Commissioner’s Update – September 6, 2012

Commissioner's Update - September 6, 2012
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Today is a big day for education in Maine.

Today the Department will formally submit a request for flexibility under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – and it’s been a long time coming.

Maine’s been working for a year to craft this new accountability and improvement system, which aims to help struggling schools improve and to consider multiple valid measures when evaluating performance.
We’re extremely proud of the waiver request we’re submitting today – and we couldn’t have completed it without the combined efforts of educators, stakeholders and the general public.

Look for a link to the document in its entirety on our Accountability and Improvement System web page in the coming days or possibly as soon as this evening.

— Stephen Bowen



ACTION ITEMS

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Reporting

Please note: We generally provide notice of requirements only once. Please check the Reporting Calendar (link below) regularly for a list of ALL upcoming items.

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NEWS & VIEWS

Literacy initiative launch in Lewiston next week

Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen and Lee Anne Larsen, literacy specialist for the Maine DOE, will be joined by school and community participants for the launch of Literacy for ME, the Maine Department of Education’s birth-to-adult literacy initiative, next week. | More

Commission issues request for charter school proposals

AUGUSTA – The Maine Charter School Commission announced last week it will accept applications from potential charter school operators who hope to open schools for the 2013-14 school year. | More

Waterville teens “spark” change at Seventeen magazine

Julia Bluhm and her Waterville Junior High classmate Izzy Labbe created a petition to lobby Seventeen magazine to print at least one feature each month using unaltered photos. | More

First Lady Ann LePage announces “Maine is ME Student Art Challenge”

AUGUSTA – First Lady Ann LePage is announcing the Maine is ME Student Art Challenge, in partnership with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Students in grades K-8 are encouraged to submit an original work of art depicting what living in Maine means to them. | More

Opportunity to participate in NECAP science inquiry tasks

The Maine Department of Education has agreed to recruit schools to serve as field testing sites to administer NECAP science inquiry tasks in grades 5, 8 and 11. The field tests will occur between Oct. 29 and Nov. 20, 2012. | More

Service-learning workshops offered at Blaine House Conference

Teachers, school administrators and school-community liaisons working in school districts that have an interest in service-learning or who have experimented with service-learning and want to learn more are encouraged to attend the 2012 Blaine House Conference on Service and Volunteerism Tuesday, October 9 at the University of Maine at Orono. | More

New scholarship fund for National Board-certified teachers

The National Board Certification Scholarship Fund encourages teachers to apply to and enroll in the certification program offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. | More

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