New to the Annual Conference this year, one of the Adult Ed, Literacy and ESL sessions on Thursday will focus on generating enthusiasm and innovation for new approaches to building sustainable programs and services for adult and alternative learners. An incentive grant of $500, made possible by Hartland Insurance Agency, Inc., MACAE’s new partner in providing membership insurance discounts, will provide additional motivation for session participants to be creative.

Entitled “Voices from the Field,” the session will begin with professionals from around the state sharing what they have found over the past few years to be the best new resource, tool, approach or technology. Then panelists will have three minutes each to discuss and share what they would do if they had $100,000 to make a significant impact on improving learning in their district.

Afterwards, participants will break up into smaller strategy groups with a goal of coming up with the best, most innovative idea or strategy, within the realm of possibilities, for improving student achievement for hard-to-serve adult and alternative learners. A team of high-energy MACAE members will serve as coaches and rotate from group to group, making sure participants don’t fall into the “same-old, same-old” routine, but instead push themselves to think outside the box.

The groups will then have five minutes to present their best idea, and a team of panelists will select which group has the most innovative, creative, as well as implementable idea. The winning group will then receive a cash prize of $500, donated by Hartland Insurance Agency, Inc…with a catch of course. At the MACAE Annual Dinner that evening, the winning group will not only have to share their idea with all conference attendees, they will also announce how they will share their cash winnings with either MACAE’s Dorothy Kosovac Scholarship Fund, our Professional Development Scholarship Fund, or MACAE’s statewide advocacy efforts to support community education programs.

All of these ideas will be recorded and forwarded to MACAE’s Focus Groups, the board Professional Development Committee and board of directors to explore how we can turn them from ink on paper to reality. So if you want a competitive edge, start getting your creativity juices  flowing and your head swimming with breakthrough ideas.