive Director and Chairman of New Jersey Reentry Corporation. “Facilitating Language Literacy Success for All, an HCCC Student Panel” will be moderated by Dr. Angela Pack, HCCC Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education, and will include HCCC students Daniel Sherman, Diana Valdez, Vanessa Gil, Cristal Perez, John Acosta, and Marcelo Laboriel. “Providing foundational reading skills prepares individuals for academic success, college readiness, and economic prosperity,” said HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber. “We are excited to welcome our panelists and learn about opportunities that help instill reading habits and enable the people of our community to thrive in their academic endeavors and careers.” #   #   #Caption: Hudson County Community College students enjoy sharing a book in the College’s Culinary Arts Park on the Journal Square Campus. About Hudson County Community College Hudson County Community College serves more than 20,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The College offers more than 90 degree and certificate programs, including award-winning English as a Second Language; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management; Nursing and Health Professions; and Humanities and Social Sciences. The HCCC Culinary/Hospitality Management program was ranked number six in the U.S. by Best Choice Schools. The College’s School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers cutting-edge, industry-recognized, stackable credentials in alignment with high-priority workforce needs. HCCC has partnerships with four-year colleges and universities in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond, accommodating seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education. The College’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been recognized with the 2021 Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Northeast Region Equity Award; the “INSIGHT Into Diversity” 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award; the “INSIGHT Into Diversity” 2022 and 2023 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award, and 2024 Inspiring Programs in Business and Health Professions Awards. The College received the 2023 Outstanding Member Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). HCCC was a finalist in seven categories of this year’s American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) national “Awards of Excellence” and earned CEO of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Student Success Awards.   For the third consecutive year, HCCC was selected as one of 18 community colleges in the United States to be named the “2024 Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges” by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) in collaboration with “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.” HCCC was one of 22 community colleges in the nation, and the only college in New Jersey, to be recognized by ModernThink LLC and the “Chronicle of Higher Education” as a 2022, 2023, and 2024 “Great College to Work For®.” HCCC is one of two colleges in the United States to be named a Top Ten Finalist in all three program categories for the nationally recognized 2023 Bellwether Awards, and received the 2023 Bellwether Award for the College’s cutting-edge “Hudson Scholars” program, which also won the 2024 Bellwether Legacy Award.  The College’s exemplary work in advancing student success has been recognized with 2023 “Leader College of Distinction” designation by Achieving the Dream, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community colleges as catalysts for equity and mobility in their communities. HCCC was also presented the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention in 2023 and 2024 for demonstrating leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion.