The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) Internet and Media Services Department has received a grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation to make significant upgrades to a free website that helps adults learn English and prepare to apply for U.S. citizenship. SCOE created USA Learns under a contract from the U.S. Department of Education, launching the free website in 2008, and maintaining and enhancing it for the past 12 years.
When USA Learns was originally designed, smartphones were still in their infancy. Today, more than 45% of users access the site using mobile devices. The grant funds will be used to rebuild the site, better serving adult learners as they access citizenship, English, and job skills courses with mobile devices.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered the doors of most adult education programs across the country, but the use of the USA Learns system has increased dramatically. Between February 1 and May 16, 2020, the number of daily users was up by as much as 121.75% compared to the previous year.
USA Learns is one of the premier adult education resources in California and the nation. The highly interactive system has been accessed by 14 million adult learners, and is one of the very few sites designed to provide free distance learning to adults.