The University of Maine Climate Change Institute and Summer University will host the first Climate Change Workshop for pre-K–12 educators this summer. “Climate Change Teaching Tools” is designed for educators to learn more about climate change and, in particular, how to bring this important subject area into the classroom in meaningful ways for students.
Participants may choose to attend for graduate credit or professional development CEUs. The two-day online workshop will be held July 12–13. The graduate credit option includes a three-week online course, July 5–22, in addition to workshop attendance.
The event will feature renowned experts in climate change from the UMaine Climate Change Institute, the Gulf of Maine Research Center, the Maine Department of Education and panelists from the Maine Changemakers Network. Keynote speakers will discuss the impacts of climate change to the ocean, land and ice across the globe and here in Maine.
“The age of climate change decision is here, and our actions will define the course of civilization and the health of our planet,” says Paul Mayewski, director and professor of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Adult Education team recently brought together 23 educators from adult education programs across Maine at the UMA-Lewiston campus to celebrate their capstone presentations for Teaching Skills that Matter in Adult Education (TSTM). The event was the culmination of a 7-month TSTM training provided by Maine DOE’s Adult Education Team.
Teaching Skills that Matter in Adult Education (TSTM) is a federal initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) that was developed by the American Institutes for Research. The goal of the initiative is to train teachers to integrate the skills that adults need for success in career and life using evidence-based approaches that work across topics that are also important to adults (civics education, digital literacy, financial literacy, health literacy, and workforce preparation).
In 2020, the Maine DOE’s Adult Education Team applied to be part of a cohort of states to be trained in using the TSTM materials. A team of four Maine adult educators, Michael Emery from Augusta Adult and Community Education, Melanie North from MSAD 52 Adult and Community Education, Irina Petranek from Lewiston Adult Education, and Lyn Warne from Eastern Aroostook Adult Education, and Amy Poland, Maine DOE Adult Education PD Coordinator participated in an intensive yearlong training which resulted in a plan to bring the TSTM training to Maine’s adult education programs.
As a result of this effort, Maine’s first cohort of TSTM training kicked off in September 2021 at a 2-day, in-person event that was followed by virtual meetings to support their on-going efforts to teach TSTM in diverse teaching contexts, making math and science connections to TSTM lessons, and integrating TSTM into the existing curriculum. Participants also worked with a coach and coaching group on an ongoing basis from September 2021 through April 2022 meeting regularly to discuss using TSTM in the classroom. They also had two classroom observations, giving them a chance to reflect on their work.
The recently held event served as the wrap up event for Maine’s first TSTM cohort featuring 5 minute presentations from each adult education educator that participated in the training including: Washington County Adult and Community Education, RSU 24 Adult Ed, Mount Desert Island Adult Education, Ellsworth Adult Education, MSAD1 Adult and Community Education, Riverside Adult Education (RSU 22, 26, 34), Franklin County Adult Education, Spruce Mountain Adult and Community Education, Augusta Adult and Community Education, MSAD52 Adult & Community Education, RSU 16 Adult Ed, Lewiston Adult Education, Merrymeeting Adult Education, Portland Adult Education, Windham Raymond Adult Ed, and Marshwood Adult Education.
Christa Galipeau, SAD 1 Adult & Community Education, Presque Isle
Sue Lasselle, RSU 16 Adult Education (Mechanic Falls, Minot, Poland)
Phil Wormuth, RSU 24 Adult Education (Sullivan)
Bryan Brito, MSAD 52 Adult & Community Education, Turner
During each presentation, participants shared their experiences teaching using TSTM lessons in practice, how they adapted the lessons to fit what their learners needs, their lessons learned, and many other useful pieces of information relevant to their peers and the Maine DOE for future success with the TSTM program.
With culture as a common theme, many shared their experiences working both remotely and in-person to teach lessons that were both relevant and accessible to adult learners enrolled in their respective programs and regions.
There were also many shared experiences in working with adult learners which resulted in everything from sharing tips and tricks to turning common frustrations into something positive.
“The tech will get you every time,” said Valerie from Washington County Adult Education program. While her comment got a chuckle and a knowing head nod from most around the room, she turned it into an important lesson for educators about modeling working through a problem (such as a technology issue) in front of students, to show them how to problem-solve in real time – a handy skill for everyone to develop.
Also included in the training was a TSTM toolkit packed with high-quality lessons that are easily adapted for Maine’s varied adult education population (multilingual, adult basic education, high school completion, workforce training, college transitions, etc.). Also integrated into the toolkit are many of the employability skills (soft skills) already taught in Maine which are integrated into academic lessons that highlight relevant topics for adult learners, such as budgeting, reading workplace safety signs, and first amendment rights.
“TSTM pushed me to learn a variety of remote learning tools,” shared Rochelle from Portland Adult Education Program. Rochelle wasn’t the only one to talk about a journey with learning remote learning tools and refreshing their toolbox of digital tools that can help with in-person learning as well. Many of the educators in the room really benefited from their experience using the toolkit provided by TSTM, especially in the wake of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which changed the way most educators teach.
A booklet created by Maine Snap-Ed (https://www.mainesnap-ed.org/) An example of a community resource used in Maine Adult Education programs
Another common theme among participants was how much more enriching and sustainable their lessons and curriculum became as a result of partnering with local agencies. For many, these connections were critical for things like food stamps and/or education materials, and to supplement their curriculum without having to reinvent something that community partners could come in and present or provide information and/or tools for.
Maine DOE’s Adult Education Team Professional Development Coordinator Amy Poland says, “We are currently planning next year, but we anticipate holding another statewide training similar to this year’s.” She adds that the team is also working on a community of practice which will feature a series of workshops around effective teaching practices using the TSTM Toolkit lessons, and convening a cohort of teachers who will create and curate new materials, and more for their fellow adult education educators across the State.
Are you interested in computer science professional development opportunities for your school? Maine’s 130th legislature, through a bill sponsored by Senator Pouliot, created a pilot grant program to provide funding for high-quality, teacher-developed or teacher-led professional development for PK-12 computer science pedagogy and content.
Priority will be given to applicants that:
Are located in one (or more) of the following counties where no awards have been made in previous application rounds: Sagadahoc, York, Aroostook, Somerset, Washington, Oxford, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Franklin, and Kennebec.
Do not currently offer computer science learning opportunities;
Serve socioeconomically disadvantaged school districts;
Prioritize student populations traditionally underrepresented in computer science;
Demonstrate a commitment to pursuing high-quality educator professional development that emphasizes integration of computer science into other course work and curricula or establishes or expands access to courses that offer college credit and other certificates of value, or both; and
Collaborate or partner with other entities, including but not limited to other local education agencies, the business community, nonprofit organizations and private entities.
The application window opens Monday, May 9th, 2022 and closes Friday, May 20th, 2022. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. All applicants will be notified of their application status within two weeks of the application deadline.
There is no limit to the grant amount awarded per applicant; however, funds will be dispersed equitably across all applications based on county and throughout PK-12.
Please join the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Maine School Safety Center for the first annual Maine School Safety Summit. Along with state-level partners from across Maine, the Maine School Safety Center and Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) are proud to invite you to this high level, diverse training opportunity catered specifically for school and district administrators, school resources officers, juvenile community corrections officers, and law enforcement that work directly with schools, in addition to school support staff such as school counselors, social workers, school nurses, and emergency planning and facilities school/district staff members.
LOCATION
Windham High School
406 Gray Road Windham, ME
DATE & TIME
June 21-23, 2022
9:00 AM – 3:00 PMHighlights include:
Day one and two there will be a two-day course specifically designed for school/district administrators such as principals and superintendents as well as law enforcement administrators on how to work best together as a team for more effective interactions with youth. This specialized training presented by Strategies for Youth will be the first of its kind here in Maine.
Simultaneously, on days one and two, over 16 different presentations will be available for assistant principals, social workers, school counselors, facilities directors, school safety personnel, SROs, JCCOs, law enforcement who respond to schools, school office staff, educational technicians, and any other school staff who work to make their schools a safer place.
Day three will have two tracks. Track one will provide a special session for Transportation Directors and Bus inspectors. Track two will bring all other attendees together to discuss an exciting new way of dealing with youth in crisis entitled, Juvenile Justice Jeopardy, and in the afternoon will be a session entitled Communication in a Diverse World.
Our goal is to create safer schools by offering wraparound total services for Maine students.
As a reminder, Regional School Calendars are due by June 1, 2022 for school administrative units (SAU) and private schools approved for tuition purposes, in coordination with their local secondary career and technical education (CTE) school. This requirement is part of Public Law 2011, Chapter 686 to promote collaboration among local school administrative units that may benefit from inter-administrative unit collaboration beyond CTE. | More
Annual Audit Reports Due December 30th. Annual audit reports are due within six months after the end of the audit period (e.g., reports for the fiscal year ending June 30th are due on or before December 30th). | More
Education Commissioner Pender Makin released a special video message celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week and honoring the amazing work of Maine’s educators. Watch Makin’s Teacher Appreciation Week video and please share! | See Video
Maine Revised Statute 20-A M.S.R. § 4701-B requires school administrative units to screen students in kindergarten through second grade who have difficulty in these areas | More
This week, Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin visited Kingman Elementary School, one of Maine’s Education in Unorganized Territory (EUT) schools. Makin brought miniature rosebushes to the three educators at the school to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, observed in classrooms, met with students and with staff, joined recess, and enjoyed lunch with students. | More
MLTI is launching an End of Year Expo event to celebrate educators and the work they do to support the use of technology in teaching and learning. Are you or someone you know an MLTI educator using technology in fun and innovative ways? Submit an entry to the expo and join us to share these achievements at our exhibition! | More
Peter Geiger, past Vice Chair for the Maine State Board of Education, was presented a Legislative Sentiment by Senator Nathan Libby at the Board’s April 13th business meeting prior to Geiger’s term ending at the end of April. | More
The Maine Department of Education released the Teach Maine Plan, a comprehensive roadmap to develop, support, and sustain a robust educator workforce in the state. Unveiled during Teacher Appreciation Week, the Teach Maine Plan and new website provide a set of strategies and actions to inspire a talented and diverse future educator workforce, and to support and develop Maine’s current educator workforce. | More
The 19th Annual MLTI Student Conference will be held virtually on Thursday, May 26, 2022, from 8:30am-2:00pm for registered 7&th grade MLTI students. This year’s theme is MLTI launches space2connect, and with the partnership of the UMaine High Altitude Ballooning program, MLTI will be launching a high-altitude balloon into space! | More
Are you passionate about professional growth and technology? Do you want to make a difference in Maine schools? Are you currently teaching in a Maine public school? This might be the opportunity you’ve been looking for! | More
May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and the Maine Department of Education joins organizations across the United States in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success. | More
The Maine Secretary of State’s Office will be accepting nominations for the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award. The award recognizes one Maine resident, age 25 or younger, who demonstrates leadership abilities, has a passion for social justice, and is improving the quality of life in their community. | More
Maine DOE Team member Shari Templeton is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Shari in the question and answer.. | More
The U.S. Department of Education is hosting a webinar series to address hot topics that are on the top of educators’ minds. After sharing federal updates, the series features lessons learned and best practices from faculty, staff, schools, districts, institutions of higher education, and other places of educational instruction. It also shares a variety of useful resources. | More
Maine DOE Team member Shari Templeton is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Shari in the question and answer below.
What are your roles with DOE?
For the past 8 years I served in the capacity of Science Specialist which kept me in the thick of standards work, science assessment development, providing science professional learning and oversight of several recognition programs for science teachers, students and school initiatives. With the DOE’s recent re-organization to support interdisciplinary learning and a whole student vision, I have transitioned to the role of Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist and work with a small team to build out resources to support educators in this work.
What do you like best about your job?
Working with teachers and collaborating with state leaders from across the nation.
How or why did you decide on this career?
I started in outdoor education before filling a long-term sub position at a high school in Connecticut. I stayed on at that school while taking courses to complete teacher certification. In 1986 I moved to Maine and continued teaching high school physics, biology and forensic science in the Mid-coast. I loved working with adolescents, igniting or re-igniting that spark in them, sharing my passion for science education while helping them discover their passions. After 31 years in the classroom, I accepted the Science Specialist position at the DOE in hopes of making a greater impact on science education for Maine students in the twilight of my career.
What do you like to do outside of work for fun?
While the days of hiking and packing with my llamas are over, I still enjoy hanging with my last five geriatric llamas. In addition to my camelids, I tend a flock of 30 chickens, work an apiary with 30 bee hives, cuddle with my 5 cats and am sole caretaker for my 96 year old mother. When time allows, I enjoy sea kayaking, golfing, building projects and a good nap.
Are you passionate about professional growth and technology? Do you want to make a difference in Maine schools? Are you currently teaching in a Maine public school? This might be the opportunity you’ve been looking for!
The Maine Department of Education is hiring five distinguished educators to join our team in supporting MLTI 2.0 professional learning. These are full-time, two-year, contracted, remote positions. The MLTI distinguished educators will provide instructional technology coaching directly to MLTI participating schools and work closely with the MLTI team to implement the MLTI 2.0 program. Ideal candidates will be excited about instructional coaching and innovative technology practices in education, eager to work with other teachers, have outstanding communication skills, and experience with upper elementary, middle, and/or high school pedagogy.
Distinguished educator positions are set up as an exchange agreement between the Department of Education and your local school district. Through the agreement, the Department pays your local school for the duration of your contract as a distinguished educator, allowing your school to temporarily fill your vacant position and continue to pay you your current rate while you work as a distinguished educator. Once the two-year contract is complete, you will be able to return to your position within that district.
If you have questions about the position or the exchange process, check out the FAQ.
Still have questions? Contact the Digital Learning Specialists at the Maine Department of Education to learn more: Jonathan Graham, Elementary Digital Learning Specialist at jonathan.m.graham@maine.gov or Emma-Marie Banks, Computer Science and Secondary Digital Learning Specialist at emma-marie.banks@maine.gov.
The Maine Secretary of State’s Office will be accepting nominations for the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award. The award recognizes one Maine resident, age 25 or younger, who demonstrates leadership abilities, has a passion for social justice, and is improving the quality of life in their community.
The John Lewis Leadership Award is named for the late Congressman John Lewis, who was known for his courageous achievements during the Civil Rights Movement and his long tenure of public service. The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) established this award in February 2021, inviting Secretaries to recognize a gifted, civic-minded young person in their state each year.
Please consider nominating a student or community member. Visit the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award webpage for more information. Submissions are due Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is announcing that the School Health Annual Report is now available through the Reporting Calendar. The reporting link is available through the DC&R Calendar and the superintendent will determine who will compile and submit the data from all schools within the SAU. The data does not need to be submitted by your health staff; it can be entered by whomever the Superintendent determines is appropriate. Please remember that these reports once submitted, are manually verified so it may take several weeks for your report to show up in DC&R as completed. This report is due by July 30, 2022.
Now more than ever, being able to quantify the workload of your school health staff is of utmost importance as we continue in this unprecedented time. Advocating for the multiple needs of your students helps to inform evidence-based school nursing practice and improve overall youth health outcomes. Healthy students are better learners. If you have questions about the School Health Annual Report, please contact the MDOE School Nurse Consultant, Emily.Poland@Maine.gov.
In the fall of 2022, Ann McClellan asked Maxx Pillsbury, a student of the Sphero Bolt coding program at Mt. View Middle School, how he might use the Bolt to tell a story. Both interested in Maine history, Ms. McClellan and Maxx began exploring using the Bolt to tell the story of ten historically significant places in Maine.
Maxx coded his Bolt to be Samuel de Champlain, an explorer who traveled the coast of Maine. Maxx and Ms. McClellan used a rope to model the nooks and crannies of Maine’s rugged coastline and painted designs on paper to represent characteristics of the area being explored.
Once they planned the layout, Maxx programmed the Bolt. While working, Maxx decided he also wanted the Bolt to narrate the history locations. He wrote a script, chose sounds to enhance the audience’s experience, and found music to play.
You can view a video of the robot moving through the project here:
The final product is impressive and took perseverance and critical thinking to problem solve through challenges that presented themselves throughout the process. For instance, placing the Bolt just right was imperative to its success.
“If the angle was just slightly different when it was set down, then it could mess the whole thing up,” Maxx said.
Ms. McClellan agreed, “Directionals and movement controls were challenging. These had to do with speed, angles, and time. We maintained humor, flexibility, and perseverance, so we got through the programming!”
Maxx is eager to apply what he learned from this project to his other classes. “In my history classes, I will already know some history about early explorers in Maine, and in math class, I can use what I learned about ratios with distance, speed, and time.”
For more information about the Sphero Bolt coding program or other ways to integrate computer science into your curriculum, reach out our computer science specialist, Emma Banks at Emma-Marie.Banks@maine.gov or visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/ltt/computerscience.
