National Board Certified Teacher Salary Supplement Request Due October 15, 2019

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!

In order to qualify for the salary supplement, eligible staff must be currently employed by a Maine public school, or by a publicly-supported secondary school or CTE region in Maine. Eligible position titles include classroom teacher, special education teacher, literacy specialist, long-term substitute teacher, library media specialist, guidance counselor, and teacher leaders with certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, or its successor organization.

The amount of the salary supplement for fiscal year 2019-20 is $3,000.00, unless proration is necessary. The submission form and further information is available at National Board Certification Salary Supplement.

If you have questions, please contact Denise Towers at Denise.towers@maine.gov by phone at 624-6863.

Greely High School Ed Tech Awarded Local High Honor

Greely High School Special Education, Education Technician Eliza Miller was honored recently at an award ceremony at MSAD 51 for being named Employee of the Year.

Recognized for her one-on-one work with students, her support for teachers, and her willingness to jump in and volunteer outside of the classroom, Eliza was praised by her colleagues during the ceremony.

“Without Eliza Miller, I could not serve my students as a teacher in the best ways I possibly can. Because she cares so much about the special ed students and pushes them to succeed to the best of their ability and shows this by collaborating, and sharing invaluable tools with staff (as well as students). Her years of experience and positivity leads the students to benefit hugely from her structured approach and optimism – which wears off on the students beyond the classroom.”

“She truly exemplifies the phrase, ‘going above and beyond,’ both in the world of education, and in her compassion and humanity in general.”

Educational technicians play a pivotal role in the classroom by providing supportive educational services for students in K-12 schools and instruction for children with disabilities. They specialize in individualized or small group guided instruction, assistance in special education and the regular classrooms, and also help manage student behavior. Education technicians are a critical part of each and every school in Maine and to our education system as a whole.

Being an education technician is an enjoyable, challenging, and rewarding profession that often-times blossoms into a life-long career as an educator. To learn more about how to become an education technician in Maine, please visit Maine DOE’s Certification web page where you will find links to information about requirements by ed tech level, how to complete the certification application process, fingerprinting, and how to check application status. For further information contact our certification team at 207-624-6603 or cert.doe@maine.gov.

Maine Continues to Align Special Education Programming with Federal Standards; No Extra Technical Assistance Required

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.

Maine’s Special Education Programing was highlighted recently for meeting federal requirements for serving the needs of children with disabilities. The newly released report is an extension of that review and further evaluates the work of Maine’s special education services and outcomes.

The annual review is based on data from the Maine Department of Education and local schools, in addition to an in-depth evaluation of state need. This is the first year that OSEP has not required that Maine receive specialized technical assistance, beyond what is offered to all states.

View the report (PDF)

The new federal status can be attributed to much of the work that has been underway for the past few years by education professionals around the state, including special education directors, teachers, education technicians, and school and district administrators, in addition to the work of the Maine Department of Education to identify areas of growth and provide additional support in those areas. Improvement can also be credited to the specialized technical assistance that has been provided by OSEP in previous years.

The Maine Department of Education would like to thank all of the education professionals in Maine, especially those who work in special education and have spent pain-staking amounts of time on the necessary paperwork, reports, meetings, and plans that help our state not only to meet these stringent requirements, but also for taking on the ever changing and important work of serving the special needs of children with disabilities. Your hard work and determination is vital to our education system and to our state.

National Board Certified Teacher Scholarship Funds Available!

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.

A school administrative unit, or a publicly supported secondary school or CTE region, may request scholarship funds on behalf of its teachers who meet the requirements.

In fiscal year 2019-20, Maine DOE will allocate $75,000 to the scholarship fund, and shall award an amount equal to the cost of the certification program, less any other funds received by the applicant, on a first-come, first-served basis to teachers accepted into the certification program.

For more information and eligibility requirements please go to National Board Certification Scholarship.

If you have questions, please contact Denise Towers at Denise.towers@maine.gov or by phone at 624-6863.

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine DOE Seeks Students to Serve on First-ever Student Cabinet

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.

Cabinet meetings will allow students from different grade levels, backgrounds, and areas of Maine to share their opinions and offer advice about Maine’s education system with Maine’s Commissioner of Education and other leaders from the Maine Department of Education.

Students grades 4 – 12 and first year of college are invited to submit an application to be a member of the Student Cabinet. Members selected will serve for a term of 12 months starting on November 1, 2019.

Cabinet meetings will be held throughout the school year. Most meetings are expected to be held as video conferences which will require cabinet members to have access to a computer or device with an internet connection. There will be at least one in-person meeting, for which the Maine DOE will reimburse travel costs.

Student Cabinet members will be selected based on representation of Maine’s geography, with a goal of two students from each county in Maine, based on the pool of applications submitted, and inclusive of the diverse cultural and economic backgrounds of students throughout Maine.

Selected students will be expected to attend scheduled meetings, prepare for each meeting as needed, work in a collaborative manner with each other and with Department staff as needed; and express views and opinions openly, constructively, and respectfully.

By becoming a member on the Maine DOE Student Cabinet, students will benefit by:

Having a direct role in improving education for students in Maine;
Gain important leadership, public speaking, decision making, and team building skills;
Develop a network of support and mentors through exposure to leaders across the state, and;
Have a great addition to their resume and applications for secondary opportunities.

Instructions for applying:
Students interested in serving on the Maine DOE Student Cabinet will need to submit the electronic application, with consent from a parent or guardian, by Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 5 pm. Applications can be submitted electronically here.

For more information contact Kelli Deveaux (207) 624-6747 or kelli.deveaux@maine.gov.

MaineCare Seed adjustments to be made, review Q419 reports by October 11, 2019

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.

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

Log into NEO using the link. Anyone who currently has Special Education Director permissions to the Special Education module, will automatically have permissions to access MaineCare reports. For security purposes, if a new staff member needs permission to access this module, a request from the Superintendent to the Maine DOE helpdesk will be necessary. The helpdesk contact information is medms.helpdesk@maine.gov or 207-624-6896.
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)
Once the report appears on the screen, choose the export button.
report buttonClick view report 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.

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 (From and To)
Total amount of Seed being disputed

Summer services: Students must be enrolled for the time period 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.

Dedham School Receives Riding for Focus Mountain Biking Grant

Submitted by Tim Pearson, Physical Education/Health Teacher at Dedham School, part of AOS #47.

Dedham School is excited to announce it is a grant recipient for the 2019-2020 Specialized Foundation Riding for Focus school program.

Riding for Focus is a school-based program designed to provide schools with everything they need to get middle school students riding bikes, including a turnkey physical education curriculum, comprehensive teacher training, and a fleet of bike and safety equipment.

Riding for Focus provides a combination of cycling, fitness, and academic performance, all while instilling a lifelong passion for cycling for students who participate in the program.

Additionally, the program explores and tracks how cycling can positively affect student learning, health, and wellbeing with a focus for those with learning differences such as ADHD. Starting this fall, mountain biking will be a regular part of all middle school students curriculum.

For more information contact Tim Pearson at tpearson@dedhamschool.net or 207-843-6498 or check out this YouTube Video about Riding for Focus School Cycling Program.

Get to know the Maine DOE Team: Meet Brandi Cota

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.

What are your roles with DOE?

I am the Office Specialist for the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. I provide support for the MLTI 1:1 grant program by collecting applications, assisting in the review and approval, also with writing and processing of our contracts. I manage the billing for all of the 200 + schools in the MLTI program which includes invoicing, tracking device inventory, and processing payments. I also assist with event planning, managing the inventory of the leased devices throughout the state, and communicating with technology staff at our schools.

In addition to my work on the MLTI program I provide support for Preschool Development Grant and I am also a part of the Morale Team and the Procurement Resource Group.

What do you like best about your job?

What I enjoy most about my job is to assist in the planning of events like the MLTI student conference. Being apart of events where we are able to see first hand the innovative work that Maine students are doing with technology in our schools. Working on the morale team and spending time planning and participation in fun events with my coworkers is very fulfilling. I also enjoy getting to communicate with teachers and school staff all over the state.

How or why did you decide on this career?

After my time in the Air Force I spent most of my career working in retail management. Even though I enjoyed it I realized I needed a more reliable work schedule as a parent. I switched to the business administration career field when I moved to Maine, and I thought the Department of Education would be a perfect fit.

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

I spend the majority of my free time with my 10 year old son, close friends and family. I enjoy watching my son play in his games, and this time of year I love watching Packers football. We also like to go to the movies, the beach, attend concerts, and traveling to new places.

Important Reminder and Webinar Assistance: Due Date Approaches for Quarter 1 (Q1) Attendance, Behavior, Bullying, and Truancy Data Review

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.

The Quarter 1 Reporting and Certification Webinar will be held on Tuesday, October 1st from 10:00 am to 11:00am. (note, this webinar has been rescheduled from Tuesday, September 17). If you did not sign up for the previously scheduled date, please use the Registration URL and the Webinar ID: 562-931-003 to let us know you will be joining us, if you did sign up already, no need to re-register!

The Department of Education offers quarterly windows for districts to review, for accuracy and comprehensiveness, the data that has been entered and reported to us. It is our hope that review of this data on a more regular basis will save district personnel time and work at the end of the year, and that it will provide time for analysis and to make any necessary corrections.

The certification period for Quarter 1 (Q1), which includes attendance, behavior, bullying, and truancy opens October 1^st. Review and certification are required by October 15th. Superintendent certification is required for all quarterly reports.

Attendance-New This Year:

Attendance is now collected in discrete quarters. Please attend the webinar for additional information.
Quarter 1 attendance will be used for the average daily attendance (ADA) reporting requirements for Title V. There will not be a separate Title V ADA collection.
Why? Each year the US Department of Education begins the process for determining Title V eligibility for both the State and Federal grants, starting in late November. Part of that eligibility is asking each state to provide several pieces of data on all their districts, including average daily attendance (ADA). Without this data, no district would be eligible for the Federal (Small Rural Schools Achievement or SRSA) grant, and districts that are eligible for the State (Rural Low-Income Schools or RLIS) grant would get a reduced allocation, as 30% of the allocation formula is based on ADA from all eligible districts.

Attendance data certification can be found here, and guidance on reporting attendance can be found here.
Behavior data certification can be found here, and guidance on reporting behavior can be found here.
Bullying data certification can be found here and guidance on reporting bullying can be found here.
Truancy data certification can be found here, and guidance on reporting truancy can be found here.

If you have difficulties navigating to Synergy or NEO, please call the Helpdesk at 624-6896 or email at medms.helpdesk@maine.gov

All due dates for reports are listed on the MDOE reporting calendar. All quarterly reports are based on the following months:

Quarter One (Q1)– As of Oct 1 (to include July, August, Sept) – due Oct 15
Quarter Two (Q2) – As of Jan 1 (to include Oct through Dec) – due Jan 15
Quarter Three (Q3) – As of April 1 (to include Jan through March) – due April 15
Quarter Four (Q4)– As of July 1 (to include Apr through June) – due July 15

LD 577- An Act To Increase Access to Nutritious Foods in Schools by Implementing an After-school Food Program for At-risk Students

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.

The law states that, beginning in the 2019-20 school year, a school administrative unit with at least one public school in which at least 50% of students qualified for a free or reduced-price lunch during the preceding school year, shall participate in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). A report listing all districts/schools that meet that 50% or more criteria can be found here. We have also provided a link for those who wish to read LD 577 in its entirety. Please note that a school administrative unit that is required to operate a federal Child and Adult Care Food Program may choose not to operate such a program if it determines, by a vote of the governing body of the school administrative unit, and after notice and a public hearing, that operating such a program would be financially or logistically impracticable. A program, or the public hearing and vote to not host a program, can occur at any point in a school year.

TO ASSIST OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND NUTRITION LEADERS

Child Nutrition has created a “Frequently Asked Questions” document regarding LD 577, and it is posted on our webpage.
A FREE Webinar on the basics of the requirements and program is being offered. Register NOW!

CACFP At Risk 101 Webinar
September 18, 2019 at 1:30-2:30pm
Topics:

- Briefly discuss LD 577 and requirements
- CACFP meal pattern
- Record keeping requirements
- Filing claims
- CACFP review process
- CNPweb agreement

If you have any questions regarding the CACFP At Risk Afterschool Program, please contact the Child Nutrition Office at 624-6843.