Maine DOE Update – December 18, 2020

From the Maine Department of Education

Reporting Items

Graduation Certification Report to Open December 21st, 2020

New for 2019-2020: To assist schools in the data process, there have been changes to the Graduation Certification Report. The transfer-In/Out counts of students will no longer be used to determine adjusted cohort, and there will be no more validating of the start and exit codes of students during this report. The report will also no longer be required to be ‘Accepted’ by the Maine Department of Education (DOE). | More

| Visit the DC&R Reporting Calendar |

News & Updates

Mills Administration Updates COVID-19 School Health Advisory System

Cumberland joins Androscoggin, Oxford, and York counties in yellow designation; all others designated green The Mills Administration today released an update to its color-coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission to assist schools as they continue with their plans to deliver instruction and support to students safely. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) continue to review evidence that indicates lower transmission of COVID-19 in schools compared to the general population. Over the last 30 days, the rate of new cases is 25.2 per 100,000 staff and students, compared to 62.5 per 100,000 people statewide. This lower rate of new cases in schools is consistent with previous weeks. | More

Update – Teacher Shortage Areas

The U.S. DOE annually designates teacher shortage areas for purposes of deferment of loan repayments or reductions of teaching obligation. On November 30, 2020 the Department of Education requested input regarding designated teacher shortage areas for federal reporting. The Department would like to thank all those who submitted information related to teacher shortage and, because of public input, have added a number of teaching endorsements to the US DOE proposal. The Maine DOE will be proposing the following as K-12 teacher shortage areas for the 2021-2022 school year: | More

Controlling Indoor Air Quality to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission: Guidance for Building Managers and Education Leaders

Now that cold weather has arrived in Maine, people are spending more time indoors, adding additional considerations for indoor air and mitigation strategies for COVID-19. This webinar will cover some basic strategies including ventilation and filtration techniques that building managers and other education leaders can use to manage indoor air quality in a way that will help reduce the spread of the virus. Health engineers from Maine CDC will be joined by indoor air quality experts from the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council for this brief presentation, to be followed by a Q & A session. | More

Maine DOE Launches a New Web Resource to Support Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Framework Implementation

The Maine Department of Education is thrilled to announce the launch of a new web experience designed to provide relevant content and valuable information about Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). The new resource aims to be a useful guide and implementation tool that will help schools with the complex task of fully implementing MTSS. | More

Seeking Maine Educators to Create Learning Modules for MOOSE

The Maine Department of Education is seeking educators to create learning modules for MOOSE, Maine’s Online Opportunities for Sustained Education. MOOSE is an initiative that is grounded in innovation and made possible by technology. Learn with MOOSE is committed to creating learning experiences for students that are accessible and inclusive of all learners, and serves to provide anytime, anywhere learning options and resources for educators, students and their families. Integrated across subject areas and project-based, these asynchronous modules ensure that learning is active, engaging, and continuous. | More

Get to Know the DOE Team: Meet Carole King

Maine DOE Team member Carole King is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Carole. | More