Category Archives: Aroostook County

School bus refurbishment pilot program subsidy now available

Maine’s public schools now have two choices when making operational decisions about school buses.

  1. Refurbishment of mid-life buses in need of major body and structural repairs through the Maine Department of Education’s School Bus Refurbishment Pilot Program.
  2. New bus purchases through the Maine DOE’s School Bus Purchase Program.

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3 regional social studies workshops scheduled

Three workshop sessions designed for middle- and high-school social studies teachers will help participants connect with other social studies teachers in their region and explore ways that the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies can support thinking and learning in their content area.

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The respect, prestige teachers deserve

By Alana Margeson

April 22-27 was Recognition Week in Washington, D.C., for all State Teachers of the Year. Although I read the week’s agenda more than once before boarding the plane, I cannot say that I was fully prepared for the magnitude of the experience. I am only now beginning to process just what it meant to me, personally, and what it meant for the elevation of the noble profession of teaching.

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Aroostook teachers make classrooms inquiry-based

Two teachers work together in a science lab.

Melissa Perley, a Fort Fairfield Middle High School chemistry and physics teacher, works with Jennifer Morin, an agricultural science teacher at Central Aroostook Junior-Senior High School in Mars Hill, during a recent training on inquiry-based learning at Washburn District High School.

Science teachers, agricultural science teachers and student-teachers from the middle- and high-school levels used chemicals, metals and a motor to develop a functioning battery; creatively presented the steps of photosynthesis; and simulated antibiotic treatments, collecting data on their effectiveness in the process.

The activities were part of a training in inquiry-based instruction recently at Washburn District High School, and exercises the teachers could deploy in their classroom.

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Bus drivers offered training at regional conferences

Note: This dispatch was updated on April 5 at 9:13 a.m. to correct an error in information supplied about registration.

The Maine Association for Pupil Transportation is sponsoring six free conferences this spring in every Maine region to provide training to transportation personnel in all Maine school districts.

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Charter school commission schedules more public input sessions

The following is a news release from the Maine State Charter School Commission.

Commission adds sessions in Presque Isle, Machias to hear from public about rural educational needs

AUGUSTA – The Maine State Charter School Commission will travel to Aroostook and Washington counties in early April to hear from the public about regional educational needs that could be addressed by charter schools.

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Student artists to be celebrated on 2012-13 laptop screensaver

AUGUSTA – Twenty student artists will have an audience of more than 72,000 students and teachers for their artwork starting this fall. The 20 students from across Maine have won the honor to have their artwork included in the Maine Learning Technology Initiative laptop screensaver for the 2012-13 school year.

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Conference addresses math for students with disabilities

Special education staff and other educators who work with students with disabilities are invited to a conference focused on the neuropsychology of math and applying such concepts to math instruction for students with disabilities.

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Federal grant funds to expand adult student offerings

Region II School of Applied Technology in Houlton is among the sites benefiting from more than $3 million in federal grants aimed at expanding access to distance learning so adults in rural areas can obtain marketable, technical skills that improve their chances of finding employment.

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ATOMIM offers Algebra readiness discussion series

ATOMIM, the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in Maine, will be holding a series of “Dine and Discuss” events on the topic of Algebra readiness.

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