The Maine DOE has posted a new webinar intended to provide support and guidance to Maine districts with schools recently given “monitor” status under the state’s federally required accountability system.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education approved Maine’s application for flexibility under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA or No Child Left Behind). This flexibility allows Maine to implement its own statewide plan to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps and increase the quality of instruction. Maine’s goal is to cut in half the percentage of non-proficient students and raise the graduation rate to 90 percent at each Title I school in the state over a six-year period.
At the heart of that plan is a system of differentiated recognition, accountability and support for Maine’s Title I-served schools. Schools are placed in one of five categories: priority, focus, monitor, progressing and meeting. Unlike the original NCLB measures, Maine’s approved plan distinguishes schools not just by student proficiency but also progress. These tiers allow the State to most intensively target its support to the schools that past performance shows need it the most, though improvement resources will be available to all public schools.
The webinar specifically for monitor schools can be found here. The Department also has a series of school improvement webinars developed to support Maine schools based on needs identified from statewide student performance data.
For more information about Maine’s ESEA waiver and accountability and improvement system, visit www.maine.gov/doe/accountability.