Beginning in the fall of 2018, conditionally certified special educators that are in their first year of teaching are required to participate in Maine’s Alternative Certification and Mentoring program (MACM), a Maine Department of Education program developed in partnership with the University of Maine.
This program is an alternative pathway to certification to support Maine’s need for highly qualified special educators. MACM offers intensive, focused support and mentoring during the special educator’s critical first year of practice.
Newly conditionally certified special educators will be paired with a MACM mentor who is an experienced special educator, and will be required to enroll in and complete two semester-long seminar courses entitled, Special Education Mentorship.
School Administrative Units (SAUs) may use federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds to support the cost of the professional development courses if an appropriate professional development project is written in the application.
MACM Procedures for School Districts
Maine’s Alternative Certification and Mentoring program (MACM) will provide a trained special education mentor and an intensive year-long seminar designed to support conditionally certified special educators during their first year of practice.
Per Chapter 115 rules that go into effect July 1, 2018, qualified conditionally certified special educators special educators must successfully complete 9 semester hours of special education coursework by August 31, 2018 to qualify for conditional certification. The teacher applicant provides the Maine DOE Certification Office with a complete application for conditional certification.
The MACM coordinator will identify first year conditionally certified special educators and will contact the new teacher with information about participation in the program, including how and by when to enroll in the appropriate section of Special Education Mentorship. The new conditionally certified teacher is expected to work with the SAU to cover the course tuition. This enrollment process must be completed by the first week of September 2018.
For more information about MACM, please visit its website: https://umaine.edu/edhd/outreach/macm/ or contact Valerie Smith at Valerie.smith@maine.edu, or by calling 581-2419. Please continue to monitor the Maine DOE website for updates to Chapters 115 and 180.