It’s hard to believe that summer is over and it’s back to school time! I hope you had an opportunity to take some time to refresh, recharge and re-energize for the new school term. I do hope everyone has enjoyed a smooth start to the school year without any major issues.
With a new school year comes many changes. That’s true for ACE as well. June 30th marked the completion of the two-year term for ACE President Maria Miranda. During Maria’s presidency, her leadership and vision led us through the challenging time of selecting a new Executive Director for ACE. It also saw an increase in membership due to new membership options, successful ACE Conferences and Summer Symposiums, and continued support of the ACE office and Board of Directors. She will continue serving on the Board of Directors as Past President and District XVII Director.
Melanie Stefanowicz, Osceola County, began her two-year term as ACE President at the July Board Retreat. Melanie is a strong advocate for adult education, and we look forward to her continuing to advance the mission of ACE and adult education in Florida.
We also said goodbye to four retiring board members. Andrew Jenkins – District VI, Shannah Kosek – District IV, Angela Perpilus – District X, and Martha Compton – District II retired June 30th from the Board. These members volunteered their time and resources and are champions for adult education in Florida. We thank each of them for their leadership, dedication and continued support of ACE and adult education.
ACE says ‘welcome’ to our new District Representatives joining our Board of Directors: Joli Hartzog – District II, Alex Heidelberg – District VI, and Dr. Danielle DeConcilio – District X. District IV is having a special election to fill this position. We are very excited and honored to have them serve on our Board of Directors.
The ACE office is pleased to report a very successful 2018-19 year of professional development training for adult educators. We hope you have incorporated into your classrooms some of the best practices, instructional strategies, technology, ideas and resources you learned from the trainings you attended.
The 2019-2020 year is shaping up to be another great one for professional development starting with our annual ACE Conference. We hope you can join us October 2-4 at the Hilton West Palm Beach and the Palm Beach County Convention Center for another amazing professional development conference. We have state and national trainers lined up to present informative, cutting edge sessions that will give you the tools and information you need to make this year a success for you and your adult education students! Interested in presenting? Great! We are now accepting presentation proposals to be considered. Visit the ACE website, www.aceoffloridafoundation.org, for more information on how to be a part of this event!
Other trainings that ACE will be offering throughout the year will focus on Adults with Disabilities, ESOL/El-Civics, Part-time Teacher Academies, New Adult Education Directors/Administrators training (ACE Pre-conference) and the Summer Symposium. In January, ACE will host an Adult Education Administrators Leadership Summit in Tallahassee. More information to come!
Be sure to visit the ACE website often for updates on professional development opportunities, legislative issues and resources. We look forward to another successful year working together to improve our adult education programs and the lives of our adult education students!