You’re invited: help build a local literacy plan for your community

The Maine Department of Education will sponsor a series of regional meetings to provide local community teams with an understanding of Maine’s new comprehensive state literacy plan, Literacy for ME. K-12 educators, early childhood educators and providers, adult and family literacy educators, literacy specialists, parents, school and community librarians, health care providers, and community and business partners are all invited to form teams of four to eight members and sign-up for one of the September meetings.

The Maine DOE is committed to ensuring that Maine’s children are ready for post-secondary education, careers and civic life by the time they graduate from high school and enter adulthood. Helping all Maine residents develop strong literacy skills is a crucial part of that mission, and one that transcends schools and requires involvement from everyone in our communities. Literacy for ME offers a road map for local communities to bolster their literacy infrastructure with the help of state-level activities that support those efforts.

A cornerstone recommendation of the Literacy for ME plan is to assist local Maine communities in developing their own comprehensive literacy plans to strengthen literacy levels among their citizens. Maine schools are foundational to this critical work, but should not be in this work alone. Comprehensive literacy planning enables communities, of which schools are a critical component, to take stock of the literacy support resources already available, to coordinate those resources to ensure adequate support is in place across the birth to adult span, and to identify and address gaps that may exist across the local community.

These day-long meetings are designed for local community planning teams made up of members that span the birth to adult continuum. Teams will learn about the components of Literacy for ME, explore how to develop a comprehensive local literacy plan for their community, and learn about a variety of tools and resources available to provide support with the process of plan development and implementation.

Meeting schedule:

Region	Location	Date
Presque Isle	Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center	September 19, 2012
Machias	Pellon Center	September 20, 2012
Bangor	Jeff’s Catering	September 21, 2012
Augusta	Calumet Club	September 25, 2012
Lewiston	Green Ladle	September 27, 2012
Portland	Seasons Conference Center	September 28, 2012

These meetings are free for planning teams, and lunch will be provided. Schools may request substitute reimbursement for up to two educators, each at a rate of $80 per day. School officials can serve as team leaders, or a community partner could fill this role. Once the team leader is determined and members are selected, the team leader should register the team by the September 17, 2012, deadline. More information about the meetings can be found at http://www.maine.gov/doe/literacy-for-me/.

Please watch in the coming weeks for the unveiling of the new literacy plan.