Changes to graduation reporting

Due to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, Maine has been refining a new accountability model moving towards a more purposeful and meaningful approach to supporting Maine’s schools experiencing challenges. A component of the high school accountability model is graduation. In order to reduce the burden on school districts and refine graduation reporting to align with the accountability model data requirements, the Department is instituting the following changes.

May 2018 – Validation of the first three years of the student’s enrollments for those students that are part of the 2017/18 cohort. Additional guidance is available for reporting.

June 30, 2018 – Validating all enrollments for the 2017/18 school year pre-K through 12.

All students will need to be exited with the appropriate exit code before June 30, 2018. There will be an end-of-year certification process. Details will be discussed in the May webinar trainings. A description of the appropriate exit code and their descriptions can be found here: http://maine.gov/doe/data/student/Synergy_upload.html

Districts will report in Synergy State Edition the exit status for each student as of June 30, 2018. We understand that often times plans change over the summer for students however it is important that the exit status for every student is recorded with the latest information you have at the time.

August 15, 2018 Reporting Deadline for high school graduation

District will report in the NEO Graduation module the final graduation status of students who may have taken credit recovery classes over the summer in order to graduate within the 4-year cohort and were not included in the June 30, 2018 reporting. Only the summer graduate data will be able to be modified at this time and students will need to have successfully completed their summer recovery classes in order to be considered an on time graduate.

Next steps

Beginning early May, schools will be asked to validate the enrollments of students who are part of the 2017/18 cohort.
At the end of the 2017/18 school year, schools will be asked to end all Synergy State Edition enrollments for every student in all grades with their appropriate end status, prior to July 1.
Beginning in early to mid-August, the NEO Graduation module will be open for the purpose of updating only summer graduates. All other enrollment validations were covered in steps one and two above.
The dropout validation is being separated from the graduation validation. Dropouts will be validated in the September/October time period as usual.

Questions regarding new graduation process should be directed to: Travis Wood 207-624-6742

Questions regarding access to Synergy State Edition or NEO should be directed to: DOE Helpdesk at 207-624-6896.

Stand up to Bullying and Youth Violence Survey being sent to superintendents and school leaders

The Maine Department of Education is collaborating with the University of Minnesota, in partnership with Columbia University, the University of Iowa, and Temple University, on an Anti-bullying Policy Research Study to understand how Maine’s anti-bullying law and the Department’s model policy are implemented and their effectiveness in addressing bullying behavior in Maine’s public schools.

Within the next week, superintendents, school administrators, counselors, and teachers will receive an email from Sarah Ricker, Student Assistance Coordinator at the Maine DOE, asking for participation in this research study by completing an online survey. The anonymous results from the survey will provide information to researchers on how Maine’s public schools are utilizing the Department’s model policy.

The input from these educational stakeholders is incredibly important as Maine continues to ensure that all students have the rights to attend public schools that are safe, secure and peaceful environments.

For additional information about this research study, contact Sarah Ricker at sarah.ricker@maine.gov or the UMN research staff at maine-study@umn.edu

New certification system has opened to 6 additional pilot districts

The Maine Department of Education’s new certification system began the pilot phase of its launch on April 27, 2018. The initial 4 pilot districts have reported that the system as intuitive and have found the Department’s directions easy to use and helpful. More than 200 recommendations have been processed using the new system as of today, May 3, 2018.

Following the success of the initial 4 pilot districts, the Department has opened the pilot to an additional 6 districts:

RSU 06/MSAD 06
Augusta Public Schools
RSU 01 – LKRSU
RSU 11/MSAD 11
Brewer Public Schools
RSU 74/MSAD 74

These districts have been contacted by Maine DOE’s Certification office with instructions and log in credentials to access the district portal allowing support chairs to begin verifying renewal requirements for educators in their districts.

Pending the success of the added pilot districts, the Department will continue to open the district portal to more districts, until all districts have access. This approach will help ease the load on the system, while also allowing districts time to login, get help if needed, and become familiar with the system.

The educator portal has not yet been released to pilot districts. Once districts complete verifications, the educator portal will begin a phased rollout in the same fashion as the district portal. Again, this will ease the load on the system and allow Department staff to answer questions in a timely manner as educators state-wide start logging in to submit renewals.

Superintendents should expect direct contact from Certification Coordinator, Stephanie Fyfe when the system will open to their district/s.

Further communications and updates will be posted on a weekly basis through the Maine Department of Education Certification Webpage well as on Maine DOE’s official Facebook and Twitter pages, in addition to the DOE newsroom.

2017/2018 graduation data report due 6/08; webinar training available for new collection process

The Maine Department of Education (Department) has modified the data collection process for graduation reporting which will impact the process for collecting the 2017-2018 graduation data. The graduation data is due for submission in the Maine DOE’s NEO System on June 8, 2018, and needs be certified by June 15, 2018.

The new process has been designed to give districts that operate high schools a procedure to edit the first three years of their cohort data for the 2017/2018 graduation cohort.

The new process is now open for reporting. There will be two scheduled webinar trainings on Monday May 14, 2018 to assist data coordinators and others in completing this report:

Please note: both training sessions will be recorded and available to view at your convenience, at a later date.

Update for Returning Users – 4 Year Graduation Process
Date: May 14, 2018
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Description: This session is for those familiar with the overall graduation process in NEO. The session will concentrate on the new process only. Please note that those new to NEO graduation processing may attend this session as well.
Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2259395630371646465
Webinar ID: 719-861-043

New Users – 4 Year Graduation Process
Date: May 14, 2018
Time: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Description: This session is for those who are just starting with NEO’s graduation system overall, and will include guidance on both the graduation module and the new collection process for 2017/2018. However, if you are familiar with NEO graduation processing, you may attend this session.
Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1423731608889969409
Webinar ID: 108-457-627

Download guidance for the new graduation process: http://maine.gov/doe/data/documents/April_Grad_Training_Doc.pdf

Learn more about the changes to graduation reporting.

To gain access to the graduation module in NEO contact the MEDMS Helpdesk or call 207 624-6896. For assistance with the graduation module contact Travis Wood or call 207 624-6742.

PRIORITY NOTICE: Delay in changes for documentation of IEPs; DOE will update guidance in admin letter #13

On April 14, 2018, the Maine Department of Education issued Administrative Letter #13: Important changes in documenting medical services in Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). This notification announced changes in documenting IEP plans with Maine Care services that are necessary for a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

Since the release of this guidance, the Department has received feedback from stakeholders and legal counsel for further clarification on some of the wording. While Department staff work with the Attorney General’s office, districts and stakeholders to make these clarifications, the implementation will be delayed.

The planned implementation of these changes is expected to begin June 1, 2018. The Department will release updated, clarified guidance before that time.

Thank you for your feedback and patience. Please look for further notifications in the Maine Department of Education Newsroom. For further questions contact Maine DOE Director of Special Service, Jan Breton at Janice.Breton@maine.gov.

Federal grant to promote safe communities now open for higher education

Institutions of higher education are eligible for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Community Policing Development (CPD) Program. Applications are due by June 7, 2018 at 7:59 p.m. EDT.

The 2018 Community Policing Development (CPD) program will fund projects that develop knowledge, increase awareness of effective community policing strategies, increase the skills and abilities of law enforcement and community partners, increase the number of law enforcement agencies and relevant stakeholders using proven community policing practices and institutionalize community policing practice in routing business.

Information and application instructions are on this website: https://cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=2450