Chester County native Alex Beene, Lead Instructor at Tennessee Adult Education, has been named Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), a national organization dedicated to advancing the field of adult literacy.
Sharon Bonney, the CEO of COABE, states, “I applaud Alex Beene for his contributions to our noble field of adult education! This prestigious award is granted for distinguished leadership, and Alex Beene exemplifies the values described in this national award.”
During the pandemic, Beene assisted fellow educators as they transitioned to online instruction. He taught in churches, libraries, prisons, jails, rehab centers, and mental institutions. He drove thousands of miles to ensure his students received work packets at home or in jail. He maintained his compassionate instructional manner before, during, and after the pandemic.
Angela Hollingsworth, the Coordinator at Tennessee Adult Education states, “Alex has got to be one of the most involved instructors at a community level I’ve ever seen. He teaches in five different counties and does community outreach in all of them…I often say if he’s not doing something, he’s already planning something new to help learners in his area.”
Beene is an award-winning author and educator. He has been featured on ABC, CBS, ESPN Radio, and an array of print publications for his children’s books, which are available in over 70 countries. His business knowledge has been presented in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, The Washington Post, and on CNBC. He has also been honored by the NASDAQ for his philanthropy. He was a recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service and served on Google’s digital literacy board which promotes free learning resources for students worldwide. During the global pandemic, he was recognized by Good Housekeeping as a hero educator for his work with distance learning.
COABE’s mission is to inspire educators so adults succeed and communities thrive. The Coalition on Adult Basic Education provides leadership, professional development and advocacy for our 79,000+ members in the field of adult education. We provide a variety of services, including annual national conferences, a peer-reviewed journal, advocacy tools and over 50 new instructional webinars each year. COABE highlights excellence in the field of adult education by presenting yearly scholarships, incentive grants and prestigious national awards to feature best practices in the field. Learn more at coabe.org, or contact awards@coabe.org.
