Maine school representatives and student State Officers participated in the 92nd National FFA (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) Convention on October 30-November 2, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Twelve FFA students from Ashland High School, Easton High School, and Presque Isle Regional Career & Technical Center competed in events including Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Employment Skills, Environment & Natural Resources, and Horse Evaluation.
State FFA Officers Graham Berry (President), Camryn Curtis (Vice President) and Ava Cameron (Secretary-Treasurer) participated alongside their fellow Maine competitors, teachers and chaperones, with Graham and Camryn serving as delegates to committees on Competitions and Member Experiences. State FFA Advisor Doug Robertson from the Maine Department of Education oversaw student State FFA Officers and participated in educational sessions with fellow staff from other states.
Maine FFA State Secretary-Treasurer Ava Cameron presents the Maine Flag at the Opening Session.
FFA is the largest student leadership organization in the United States, with over 700,000 members grades 7-12 enrolled in courses related to agriculture and natural resources. Of these members, nearly 70,000 attended the National Convention. Maine’s delegates helped develop recommendations for changes to the National FFA to benefit members.
The National FFA Convention provided competitions, motivational sessions, leadership workshops, awards and scholarships for student members, as well as the chance to meet peers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to competitions and motivational sessions, Maine participants had the opportunity to discover Indianapolis and many local attractions including the Indiana State Museum, the rodeo and the zoo, as well as enjoying a concert featuring Brett Young.
Maine FFA State Secretary-Treasurer Ava Cameron presents the Maine Flag at the Opening Session.
In Maine, secondary schools with technical programs in agriculture and natural resources as well as all schools for students grades 7-12 with relevant agriculture/natural resources courses, including science curriculum infused with agriculture and natural resource topics are eligible to charter FFA chapters.
For more information, please contact: Doug Robertson, State Advisor, Maine Department of Education, (207) 624-6744, doug.robertson@maine.gov
In 2015, Maine revised its mandated reporting law, requiring state-approved training for certain professions every four years. Specifically, it includes school personnel described as the following: teachers, guidance counselors, school officials, school bus drivers and school bus attendants.
Maine’s Network of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Councils is working to ensure that local school districts are aware of the changes and have the necessary resources to maintain compliance with Maine Statute. The local councils are able to provide in-person training at no-cost to the school districts.
As schools know, child abuse and neglect are serious issues, and school personnel often witness the challenges faced by Maine’s children. In fact, according to the Office of Child and Family Services’ recent child welfare data, school personnel were responsible for over 20% of the total reported cases of suspected child abuse and neglect. This demonstrates the importance of providing school personnel the most current, state-approved information for recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. It is important that school personnel feel comfortable, confident, and fully understand their role as a mandated reporter. For information on how to access this free training, contact your local Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council or visit the Maine Children’s Trust website. Click here to read the full law. If you have any additional questions please email Denise Trafton at the Maine Children’s Trust, deniset@mechildrenstrust.org.
Representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston along with educators from Taiwan visited Maine recently stopping at the Maine Department of Education during the trip to meet with Deputy Commissioner Dan Chuhta.
The educators, from various institutions in Taiwan including National University of Tainan, came to Maine to talk about teaching and learning with Maine’s education officials which included discussions about different models for individualized and experiential learning.
During their visit, the group also visited Loranger Memorial School in Old Orchard and King Middle School in Portland to talk with local educators and explore international collaborative learning opportunities.
The MLTI Student Conference has included live musical performances over the past several years, and this year, we would like to feature students from our PK-12 schools or local universities. There are several potential opportunities which could be filled by students from one school or from a two schools. A tentative schedule is below.
8am – 9:40am – Musical performances as schools arrive, National Anthem, and performances as schools depart for sessions.
12:45pm – 3:00pm – Musical performances as schools return from lunch, at some point during the UBER session, and as schools depart.
We are looking for musical performances that fit this year’s conference theme: “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial” and will judge applications based on how well the musical selections fit the theme, as well as how creative ideas are for the performance itself.
Selection Process: February 24th – March 13th, 2020
Please note that we only have limited funding available to help reduce the cost of attendance or of travel. Because of this, invitations to perform will happen over the course of three weeks. Thank you for understanding!
Additionally, the school is responsible for ensuring students and families are okay with the students performing at an event where they will be recorded (video and photograph). These videos and photos may be shared on the local news and on social media. Families will also be asked to sign a media release form for the Department of Education and to understand that we are unable to prevent their student from being photographed or video recorded during the event if they are performing on stage.
The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) is hosting a T-shirt Design Competition again this year. The theme for the T-shirt design is “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial”.
A panel of judges will narrow the submissions down to three designs, and then we will ask Maine students and educators to vote for their top choice as they register for the MLTI Student Conference. The winning T-shirt will be printed for the 1000+ attendees of the 17th Annual MLTI Student Conference, which will be held on Thursday, May 21st, 2020 at the University of Maine in Orono. The three students whose designs become the finalists will be given a free registration to the conference.
Eligibility:
Any student who attends an elementary, middle, or high school in Maine during the 2019-2020 school year is eligible to enter the competition may enter the competition.
Any student or teacher/chaperone who is registering for the MLTI Student Conference may vote on the final design.
Submission Guidelines:
Submissions must only have ONE ink color and ONE background color. The inclusion of shading or gradients of colors will lead to disqualification.
All submissions must be an original artwork. Any use of any photo, drawing, images or elements created by any other person (other than the MLTI logo) is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification.
Please adhere to the guidelines for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regarding copyright and plagiarism: Even if you have permission to use a work or if the work is in the public domain, the work that you submit to this competition must represent a new, original work. Additionally, changing the medium of an original work is not considered transformative. For example, a painting or drawing of a photograph taken from the Internet or a magazine is not considered original and should not be submitted.
Each student may only submit one entry AND the entry must be created by ONE student only.
The artwork should be sized to 81/2” x 11”.
Students may hand-draw or digitally design their artwork.
Digitally designed artwork should be 300 dpi, RGB color, and the fonts must be embedded.
Submitted artwork must incorporate the phrase “MLTI Student Conference” and the year “2020” or “’20”.
The design should reflect this year’s conference theme and should include some reference to “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial”.
Students are asked to submit an artist statement (less than 200 words) with their design to help bring clarity to their adherence to the theme.
Acceptable file types: PDF or JPEG high resolution.
Color: T-shirts are one solid color with one color ink, and the student can suggest the color for each.
The t-shirt design must fit on the front of the t-shirt.
Guidelines: Work clearly adheres to the submission guidelines (color, size, file type, etc.)
Theme: “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial”.
Principles of Design:Work incorporated the following elements of art: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety, and unity.
Important Dates
Monday, November 4th, 2019 – Competition begins
Monday, February 24th, 2020 – T-shirt designs due
Monday, March 2nd, 2020 – T-shirt voting begins (with registration)
Friday, April 10th, 2020 – T-shirt winner announced
The MLTI Student Conference Planning Committee is issuing the call for student and educator team proposals for the 17th Annual MLTI Student Conference, to be held on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at the University of Maine in Orono.
Two important notes:
Proposals are due much earlier this year! This will allow us to have a session list finalized by the time conference registration opens.
Ideally, all proposals will have some form of student leadership incorporated. This could mean students will lead the whole session (with some adult support), students will serve as guides/coaches during the activity portion, or something in between. Students can co-present with teachers or other educators (including from community or business organizations).
Sessions will be one-hour long, must involve some form of creating, making, and doing, and should leave participants excited about what they learned and eager to share their experiences with others.
You can view examples of sessions from the 2019 MLTI Student Conference here.
Here’s the information you need to submit a proposal:
Possible Topics: Proposals are not limited to the conference theme, and might include topics such as music, spoken word recording, coding, video production, graphic design, or writing and publishing your collection of short stories.
Device Requirements: The student conference supports all MLTI devices, regardless of platform and encourages “platform-agnostic” sessions.
A Proposal Submission must include:
The name of your school
The title of your session
List of all presenters
Important notes:
The $18 registration cost will be waived for up to two presenters. If you choose to have more presenters, you will need to pay the registration fee. Note that the Department has made every effort over the years to keep the cost of the conference low, however, as costs continue to rise, we have increased the registration fee by $3 this year and will raise it by $4 next year.
If your proposal is accepted, we ask that you register all presenters in a timely manner. The presenters do not count toward the school limit of 40 students during the registration process.
A description of your session:
What skill will participants learn? How will you teach this?
What activity will participants engage in – what will they create?
What can participants expect to walk away knowing and being able to do?
Materials to share in the conference registration form:
Short video advertisement of the session (less than a minute) Please submit Media Release forms for any student in the video.
Short description of the session (less than 200 words)
Student leadership information:
How will student leaders be incorporated into the session?
How will they be empowered to succeed during preparation and during the day of the conference?
Session requirements:
Level of expertise needed to participate fully (beginner, intermediate, expert)
The maximum number of participants you can accommodate (room sizes vary from 30-200)
Space set up requests (auditorium, tables/chairs, projector, speakers, etc.)
Technology requirements:
A list of which platforms can be used in the session: (MacBook, iPad, ProBook, ElitePad, Chromebook, other)
Software and materials participants must have to participate (be specific)
The name of the educator to be contacted about this proposal, and their email and phone number
Submit Proposals by 5 pm, Monday, January 27th, 2020 to this online form or copy and paste this URL into your browser http://bit.ly/MLTI-2020-session-entry. It is recommended that you type your answers in a separate document and then copy them into the form, so you can be sure to save your work.
Important Dates
Monday, November 4th, 2019 – Call for Proposals open and theme announced
Monday, January 27th, 2020 – Proposals due
Monday, February 10th, 2020 – Sessions selected
Friday, February 28th, 2020 – Sessions confirmed by presenters
Monday, March 2nd, 2020 – Sessions posted on DOE website
March 2nd, 2020: Registration open
Spread the word – if you know of someone doing fantastic work involving technology with making, doing, or storytelling please encourage them to submit a proposal or send an email with suggestions to MLTI.Project@maine.gov!
The Washington County Consortium, a non-profit collaborative organization formed by school districts in Washington County to provide regional professional development opportunities, recently held its annual “Harvest of Ideas,” a day-long conference featuring workshops focused on high impact practices, academic and behavioral interventions, relevant resources, and research-based practices.
Held at the University of Maine at Machias, the event drew over 600 educators from the Washington County region and offered a wide range of learning opportunities, some of which will be followed up with two additional half-day workshops held throughout the school year, led by conference presenters. Uniquely this year, the conference allowed for 150-minute sessions called learning communities, providing practitioners time and space to think about what the ideas look like in their schools and classrooms, and how and where to start.
Sarah Woog introducing Commissioner Makin who participated via web conferencing to address educators.
Sarah Woog, Executive Director for the Washington County Consortium and the coordinator of conference opened both morning and afternoon auditorium sessions by thanking the many people involved in pulling off such a comprehensive learning opportunity. “Thank you to all who helped put this day together, to the Washington County Leadership Team, the Washington County Consortium Board of Directors, everyone at UMM, from IT to facilities, to the instructors who are sharing in sessions today.” She also gave an important shout out to Culinary Arts Instructor Emily Fitzsimmons from Coastal Washington County Institute of Technology and her students from Machias Memorial High School who provided lunch and snacks that day, in addition to students from Washington Academy, who served as ambassadors for the day.
Representatives from the Maine Department of Education were present, including Emily Gribben who assisted with coordination, Lavinia Rogers who offered a collaborative work session for World Language teachers, and Shari Templeton with an interactive session for science teachers. Maine DOE Coach Darlene Bassett was also present working with Maine educators to host a workshop on Guided Reading. With the help of Woog and Maine DOE representative Mary Herman, Commissioner Makin also joined the conference virtually in two different larger sessions to offer educators her thoughts on teacher voice and its impact on spreading a positive message about education in Maine.
Also featured was a long session about integrating Maine Native American studies into classroom instruction. Geo Neptune, a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Indian Township, hosted the presentation. As an educator, Passamaquoddy activist, and master basket maker, Neptune was able to provide conference participants with valuable and unique first-hand perspective, advice, and tools to aid them in finding resources to teach Native American studies in ways that are contemporary and relevant, while also honoring the long history and culture of Maine’s Native American tribes. As an Educator, Geo has worked not only within Wabanaki communities toward cultural preservation, but statewide within Maine schools to help provide content.
Geo Neptune presenting to conference participants.
Presenter Geo Neptune answering questions after his presentation.
Other sessions focused on a wide variety of pertinent topics including leadership, literacy assessment, engaging students with technology, guided reading, school counseling, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Neurodiversity, and selfcare and mindfulness to name a few. Presenters included several experts in the field including representatives from Maine Principals Association, CAN (Child Abuse and Neglect) Prevention Council of Washington County, University of Maine at Machias, Maine Parent Federation, and TREE (Transforming Rural Experience in Education), in addition to Maine educators from the region speaking to their peers as leading experts in their innovative work in education.
The day was a success on all counts providing educators from the Washington County Region with information and tools to refresh their classroom practices and help with the difficult task of ensuring students in some of the most rural areas of Maine have access to cutting edge curriculum, programming, and resources to help them achieve in today’s world.
“Every year, I just hope to do something that is more meaningful and has a greater impact than the year before,” said Woog. “I am grateful for the numerous people who work with me each year to realize this goal.”
We are thrilled to share that 74% of our SAUs made the October 31 deadline, and have their student data submitted! This helps all of us, as it impacts the accuracy and timeliness of the ED 279.We appreciate that SAUs have been working diligently to ensure the accuracy of their staff data prior to submitting; we are still waiting to receive about 50% of SAU staffing data currently.| More
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is seeking 30 days of public comment from October 31 – November 29, 2019, on a waiver application (waiver from §8401(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015) to the U.S. Department of Education (USED). The request seeks a waiver from publicly reporting student alternate science test data from the Spring 2020 assessment administration. | More
Online Registration Portal for 2019 MAARS Workshop, including an overview of key changes to Maine’s Model of School Support (Accountability) is now available. | More
The Maine Department of Education is accepting applications to receive subsidy for new school buses purchased through the School Bus Purchase Program. The application period is November 1 through November 25, 2019.| More
“Let’s go to the video” isn’t just something they say on the nightly news in Gorham, Maine. It’s also the go-to skill for student storytellers at Gorham High School, thanks to the pervasive and forward-looking influence of technology teacher Adam Parvanta. A tech mentor for grade 9 through 12 students as well as staff, Parvanta puts technology in student hands and teaches them how to craft stories large and small. Whether it’s augmenting class projects, highlighting student activities or helping students create visual résumé boosters to supplement their college applications, Parvanta deploys technology in ways that spur students to become creators of content rather than just passive consumers. | More
The Maine Department of Education would like to thank each and every one of the hundreds of students in grades 4-13 who applied to be on Maine Department of Education’s Student Cabinet. There has been an amazing outpouring of interest, and we are honored that so many students want to be engaged in education policy and reform at the state level. | More
Last week, the Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Team hosted its very first hands-on training in the newly built Child Nutrition Culinary Classroom.| More
State Officers of the Maine FFA Association (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) trained 35 leaders from 7 Aroostook County FFA Chapters on October 18, 2019 at the University of Maine, Presque Isle. | More
Maine DOE team member Megan Dichter is being highlighted this week as the part of a Get to know the DOE Team campaign! Learn a little more about Megan. | More
We are thrilled to share that 74% of our SAUs made the October 31 deadline, and have their student data submitted! This helps all of us, as it impacts the accuracy and timeliness of the ED 279.
We appreciate that SAUs have been working diligently to ensure the accuracy of their staff data prior to submitting; we are still waiting to receive about 50% of SAU staffing data currently. Please be sure to check that your staff information is updated in NEO, and call us if we can help!
Also, the truancy, attendance and behavior data for Quarter 1 is due, and the bullying reporting window is now open through November 30th. As we are looking at model policies and identifying what supports and resources we can provide for schools as they work to ensure a safe school climate, this data is helpful for the conversation.
THANK YOU to all of our SAU staff who have worked so hard to ensure the data is submitted.
And remember, if we can help please, contact our helpdesk at medms.helpdesk@maine.gov
or call 207 624-6896.
The Maine Department of Education is accepting applications to receive subsidy for new school buses purchased through the School Bus Purchase Program. The application period is November 1 through November 25, 2019.
The Department will be able to approve about $9 million in school bus allocations that combines new bus requests and the prior year bus term commitment. Round one applications will be accepted. This program provides subsidy to school administrative units (SAUs) in order to offset partial cost of new school buses that are used to transport students to and from home and school and school events. This program is a resource to help SAUs purchase new school buses, retire end of life school buses, and respond to emergency and special bus needs. Eligible vehicles must meet Code of Maine Regulations Chapter 85 minimum qualifications, with the exception of Section 3.1.
The School Bus Purchase Program instructions and application information are available on the Maine DOE’s NEO website dashboard. For more information or technical assistance, please contact Pat Hinckley at 624-6886 or email pat.hinckley@maine.gov .
Maine DOE Newsroom 