Month: August 2017

Maine DOE Update – August 31, 2017

From the Maine Department of Education

Notices and Reporting Items

Professional Development Opportunities

More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar

News & Views

Maine DOE welcomes educators and students back to school

As many Maine schools welcome students back on campus and into the classroom over the coming weeks, the Maine Department of Education would like to wish every student and educator an exhilarating start to the 2017 – 2018 school year. | More

Update on launch of Synergy and new student IDs

Progress is continuing toward the full release of Synergy and much work is being done behind the scenes.  Although we are still not ready to release the full product, we do now have the ability to search for and generate new student IDs for districts.  In the future, this will be a process done by individual districts but in the interest of time and the urgency of having IDs for students, the help desk will run the files for districts and return a file with the IDs. |More

Revisions to Chapter 101 – Maine Unified Special Education Regulations Birth to Twenty

The revised Chapter 101 – Maine Unified Special Education Regulations Birth to Twenty (MUSER) and the changes that became effective on 8/25/17 can be found at the following.| More

Substantial Changes to the October EF-S-05 Special Education Child Count Parts I and II

EF-S-05 Part I, Special Education Child Count, Due Oct 31, 2017: As in previous years, Special Education Directors will be required to verify the Special Education Students for Federal Count between October 1 and October 15 and certify the accuracy of the report using the Special Education Federal Count Certification between October 16 and October 31. However, this year the federal count and certification will be in NEO.| More

Workshops to support SAT

The Maine Department of Education and College Board are pleased to provide Maine educators with three opportunities to learn more about the updated SAT and tools available to inform instruction. College Board will present its annual Fall Counselor Workshop to share updates, tools, tips and resources to support students as they move along the college and career path. | More

Public Preschool Funding 2018-19

The Maine State Legislature has provided start-up funding in FY19 state budget for public school districts to begin new or expand preschool classrooms. | More

Maine DOE Literacy Links newsletter is now available as a blog

As the dog days of summer come to an end and the new school year begins, we look forward to continuing what we have begun and making a few changes. | More

More Dispatches | Press Releases | Priority Notices

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

Revisions to Chapter 101 – Maine Unified Special Education Regulations Birth to Twenty

The revised Chapter 101 – Maine Unified Special Education Regulations Birth to Twenty (MUSER) and the changes that became effective on 8/25/17 can be found at the following link:  http://maine.gov/doe/specialed/laws/documents/Chapter101August272017final.pdf

The enacted revisions amend Section Vii.2.L(2), which concerns the determination by the Individualized Educational Program Team, referred to as “the IEP Team” of the existence of a specific learning disability using a pattern of appropriate assessments by:

  • Inserting the requirement that the general education interventions under Section III of the rule must be included in the data collected by the IEP Team when the team uses a process based on the child’s response to scientific, research-based intervention; and
  • Omits the limitation that the psychological processing data from standardized measures to identify contributing factors must be considered only as available and as determined to be relevant by the child’s IEP team.

Questions may be directed to Janice E. Breton, State Director of Special Services, Birth to 20 at 624-6676 or at Janice.breton@maine.gov.

Substantial Changes to the October EF-S-05 Special Education Child Count Parts I and II

EF-S-05 Part I, Special Education Child Count, Due Oct 31, 2017: As in previous years, Special Education Directors will be required to verify the Special Education Students for Federal Count between October 1 and October 15 and certify the accuracy of the report using the Special Education Federal Count Certification between October 16 and October 31. However, this year the federal count and certification will be in NEO. Additionally, SAUs will no longer send a copy of the certification form to DOE – the certification process will be electronic and will require certification by the Special Education Director and the Superintendent. The report will be located under the student data link within NEO. The Special Education Director and the Superintendent will certify the data for Special Education counts and the EPS counts on the same report. The refresh of the data, after the 15th, will now be completed by the SAU’s data person, Special Education Director, or the Superintendent by clicking a refresh button. If you have trouble logging into NEO, contact the help desk at 207-624-6896. Instructions for the verification and completion of the EF-S-05 Part 1 and a link to the reports (link to NEO) will be posted in DC&R in the coming weeks.

EF-S-05 Part II, Special Education Personnel Employed, Contracted, and Needed: All teachers, staff, administrators, and contractors should be entered into NEO and verified as accurate by October 15. For special education teachers and related services personnel who serve students with disabilities, NEO contains a field in which the full time equivalency (FTE) of the special education position should be entered and a field to indicate whether a special education teacher is highly qualified and whether an education technician is qualified. Although the data should be entered into NEO and verified as accurate by October 15, certification of the EF-S-05 Part II will not occur in October. It will occur at a later date to be determined. An announcement of the due date and instructions for certifying the EF-S-05 Part II will be forthcoming.

For questions about the EF-S-05 Part I and II, contact Sheryl Banden at sheryl.banden@maine.gov or 207-624-6658 or Shawn Collier at shawn.collier@maine.gov or 207-624-6615. For questions about NEO, contact the Maine DOE Help Desk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896. For EPS questions, contact Travis Wood at travis.wood@maine.gov or 207-624-6742.

Update on launch of Synergy and new student IDs

Progress is continuing toward the full release of Synergy and much work is being done behind the scenes.  Although we are still not ready to release the full product, we do now have the ability to search for and generate new student IDs for districts.  In the future, this will be a process done by individual districts but in the interest of time and the urgency of having IDs for students, the help desk will run the files for districts and return a file with the IDs.

To have IDs searched and generated,

  1. Download the New State ID Request file.
  2. Using either the extract provided by your SIS vendor, or creating your own file using the data available to you and the upload template, create a newstatestudentid csv file.
  3. Request a secure email from the helpdesk medms.helpdesk@maine.gov .
  4. Reply to the secure email attaching the file created in Step 2.
  5. Helpdesk staff will process the file and return the student ID results to you via secure email.

Please continue to check the Maine DOE Newsroom communications via the Maine DOE Update for further communications.  We appreciate your patience.

Maine DOE welcomes educators and students back to school

As many Maine schools welcome students back on campus and into the classroom over the coming weeks, the Maine Department of Education would like to wish every student and educator an exhilarating start to the 2017 – 2018 school year.

We hope the coming year is filled with new aspirations, fascinating challenges, and exciting learning.

For more information about how Maine DOE can support educators and students please visit the following links or contact the Department at (207) 624-6600.

Students: http://www.maine.gov/doe/students/

Teachers: http://www.maine.gov/doe/teachers/

Click here to sign up to receive Maine DOE news.

Public Preschool Funding 2018-19

The Maine State Legislature has provided start-up funding in FY19 state budget for public school districts to begin new or expand preschool classrooms.

The Maine Department of Education requires information from school districts anticipating starting new or expanding current public preschool programs in 2018-19.  Expanded programs are those in SAUs that currently run approved public preschool(s) and want to add another classroom(s).

In order to be included in the state start-up preschool funding count, you must complete this survey NO LATER than Tuesday, October 31, 2017. 

Please estimate high for anticipated preschool enrollment so that the Maine DOE may budget accordingly. Prek counts may not exceed district kindergarten enrollment as of October 1, 2017.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PreKStart-upFunds

This survey is only meant to capture the level of interest in accessing funding provided by the Legislature and does not guarantee funding.

For more information please contact Sue Reed at 624-6632 or  susan.d.reed@maine.gov

Maine DOE Literacy Links newsletter is now available as a blog

As the dog days of summer come to an end and the new school year begins, we look forward to continuing what we have begun and making a few changes.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes for the Maine DOE English Language Arts (ELA) team is moving their newsletter, Literacy Links, from a static document to a blog format. We will still provide the same essential elements: a feature article, relative resources, suggestions for children’s and adolescent literature, as well as a link to news and events. The blog format allows for discussion to continue in the form of comments. It also gives us some flexibility in presentation as it is easier to embed video or other media.

Please check out the Literacy Links Blog at https://maineliteracylinks.wordpress.com/. You can still access the archives of all the past newsletters at this site as well.

Topics we will address this year include;

  • Text complexity: why it matters
  • Assessment: reading, evidence, complexity
  • Assessment: writing, evidence, language
  • Language standards and disciplinary literacy
  • Text Sets: why and how to use multiple texts

For further questions about Literacy Links please contact, Morgan Dunton English Language Arts Specialist morgan.dunton@maine.gov or Lee Anne Larsen Literacy Specialist leeann.larsen@maine.gov.

 

Workshops to support SAT

The Maine Department of Education and College Board are pleased to provide Maine educators with three opportunities to learn more about the updated SAT and tools available to inform instruction. College Board will present its annual Fall Counselor Workshop to share updates, tools, tips and resources to support students as they move along the college and career path.

Maine DOE and College Board will present half day workshops for administrators to explore tools that inform instruction and curriculum. Maine DOE and College Board will also present full day workshops for teachers to better understand SAT data, analysis tools, and instructional responses relative to implementing Maine’s ELA and math standards.

 Annual Fall Counselor Workshops, Presented by the College Board

The College Board will present Annual Fall Counselor Workshop in five locations. These sessions will focus on enhancements to programs and changes to protocols in ordering and administering the SAT Suite of Assessments. Sessions begin at 8:30 and will end at 11:00.

Date Site City Registration
Sept.12 University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle UMPI
Sept. 13 University of Southern Maine Portland USM
Sept. 19 Husson University Bangor HUSSON
Sept. 20 University of Maine Farmington Farmington UMF
Sept. 26 Thomas College Waterville THOMAS

Do More With Your SAT Scores! Presented by The Maine Department of Education and College Board

Making meaning of assessment data is a critical component of providing support for teachers, for students, and for families. Perhaps the most powerful tool available to teachers is the Question Analysis tool. This digital tool includes every question on the annual common form and allows sorting by a variety of options. In this session, we will explore methods of making effective use of the College Board’s Assessment Reporting for K12 Educators.  Sessions will begin at noon and end at 2:30. Please plan lunch on your own as lunch will not be provided.

You will need a user name and password for the K12 Score Reports portal at College Board.

(Please note that you must register even if you have already registered for the morning session)

Date Site City Registration
Sept.12 University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle UMPI
Sept. 13 University of Southern Maine Portland USM
Sept. 19 Husson University Bangor HUSSON
Sept. 26 Thomas College Waterville THOMAS

SAT: Standards, Instruction, and Responding to SAT Data

During full day workshops, teachers will take a deep dive into either ELA (Evidence-based Reading and Writing along with the essay) or math to better understand how the SAT measures our learning standards, how to use data from the SAT results to inform instruction, and what instructional moves reflect the deeper learning necessary to demonstrate achievement on the Updated SAT.  Participants in this day-long workshop will learn about the updated SAT and how to use the system of supports to benefit student learning and teacher instructional strategies.

  • The ELA (ERW) session will include strategies for identifying instructional priorities based on data, a deeper understanding of the standards and how they are assessed, and an exploration of essay data and instructional strategies for on-demand writing.
  • The participants in the math session will identify common errors and misconceptions in student responses and will experience instructional strategies to support student learning.

Participants will have to register for either ELA or math sessions for the full day.  Schools are encouraged to send teams consisting of content teacher leaders at grades 9/10 and 11/12 as well as a building administrator or curriculum coordinator.

Please note that you will have to enter each person separately.

Date Site City Registration
10/17/2017 University of Maine at Farmington Farmington UMF
10/18/2017 University of Southern Maine Portland USM
10/20/2017 Black Bear Inn & Conference Center Orono BLACK BEAR INN
11/14/2017 University of Maine at Presque Isle Presque Isle UMPI

 

For more information about these workshops, contact Michele.r.mailhot@maine.gov, math specialist, or morgan.dunton@maine.gov, ELA specialist.

 

Maine DOE Update – August 24, 2017

From the Maine Department of Education

Notices and Reporting Items

Professional Development Opportunities

More Notices | Administrative Letters | Reporting Calendar

News & Views

2018 Teacher of the Year State Finalists Selected

The Maine Department of Education, in partnership with Educate Maine, announced the state finalists for Maine’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. They were chosen from this year’s County Teachers of the Year who were named in May at a celebration at the State House Hall of Flags. | More

Link available for Recorded Hearing on Proposed Rule Chapter 134

A recording of the August 14 public hearing of proposed rule Chapter 134 (Regulation for Awarding a High School Diploma) is now available. | More

Important clarification for districts with public preschool and Head Start collaborations

Chapter 124: Basic Approval Standards for Public Preschool Programs is fully in effect as of July 1, 2017, and there is a need to clarify the roles and responsibilities of school nurses and Head Start health services staff in order to meet both Maine Head Start program, and Maine Department of Education standards. | More

Reminder: Purposeful Integration of Technology in Mathematics Workshop for Educators

This is a reminder that the Maine Department of Education is sponsoring a workshop addressing Purposeful Integration of Technology in Mathematics for new and experienced math educators at Keeley’s Banquet Center on 178 Warren Ave in Portland on September 21, 8:30am – 3:30pm and at Jeff’s Catering, located at 15 Littlefield Rd. in Brewer on September 22, 8:30am – 3:30pm. |More

More Dispatches | Press Releases | Priority Notices

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

2018 Teacher of the Year State Finalists Selected

The Maine Department of Education, in partnership with Educate Maine, announced the state finalists for Maine’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. They were chosen from this year’s County Teachers of the Year who were named in May at a celebration at the State House Hall of Flags.

The state finalists are:

  • Kasie Giallombardo, Nokomis Regional High School (Penobscot County)
  • Kaitlin Young, SeDoMoCha Elementary School (Piscataquis County)
  • Jennifer England, Noble High School (York County)

The process going forward for the state finalists include personal interviews and a school site visit before the 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year is selected. Review panels during the selection process consist of past Teachers of the Year, school administrators, Department staff, members of professional education organizations and the business community. The 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year will be announced at a surprise all-school assembly in October and will represent Maine in the National Teacher of the Year program.

The Maine Teacher of the Year is a program of the Maine Department of Education and is administered and managed by Educate Maine, a business-led organization working to advance education policies and practices that prepare Maine students to be the next generation of productive, engaged citizens. The program has a longtime partnership with the Maine State Board of Education and the Maine State Teacher of the Year Association. You can view an overview of the Maine Teacher of the Year program here.

Maine’s Teacher of the Year program receives financial support from Bangor Savings Bank, Dead River, Geiger, Hannaford, Maine State Lottery and Thomas College. The program also received a one year grant from Walmart to support professional development and classroom innovation.

Biographical information and photos of the 16 County Teachers of the Year can be found at: http://www.mainetoy.org/teachers/county/2017.

For more information about the Teacher of the Year program, please contact Dolly Sullivan at Educate Maine at 207-631-3385 or Dolly@EducateMaine.org.