The Maine DOE acquired enough copies of the Maine Education and School Statutes 2019-2020 Edition law book from the publisher, Swan Island Press, to distribute one, at no charge, to each superintendent of schools in Maine.
The law books are in the mail and should be received soon. To purchase additional copies of this law book directly from Swan Island Press, please contact Aaron Chase of Swan Island Press at info@swanislandpress.me.
On Thursday, September 19, 2019 the Momentum Aroostook Awards Gala took place in Presque Isle. Established by Momentum Aroostook, the Aroostook Achievers awards recognize local professionals going above and beyond in their career.
Congratulations to three local educators who were honored in the category of education:
Deb Roark is the Executive Director of University Advancement and affairs at the University of Maine Presque Isle. She is an outstanding, goal oriented team leader. She strives to develop programs through the development of the MMG center to help students develop a professional demeanor and provides them with access to ongoing professional development.
Valerie Waldemarson is the director of the JMG program at Caribou High School. She received 5 nominations from her students. One student wrote “I would not be ready for the real world without her wisdom.” Her leadership and guidance in the development of Caribou High School’s JMG program has made her a highly regarded asset to the education of students in Aroostook County.
Ben Greenlaw has contributed to the development of strong student programs as the principal at Presque Isle High School. These include great dedication to students, training opportunities within the community and the County Bus Tour program for students to promote the area and build collaboration among students and the community. Ben has moved to the Assistant Superintendent role in Presque Isle and will be assuming the Superintendent position in January 2020 where he is certain to continue to develop students aspirations.
Congratulations to all of the awardees!
The October 1st Student Enrollment report will be opening on October 1, 2019 for review, and will be able to be certified by districts starting on October 15, 2019. The certification must be completed no later than October 31, 2019.
Data from these reports are used in many areas of State and Federal reporting, and is also the basis for the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) subsidy funding formula. Due to the time-sensitive nature of EPS funding, it is essential this data be submitted, reviewed, and certified in a timely manner.
Superintendent and Special Education Director certification are both required for this report.
The Report will be available October 1st in NEO.
Report guidance can be found on the Maine Department of Education Helpdesk, or a webinar to assist with the October 1st Data Reporting is also available.
Prior to Oct 1st, districts may utilize the Attending Student Download (ASD) report in NEO to view their student data being collected from Synergy. Note that the ASD report shows all students that have/had an enrollment at that school since 7/1/19, while the October 1st report will only list students attending your schools as of October 1, 2019.
All due dates for reports are listed on the MDOE reporting calendar:
If you have difficulties navigating to Synergy or NEO, please call the Helpdesk at 624-6896 or email at medms.helpdesk@maine.gov
To assist those who are responsible for the important task of reporting, validating and/or certifying staff data to the Department of Education, the DOE Data Team will be holding a webinar on Tuesday October 16th.
Staff Certification Report Webinar October 16th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
This webinar will focus on how to complete, validate and certify the Staff Certification Report. If you are tasked with editing, validating or certifying the annual Staff Certification Report for your district/school, you are encouraged to attend. If you have any questions, comments or concerns in regards to this webinar, please do not hesitate to contact us at the MEDMS helpdesk at MEDMS.Helpdesk@Maine.gov or (207) 624-6896.
Please register, and use the Webinar ID 980-183-675.
Future Teachers Academy, an event for students who are interested in exploring the field of education, is being hosted by Thomas College and will be held on November 8th from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on their campus at 180 West River Road in Waterville.
During the event students will be able to participate in a daylong, hands-on and experimental teaching environment, led by professional faculty from the Thomas College School of Education, as well as partners from the Maine Department of Education and Maine Teachers of the Year.
When: November 8, 2019, 8:00 am – 1:30 pm
Where: Thomas College
Who: Open to Maine high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
For further information please call (207) 859-1111.
The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students, is pleased to offer:
When: Thursday, September 26, 2019
Time: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (Registration begins at 7:30 am)
Where: Senator Inn, 284 Western Ave, Augusta, ME 04330
Cost: NO CHARGE
With this K-12 101 TtT TBR, an expert team will train potential master trainers on the recommended six-step planning process to create a high-quality school EOP, which includes the following:
Step 1: Forming a Collaborative Planning Team
Step 2: Understanding the Situation
Step 3: Determining Goals and Objectives
Step 4: Plan Development
Step 5: Plan Preparation, Review, and Approval
Step 6: Plan Implementation and Maintenance
Read the full description and register here »
When: Friday, September 27, 2019
Time: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm (Registration begins at 7:30 am)
Where: Senator Inn, 284 Western Ave, Augusta, ME 04330
Cost: NO CHARGE
With this K-12 101 training, an expert team will provide an overview of a recommended six-step planning process to create a high-quality school EOP, which includes:
Step 1: Forming a Collaborative Planning Team
Step 2: Understanding the Situation
Step 3: Determining Goals and Objectives
Step 4: Plan Development
Step 5: Plan Preparation, Review, and Approval
Step 6: Plan Implementation and Maintenance
This is a reminder that the EF-M-13 Private School October Resident Enrollment Count report is open October 1st. Private schools that do not have any “publicly funded students” may complete only the EF-M-13 October 1st Resident Enrollment report, but have the option to also enroll their non-publicly funded students in the Synergy State Edition. | More
In order to assist SAUs with their legislatively mandated data reporting, the Maine Department of Education Data Team is offering a free webinar to review the requirements and new features. The webinar is strongly encouraged for those responsible for the compilation and entry of the required data. | More
The recovery of Q4′ 19 MaineCare Seed will occur in the October 2019 subsidy payment and the Maine DOE is asking Districts to review their reports by October 11, 2019 to ensure accurate adjustments to subsidy. SAU staff must review student by student claims on both the public and private MaineCare reports for Q4′ 19 by October 11, 2019. | More
Do you have National Board Certified teachers on your staff? Awesome! We are sending along a reminder to those fortunate superintendents, or directors of a publicly-supported secondary school or CTE region, with eligible staff who have attained National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification prior to July 1, 2019. We need you to let us know, so we can provide you with their legislatively allocated salary supplement! | More
| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |
In the ongoing effort to engage with all stakeholders, the Department of Education will hold its next Think Tank at the Schoodic Institute in Winter Harbor on September 30. Participants can choose from four topics, and can attend morning or afternoon sessions only on one topic, or attend both sessions and discuss two topics! Topics include special education, defining school success, educator excellence (recruiting and retaining) and MLTI. | More
This full day workshop will feature a variety of state leaders with expertise in teaching about Maine Native Americans, as well as resources that support the implementation of the revised standards with a focus on Maine Native Americans. | More
The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students, is pleased to offer the “Developing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) K-12 101 Train-the-Trainer (TtT) Training.” This on-site, 8-hour training presents important Federal guidance on school emergency management planning. | More
The REMS TA Center, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students, is pleased to offer this on-site, 4-hour training that presents important Federal guidance on school emergency management planning. | More
The Maine Department of Education has prepared a summary of major laws related to education that were enacted by the First Regular Session of the 129th Maine Legislature. This information may prove helpful to school and district administrators and educators when planning for the 2019-20 school year. | More
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) today announced that it is launching its first-ever student cabinet, a group of students that will meet quarterly with Commissioner Pender Makin to discuss educational opportunities, improvements, and policy. The purpose of the Student Cabinet is to provide a forum for Maine students’ voices to be heard. | More
The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) of Maine hosted tours of a youth bedroom trailer in the parking lot at NAMI Maine (National Alliance on Metal Illness) today in Hallowell in an effort to raise awareness about the warning signs of opioid misuse in youths. | More
We are excited to announce that the Maine Farm to School Network has received a $25,000 USDA Farm to School Training Grant to build local food procurement capacity in Maine schools. Designed to increase the availability of local foods in schools, USDA Farm to School grants can help farm to school programs get started or expand existing efforts. | More
LD 577, Public Law 2019, Chapter 428 – An Act To Increase Access to Nutritious Foods in Schools by Implementing an After-school Food Program for At-risk Students, will become law on September 19, 2019. We have received questions from district leaders, asking for clarification. | More
The results of an annual review by the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has yielded that Maine does not currently require any extra technical assistance from the federal government for its special education programming. | More
The development of writing skills is essential for student learning, future employment, communication, and critical thinking, and it is a key area of focus for Maine educators and the Maine Department of Education. While writing standards are assessed in the State’s English Language Arts (ELA) assessments, Maine had opted to include an additional essay component at the grade 3-8 span, exceeding federal assessment requirements. | More
Maine DOE team member Brandi Cota is being highlighted this week as the part of a Get to know the DOE Team campaign! Learn a little more about Brandi in the brief question and answer below. | More
| Submit your Maine School Success Story |
Are you a secondary school teacher who is interested in becoming National Board Certified? Are you a district who is eager to offer this rigorous professional learning opportunity to your teachers? State law, 20-A MRSA Section 13013-A subsection 5 & 6; as amended by PL 2012 c. 702, established the National Board Certification Scholarship Fund to encourage teachers to apply to, and enroll in, the certification program offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, or its successor organization. | More
Middle Level building leaders often work alone with minimal peer support. We lack sources of informed objective feedback, brainstorming, problem solving and idea sharing. Join other dynamic New England middle level principals in October, January, and March for days dedicated to addressing current challenges facing you and your middle level peers. | More
| Visit the Professional Development Calendar |
The development of writing skills is essential for student learning, future employment, communication, and critical thinking, and it is a key area of focus for Maine educators and the Maine Department of Education. While writing standards are assessed in the State’s English Language Arts (ELA) assessments, Maine had opted to include an additional essay component at the grade 3-8 span, exceeding federal assessment requirements.
The eMPowerME essay component, developed in partnership with Cognia (formerly known as Measured Progress), involved field testing, with full implementation in Spring 2018. Unfortunately, a surprising number of students received a “no score” designation for their essay, raising significant concerns around the quality of the assessment instrument and scoring. We became increasingly concerned when we received word that for the Spring 2019 assessment, the number of “no score” essays dramatically increased.
The Department was faced with two options:
The Department has determined that option 2, developing an essay assessment that meets the needs of students and the State, is in the best interest of our students. Recognizing the high preponderance of non-scorable essays, the Maine DOE has decided to pause the administration of an essay component during the 2019-2020 school year, in order to review factors contributing to these results. The Department of Education plans to refine an essay portion of the assessment, with the assistance of Maine educators.
As a result, the following next steps will be taken:
The work completed by the ELA standards review and writing teams will be instrumental in informing the work moving forward. Over the coming weeks and months, the Department of Education will be reaching out to educators to collaboratively determine next steps.
This roundtable series is being hosted by New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS).
October 28, 2019 – Chace Community Center at Colby College, Waterville, ME
January 27, 2020 – Chace Community Center at Colby College, Waterville, ME
March 8, 2020** – Omni Hotel, Providence, RI
Schedule: (schedule is subject to change)
8:30 am Registration, Coffee and light pastries
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Workshop with lunch included
** Workshop in Providence, RI will run from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Back by popular demand: A Principal’s Roundtable with Dr. Monte Selby and Chris Toy
Middle Level building leaders often work alone with minimal peer support. We lack sources of informed objective feedback, brainstorming, problem solving and idea sharing. Join other dynamic New England middle level principals in October, January, and March for days dedicated to addressing current challenges facing you and your middle level peers. Collaborate with fellow building principals in a confidential, collegial setting to voice issues, explore solutions, offer practical support, share insights, and take home best-practice ideas for your school. Each session is designed to create a network of peers supporting one another’s success as middle level leaders.
Chris Toy and Dr. Monte Selby are experienced facilitators who will keep the conversation moving, highlight solutions, and offer resources on current problem solving and leadership strategies to adapt for use in your building.
Download the registration form here (PDF). Please contact the NELMS office at (978) 557-9311 or e-mail nelms@nelms.org for additional information or questions.
The Maine Department of Education has prepared a summary of major laws related to education that were enacted by the First Regular Session of the 129th Maine Legislature. This information may prove helpful to school and district administrators and educators when planning for the 2019-20 school year.
For each education bill, the summary lists the provisions, effective date, and action required by the bill.
A law indicated as an “emergency” is a law that was passed by a two-thirds vote of the Maine Legislature; emergency legislation takes effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature. For non-emergency laws passed during the First Regular Session, the effective date is September 19, 2019, unless otherwise noted.
The summary Microsoft Word document, as well as prior years’ legislative summaries, can be downloaded from the Maine Department of Education’s Newly Enacted Legislation by the 129th Maine Legislature First Regular Session
If you would like to read the laws and resolutions, including original bills and testimony provided, check out the webpage for the Maine State Legislature!
For more information or questions, please Karen Kusiak, Legislative Affairs at Karen.Kusiak@maine.gov.
Maine DOE Newsroom 