SCAE's Margie Genereux Selected as MAEA's Outstanding Teacher of the Year

 Every year the Maine Adult Education Association holds its annual conference for adult education professionals, administrators, teachers, guidance counselors and support staff.  This year’s conference was held June 22-24 at Colby College in Waterville with more than 175 professionals from around the state presenting and attending workshops and celebrating individual and program successes. 

 The culminating event of the three-day conference was MAEA’s annual Awards Banquet.  MAEA presents six different awards annually, including Outstanding Teacher. Sanford Community Adult Education’s own Margie Genereux was selected as the Oustanding Adult Education Teacher of the Year.  Criteria for the award include:  communication and collaboration, continuing development of adult learning, individualizing instruction for adult learners, managing resources, continuing monitoring and assessment of learning and general support of the local program.  Genereux was nominated by SCAE’s Director, Kathi Medcalf, who submitted the following text as part of her nomination:

 “Every adult education program has their “go-to” person, the one who can be depended on to pinch-hit for another teacher or support person, the one who can pull those amazingly successful creative ideas from thin air at a moment’s notice, the one who can see the ideal solution to a problem that others couldn’t imagine. Margie Genereux epitomizes the go-to criteria. 

 For nearly fifteen years, Margie has been reinventing herself for SCAE, teaching academic computer classes for diploma candidates, fine-tuning subject matter and assisting with implementation of computer-instruction standards.  Margie has pioneered SCAE into a long history of successful enrichment computer classes as well, adjusting curriculum to meet course offerings of varying lengths, depending on what the market is wanting in any given semester. 

 Margie’s giftedness with web design is known to many adult education programs.  She has created many appealing websites for several programs, and continues with tweaking to Sanford’s, bringing out our individuality even with the new portal!  Her commitment to eye-catching graphics, clean lines, concise information and three-clicks to registration drove the SCAE website to be a highly utilized and very effective tool for our program.  SCAE was one of the first programs utilizing PayPal – thanks to who? Margie, of course.
 
 Margie has spent literally countless hours assisting programs all over the state of Maine with implementing the use of the MAEA Portal.  She always graciously takes the time, to walk each individual, step-by-step through the steps necessary to get up to speed.  MAEA Director, Cathy Newell says “Margie is a whiz with technology and is adept at translating her enthusiasm into work with adult learners. Her creativity in using Google and other on-line tools has made it possible for teachers and learners to access sophisticated tools that can be expensive to obtain. Her willingness to share her skills at the Summer Academy, the Conference and at smaller seminars is much appreciated as is her generosity in working on the Web Portal.” 

 Margie loves adult education and works to bring the best out of SCAE and other programs.  She has a passion that is contagious and her students and adult ed colleagues across the state always ask for ‘more Margie’ after any class or workshop she presents.  Margie deserves this recognition because she is the epitome of the adult educator and contributor to the state.”

Margie was surprised with a visit from her family at the Awards Banquet.  Shown at left are (back to front): Briget, Steven, Brittany and Jillian; Margie, Adam and Margie's incredibly patient & supportive husband, Tom!

Sanford has so much to be proud of, with educators like Margie who give so much of their time to improving education for families and adults in the Sanford Community!

Posted by Sue Colley  on June 28th 2010 | Read more in: News