Reminder of Restraint and Seclusion Overview and Awareness Information Course

As mid-school year approaches, this is a reminder of The Restraint and Seclusion Overview and Awareness Information Course that is provided by the Maine DOE to districts at no cost.

In accordance with Chapter 33, “Annually, each covered entity shall provide overview and awareness information to all staff, including contracted providers, regarding the content of this rule and any local policies or procedures related to the use of physical restraint and seclusion” (Chapter 33, Section 4.2).

SafeSchools and Maine DOE collaborated to create this 25 minute, web based course specifically to address Chapter 33.

To register staff for the Restraint and Seclusion Overview and Awareness Information Course, contact Justin Moore at SafeSchools. He can be reached by calling 1-800-434-0154, ext 7028 or emailing at jmoore@safeschools.com.

Quarter 2 reporting requirements for attendance, truancy and behavior delayed until further notice

Due to issues related to the attendance, truancy and behavior reporting functions of the Synergy Student Information System and the NEO system, Quarter 2 reporting requirements for these areas will be delayed until further notice.

Department staff are working to ensure accuracy in the reporting process before requiring the reports to be submitted.

Please continue to keep district data updated and accurate within individual data systems to ensure the data is ready for submission once the reporting issues are resolved.

Forthcoming communications will be available in the Maine DOE Newsroom once this process is functional. For further questions contact the Maine DOE Help Desk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.

Maine FFA student officers review Maine agriculture

Maine FFA State Officers meet with grant sponsor Maine Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC). Left to right: Doug Robertson, State FFA Advisor, Maine Department of Education; Maryjane Stafford, Chair, MAITC Association; Willie Sawyer Grenier, Executive Director; Kelsey Fortin, Assistant. In background is Maine Agricultural License Plate, whose revenues support $60,000 in educational grants each year.

Student State Officers of the Maine FFA Association (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) enjoyed in depth discussions with representatives of Maine’s agriculture and natural resources community on January 9, 2018 at the Agricultural Trades Show in the Augusta Civic Center.

The Maine FFA Association, devoted to leadership development, represents students in grades 7-12 (as well as collegiate alumni members) enrolled in classes related to agriculture and natural resources. Some of these classes are offered through technical programs (such as horticulture and forestry) at secondary Career & Technical Education schools, while others are offered through middle and secondary classes in subjects such as science that are aligned to agriculture and natural resources. Maine currently has 14 FFA chapters from Sanford to Caribou with over 500 members. FFA members participate in state-level events as well as regional and national competitions, leadership training and other opportunities (such as over $2 million in scholarships) provided by the National FFA Organization.

The annual Agricultural Trades Show is organized by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and features 3 days of presentations, lessons and displays involving representatives of numerous industry, governmental and non-profit organizations.

Maine’s State FFA Officer team came away from this year’s Trades Show with a greater understanding of the state’s agriculture and natural resources, as well as the names of many contacts to include in future partnerships. They also had the opportunity to attend the luncheon hosted by Commissioner Walt Whitcomb of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry at which presentations included Governor Paul LePage and Dr. Barb Glenn, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

For more information about Maine FFA and how to start an FFA chapter, please contact: Doug Robertson, Agriculture & Natural Resources Specialist and Maine FFA State Advisor, Maine Department of Education, doug.robertson@maine.gov (207) 624-6744

Maine FFA State Officers (center) – Micayla Driscoll, Secretary-Treasurer; Isabelle Wright, Vice President; Kaley Norsworthy, President – visit with representatives of major sponsor, Farm Credit East – Renee Poulin, Appraiser Trainee, and Jacob Vainio, Credit Representative/Analyst

CDS Committee Recommendations

On December 11, 2017, the Part B 619 Advisory Committee, which discussed the proposed transition of special education and related services for children ages 3 to 5 from Child Development Services to the public schools, held its final meeting. Over the course of the Committee’s six meetings, multiple issues related to the proposed transition were identified and discussed. The final product of the Committee’s work is a list of recommendations, for the Commissioner’s consideration, which focus on funding, staffing, facilities, and regionalization opportunities.

A complete list of the Committee’s recommendations can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/doe/cds/guidance/documents/PartB619AdvisoryCommitteeRecommendations-Final.pdf

Any questions regarding the recommendations may be sent to the Child Development Services State Director, Roy Fowler, at roy.fowler@maine.gov

MEDIA RELEASE: Nominations sought for 2019 Teacher of the Year

AUGUSTA – Nominations are now open for the 2018 County Teachers of the Year and 2019 Teacher of the Year.

Members of the public are encouraged to nominate educators who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and nurturing the achievement of all students at http://www.mainetoy.org through Feb. 5.

To be considered a teacher must: hold the appropriate professional certification for the position, be employed by a Maine public school – including a public charter school or publicly supported secondary school, be actively teaching students at least 50% of full-time at the time of nomination and during the year of service and have minimum of five years teaching.

The eventual winner of the state’s highest teaching honor, which is awarded by the Maine Department of Education through a program administered by Educate Maine, serves as an advocate for teachers, students and the efforts underway in Maine’s public schools to prepare students for success in college, career and civic life.

Maine’s 2018 Teacher of the Year, Kaitlin Young, a music and choral teacher at SeDoMoCha School in Dover-Foxcroft, was selected from over 300 entries and included recognition as the 2017 Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year. In addition to Young, the other 2018 state finalists include Kasie Giallombardo, Nokomis High School and 2017 Penobscot County Teacher of the Year, and Jen England, Noble High School and 2017 York County Teacher of the Year.

The 2019 Maine Teacher of the Year will be selected from the 16 county honorees. The field will be narrowed to eight semi-finalists and then three state finalists before the ultimate winner is announced by Maine’s Education Commissioner at a surprise school assembly in the fall.

Maine Teacher of the Year is a program of the Maine DOE that since 2013 has been administered by Educate Maine, a business-led organization whose mission is to champion college, career readiness and increased education attainment. Funding is provided by Bangor Savings Bank, Dead River Co., Geiger, Hannaford, the Maine Lottery and Thomas College with support from the State Board of Education and the Maine State Teacher of the Year Association.

The Teacher of the Year program has no cost to taxpayers. Bangor Savings Bank reimburses the winning educator’s school district for the cost of substitutes while the Teacher of the Year is out of the classroom on their official duties, which includes travel throughout the state, a week at NASA Space Camp and a visit to the White House.

For more information about the Maine Teacher of the Year program, visit www.maine.gov/doe/toy/. For more information about Educate Maine, visit www.educatemaine.org.

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MaineCare Seed adjustments to be made, review Q417 and Q118 reports by February 9, 2018

Due to time constraints, the recovery of Q417 and Q118 MaineCare Seed will occur in the February 2018 subsidy payment.

To access the MaineCare Seed reports, please follow the instructions below.

Log into NEO using the link below

https://neo.maine.gov/DOE/neo/Dashboard

Anyone who currently has permissions to the Special Education modular, will automatically have permissions to access MaineCare reports.

As in the past, if a new staff member needs permission to access this modular, a request from the Superintendent to the Maine DOE helpdesk will be necessary.

Click on the Student Data tab

Click on the Student Report tab

Select MaineCare in the Reporting Area drop-down

Choose the quarterly Seed report and the report type (private/public)

Click view report button
Once the report appears on the screen, choose the export button.

You may export the reports to Excel but, please be aware that there may be multiple worksheet tabs within the workbook. Save the file to your computer.

To ensure accurate adjustments to subsidy, SAU staff must review student by student claims on both the public and private MaineCare reports for Q417 and Q118 by February 9, 2018.

If you disagree that a particular student or time period should be on the report, please provide the reason that you disagree along with the following to Denise.towers@maine.gov.

Identify the type of report (public or private) and the quarter in which the claims are located.
State Student ID
Service provided dates (to and from)
Total amount of Seed being disputed

Summer services: Students must be enrolled when they are receiving educational services. This means that students that are receiving extended school year services in district or extended school year services in an out of district placement must have a primary enrollment for that time period in order for the MDOE to have the most accurate enrollment data to determine SAU responsibility for MaineCare Seed.

For more information or technical assistance related to MaineCare Seed, please contact Denise.towers@maine.gov.

Important information about ESEA Title V- REAP Master Eligibility List

On January 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) posted the Fiscal Year 2018 Rural Education Achievement Program Master Eligibility List on their website. The purpose of ESEA Title V- REAP is to provide rural districts with financial assistance for initiatives aimed at improving student achievement. The grant is non-competitive, and eligibility is determined by statute.

Maine DOE has reviewed Maine’s eligibility spreadsheet and has identified several errors within the FY 2018 eligibility spreadsheet. Maine DOE recognizes that many RLIS and Dual eligible districts (Columns M and N) are missing from the spreadsheet. Additionally, there are errors with the alternative poverty data (Column Y). This spreadsheet was reviewed by Maine DOE and Maine school districts leaders in early December. All requested corrections were made to the spreadsheet and submitted to USDOE on December 8, 2017.

Maine DOE has contacted the USDOE to inform them of the identified errors. The Department will continue to work with USDOE to ensure that the corrections are made. When the corrections are finalized and posted on USDOE’s website, Maine DOE will send you a follow-up memo requesting all Maine rural school district leaders review the finalized list.

For more information, please contact the Title V Coordinator, Daniel Weeks at daniel.r.weeks@maine.gov or call 624-6749.

Maine DOE Update – January 4, 2017

From the Maine Department of Education

Priority Notices

PRIORITY NOTICE: Educational Technician certification renewal date extended to July 1, 2018

Reporting Items

Student Enrollment Files and Assessment Preparation Dates

Please be aware of the following important dates regarding student enrollment when preparing for the 2018 spring Maine Educational Assessments (MEA). The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is continuing the transition from the data management software platform Infinite Campus to Synergy State Edition. | More

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

Join us for the 2018 Read to ME Campaign

Following two years of strong statewide participation, the Maine Department of Education’s Literacy for ME initiative will once again be promoting the Read to ME Challenge. This simple but powerful campaign challenges adults to read to children for 15 minutes, to capture that reading episode via a photo and then post it on social media to challenge others to do the same. | More

Maine DOE Office of Special Services receives approval of revised policies and procedures

In 2015, the federal Office of Special Education (OSEP) required the Maine Department of Education-Office of Special Services to revise its policies and procedures for excess cost determinations and for allocating federal funds consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).| More

More Dispatches | Press Releases | Priority Notices

Professional Development Opportunities

New Teachers and Mentors – Dine and Discuss Event (Three sessions)

The Dine and Discuss series for new teachers and their mentors is designed to provide professional learning that builds fundamental instructional skills of new teachers. | More

2018 Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA)/Literacy Assessment Administration Training

Statewide workshop training will be provided on the administration of the 2018 Mathematics & ELA/Literacy assessments. | More

| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |

Latest DOE Career/Project Opportunities

PRIORITY NOTICE: Educational Technician certification renewal date extended to July 1, 2018

As many of you are aware, Maine Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Robert G. Hasson, Jr. approved a one-year extension for all certificates with an expiration date of July 1, 2017. Those impacted teachers, educational specialists, and administrators with certificates that would have expired on July 1, 2017, now have an expiration date of July 1, 2018.

The 2018 extension will also be applied to Educational Technicians whose expiration date is February 1, 2018. Those impacted Educational Technicians will now have an expiration date of July 1, 2018.

The purpose for this extension is to allow the Department of Education time to implement the new online certification system. The new online system is currently in the security testing phase and is being used by Department staff before launching to select pilot schools. Staff have already created great efficiencies; however extra time is needed to ensure all security requirements have been met.

To track further progress of the online certification system, please visit the Maine DOE Certification webpage.

To check your certification and/or administrative credentialing status please visit the NEO Portal.

For further questions, contact the Certification office at (207) 624-6603 or cert.doe@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Office of Special Services receives approval of revised policies and procedures

OSEP also required that the Maine Department of Education notify grant sub-recipients of the revisions under Criteria 1.1 and 2.2 of OSEP’s fiscal monitoring letter dated, October 27, 2015. The Maine Department of Education is hereby notifying all grant sub-recipients of the revisions as follows:

Criterion 1.1

Child Development Services (CDS) received the correct sub-grant a local educational agency (LEA) in Federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2014 and 2015 under section 611 and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and
Allocations under IDEA 611 to eligible LEAs, including CDS, are consistent with 34 CFR
§300.705(a).

Criterion 2.2

LEAs comply with the excess cost requirements in 34 CFR §300.16, 300.202(a)(2) and (b), and Appendix A to 34 CFR Part 300.

Procedures to allocate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-Part B, sections 611-619 sub grants to eligible LEAs based upon the corrected formula;
Procedures to ensure that LEAs use IDEA funds only to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.

The Maine Department of Education is hereby notifying all LEAs that the Office of Special Services’ policies and procedures in these two areas are in compliance with federal requirements. No further action by the Maine Department of Education or Local Education Agencies is required. The link to OSEP’s letter of compliance can be found here:

http://www.maine.gov/doe/specialed/support/fiscal/documents/OSEPFindingsComplianceLetterDec2017.pdf

Questions may be directed to Janice E. Breton, State Director of Special Services, Birth – 20 at Janice.Breton@maine.gov.