Forty-one percent of U.S. adults ages 25 and older have no more than a high school education, and 26.5 million people in that age bracket--12 percent of them--lack even that. Today, many adult basic education (ABE) programs are run by the local K-12 school district, but academic courses and career training are frequently lumped together with offerings as disparate as driver's ed, recreational community-education classes, and preschool. Teachers are often part time, classrooms ad hoc, and data on outcomes rudimentary. This article discusses the evolution of adult education in Rochester, Minnesota. Educators in Rochester forged a partnership between Rochester Public Schools and the Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) that enables adults to simultaneously learn English, learn to read if they lack that ability, and acquire credentials for living-wage jobs. Dubbed Bridges to Careers, the free program keeps its students enrolled until they have mastered the community college's entry-level coursework and earned a first-rung job certification--usually as a certified nursing assistant, personal care assistant, or administrative clinical assistant. Participants have earned hundreds of industry certifications in health care and other fields.