Going to MCAE on Wed., May 6? Watch for these SABES presentations and stop by our SABES tables to browse giveaways, update your program’s information at the Help Desk, create SABES accounts, and ask questions.

English Language Arts (ELA)

Strategies for Engaging Learners in English Language Arts
Presenters: Karen Greaves and Beth McDermott
Engage in hands-on activities and gain foundational knowledge of adult learning practices that keep students actively engaged and cognitively challenged. Tailored specifically for adult English Language Arts (ELA) learners, the strategies will foster and promote deep learning. Leave the session with ready-to-implement strategies and resources.

Using Graphic Organizers to Compare Texts
Presenter: Cynthia Peters
Explore The Change Agent as a source of texts and adaptable graphic organizers that support students with key college and career readiness skills of taking notes and organizing ideas for writing. Materials address relevant themes such as transferable skills, navigating disabilities, and digital skills.

Math & Numeracy

Help! I’m Not a Math Person!
Presenter: Aren Lew
If you’ve ever said, “I’m not a math person,” this session is for you. Do you feel unequipped to do more than help students memorize steps in math? Are you and your students just trying to survive math together? It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need a math background to become a confident and capable math teacher. Come and learn how you can change your relationship with math.

Learning What Students Know - Student Work & Formative Assessment
Presenter: Aren Lew
Learn how to analyze student work—how students illustrate or describe their thinking—as a method of formative assessment. There is a lot you can learn, more than just whether they got the answers right or wrong! Although you’ll focus on analyzing students’ math work, you can apply the techniques in ELA and ESOL assessment as well.

SABES Math Foundation Academy Mini
Presenter: Connie Rivera
Learn in community in this session, while deepening your mathematical knowledge for teaching. You will engage in a rich mathematical task and then debrief the underlying ideas that drive student learning. You’ll also get a glimpse into the Math Foundation Academy (launching Fall 2026), which supports conceptual teaching through instructional planning and ongoing coaching.

Teaching Word Problems to Beginning Math Learners
Presenter: Melissa Braaten
What makes word problems so challenging? How can we help our students build the skills they need to be successful? Explore the intersection of language and math and learn strategies for teaching math vocabulary, grammar, and problem types. While applicable for students at any level, the examples focus on beginning math learners (GLE 2–4), who may require more intentional scaffolding and support.

Program Support

Build Your Digital Learning Plan
Presenter: Eliana Stanislawski & Alexandra Papagno
Join the SABES Program Support PD Team for a hands-on session that will meet you where you are in your digital journey. You will engage directly with the new SABES Digital Literacy resources and develop a Personal Learning Plan. You will leave with a strategy for sharing these resources with your program to support staff onboarding, peer mentoring, and a shared culture of digital confidence.

Disability in Adult Education and Life
Presenters: Andjela Kaur, Dani Scherer
Examine foundational ideas in disability studies and explore practical tools and strategies to strengthen disability inclusion. We will consider what it means to be disability inclusive; identify key components of disability-inclusive programming; and look at practical tools and models such as the Basic Disability Screening for Adult Education (BDSAE).

In-person Advising Community of Practice
Presenters: Alisha Beltramini, Dani Scherer
Advisors (or anyone with advising responsibilities), take advantage of this opportunity to connect in person. Bring questions, engage in peer-led discussions, and build your professional network. Continue the conversation after the conference in SABES peer-led Advising community of practice (CoP) and ongoing virtual Advisor Sharing Groups.

Meeting the Moment: Program Leadership for Meaningful Employment
Presenters: Joselyn Marte, Alisa Povenmire, Alexandra Papagno
A growing number of adult education programs are seeking opportunities to align programming more closely with students' employment goals, but what does this look like in practice? Join this special in-person meeting of the SABES Directors Sharing Group for a collaborative discussion on meeting the moment through program design, support for all learners, and program leadership.