The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Offices of Teaching and Learning and Special Services and Inclusive Education invite educators and education professionals—including teachers, administrators, literacy specialists, and educational technicians—to participate in a free virtual literacy professional learning series during the 2026–2027 school year.
Designed to provide flexible, connected learning opportunities, the series allows participants to choose a professional learning path based on their grade span, interests, and learning goals.
Choose Your Literacy Learning Path
In November of 2026, and January and March of 2027, participants can engage in three connected literacy learning opportunities. Each month will focus on a different aspect of literacy instruction, with sessions tailored to three grade spans: Prek through grade 3, upper elementary and middle school, and high school.
Participants may choose from two learning pathways:
- Explore Across Grade Spans and Topics: Register for all nine sessions to engage in nine hours of literacy professional learning across multiple grade spans and topics.
- Deepen Learning Within a Grade Span: Follow one grade-span strand across the three sessions for a total of three hours of literacy professional learning, building knowledge and connections across the series.
Educators may also register for individual sessions based on their interests and professional learning needs. Contact hours will be awarded based on the number of sessions attended.
Whether educators are looking to broaden their understanding of literacy instruction or deepen their practice within a specific grade span, the series offers opportunities to learn, reflect, and connect evidence-based literacy practices to classroom instruction.
Registration
Session descriptions, dates, and registration links are provided below. Participants must register separately for each session they plan to attend.
November – Vocabulary & Morphology
Vocabulary & Word Study for Young Learners (PreK-3)
November 5, 2026, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Dee Saucier, Maine DOE Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist & Dyslexia Coordinator
In session 1, participants will explore several explicit word study opportunities, such as vocabulary routines, word play, phonics, word analysis, and varied word sorts, to strengthen reading and language skills in young learners.
Cracking the Code: Words in Upper Elementary & Middle School
November 12, 2026, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Heather Martin, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist
Explore how understanding meaningful word parts—prefixes, suffixes, roots, and base words—can help students unlock vocabulary, make connections across disciplines, and become more confident readers and learners.
Cracking the Code: Words in High School
November 19, 2026, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Cee Belolan, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist
Examine how morphology supports increasingly complex vocabulary, disciplinary language, and comprehension, with strategies for helping students analyze and apply word structures across academic disciplines.
January – Vocabulary, Background Knowledge, & Verbal Reasoning
Oral Language to Build Vocabulary & Background Knowledge in Young Learners (PreK-3)
January 7, 2027, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Dee Saucier, Maine DOE Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist & Dyslexia Coordinator
In session 2, participants will explore the critical importance of oral language in a comprehensive literacy program and consider how rich oral language opportunities can support explicit vocabulary instruction and the developement of background knowledge.
Say it Like You Mean It: Disciplinary Discourse and the language of learning in Upper Elementary & Middle School
January 14, 2027, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Heather Martin, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist
Explore how students can use the language of different disciplines to explain ideas, ask questions, build on others’ thinking, and communicate their understanding through purposeful speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Say it Like You Mean It: Disciplinary Discourse and the language of learning in High School
January 21, 2027, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Cee Belolan, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist
Examine how disciplinary discourse helps students engage in academic conversations, construct and defend ideas, and communicate using the language, evidence, and conventions of different fields.
March – Verbal Reasoning, Literacy Knowledge, and Language Structures
Say Language Structures & Verbal Reasoning to Develop Critical Thinking for Young Learners (PreK-3)
March 4, 2027, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Dee Saucier, Maine DOE Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist & Dyslexia Coordinator
In session 3, participants will explore the remaining language comprehension strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope, with a focus on language structures, verbal reasoning, and building deeper understanding for young learners.
Text Complexity & Critical Thinking in Upper Elementary & Middle School
March 11, 2027, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Heather Martin, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist
Explore how increasingly complex texts challenge students to make connections, draw inferences, and build deeper understanding, with strategies to help students navigate challenging texts while maintaining rigorous thinking demands.
Text Complexity & Critical Thinking in High School
March 18, 2027, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Cee Belolan, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist
Explore how increasingly complex texts create opportunities for more sophisticated thinking and examine how students can analyze, interpret, evaluate, and question complex ideas in disciplinary texts.
We hope you will join us in strengthening literacy instruction and supporting Maine students as readers, writers, and thinkers.
If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Bertini, Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Team Coordinator, at Kathy.bertini@maine.gov or Dee Saucier, Maine DOE Inclusive Education Literacy Specialist & Dyslexia Coordinator, at danielle.m.saucier@maine.gov.
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