Maine FFA Delegates Return to the National Convention

Maine FFA (formerly known as “Future Farmers of America”) sent States Officers, President Nickie Deschaine and Secretary-Treasurer Ryder Brewer, to participate as delegates to the 94th National FFA Convention & Expo on October 25-30, 2021 in Indianapolis.

Last year’s National Convention was held as a virtual-only event due to COVID-19. Maine FFA State Advisor from the Maine Department of Education, Doug Robertson, accompanied the delegates who are both currently juniors at Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill.

This year’s convention was attended by over 60,000 FFA student members, guests and advisors. Delegates participated in committees tasked with charting the future course of the organization, with each committee coming to consensus on recommendations to present to the entire delegate body for a vote.

During their time in Indianapolis, Maine’s delegates met other delegates from the rest of the United States, attended inspirational Convention sessions and toured the Expo that featured representatives from the agriculture and natural resources industry, as well as a number of colleges and universities. Special in-person speakers included Courtenay DeHoff, “Fancy Lady Cowgirl,” Joe Hogsett, Mayor of Indianapolis, and the National FFA Officers. Video welcomes were provided by Vice President Kamala Harris; Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education; and Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

As well as gaining committee experience, making new friends, and exploring Indianapolis, Maine’s delegates had the chance to attend the “World’s Toughest Rodeo,” held in the coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. State FFA President Nickie Deschaine observed that her travel to Indianapolis represented the furthest west she had yet been. She also commented: “Words truly cannot describe the overwhelmingly amazing feeling of seeing all the blue jackets filled by people who are just as passionate about FFA as I am!”

Maine’s 2021 delegates to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis – Ryder Brewer (left) and Nickie Deschaine (right)

National FFA Officer Team – representing over 750,000 student members – takes the National FFA Convention stage

Delegates returned to Maine with many new ideas on how to best serve their 400-500 Maine FFA members. Maine FFA serves students grades 7-12 who are enrolled in classes/programs related to agriculture and natural resources. Schools with gardens and greenhouses may qualify to establish chapters.

For more information on how to initiate a Maine FFA chapter, please contact: Doug Robertson, Maine FFA State Advisor, Maine Department of Education, (207) 624-6744, doug.robertson@maine.gov.

Heather Geoghan Named MAHPERD High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year

Heather Geoghan, a High School Physical Education Teacher at Greely High School in Cumberland, has been named the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) 2021 High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year.

Heather works to ensure that students are learning all aspects of the program, and hopefully much more than movement skills, game strategy, and fitness concepts. She covers the SHAPE America learning standards in each class, teaching a wide variety of motor skills and movement patterns as well as allowing students ample opportunity to practice these skills.

Heather has updated the physical education program to allow students to choose from a wide variety of offerings, allowing them to try something new or expand on current knowledge in a specific area of interest to them. Students consistently share with Heather how surprised they are that they were able to make significant gains during the semester.

One of her main goals is for students to leave the semester with adequate knowledge and a toolbox of minimal or no-equipment workouts that they can create and continue on their own after class ends. One of Heather’s general class expectations focuses on student’s attitude, effort, and inclusion of all. She works hard to ensure that the gym, field, track, pool, and court are a places that all students feel comfortable and welcome. She firmly believes that classroom management and the environment comes from the tone set from the teacher.

In response to the pandemic, Heather created an entire curriculum through Google Classroom, in which students were able to successfully complete assignments at home and demonstrate their work through data, photos, videos, and fitness log completion for each assignment. She collected over 20 GPS fitness trackers and watches from friends and community members who were willing to donate their devices so that students could track work at home.

Heather has demonstrated a remarkable ability to connect with young people, a keen and unique ability to develop and teach physical education curriculum, and an organized and detailed approach to schoolwide matters. She is an energetic and passionate teacher of physical education with a demonstrated focus on meeting students where they are, getting to know them, and setting expectations for them in collaboration with their interest, ability, and motivation.

Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) Honor Awards are presented to MAHPERD members in recognition of their excellence to their profession by demonstrating outstanding dedication to their students and profession. To learn more about MAHPERD visit maineahperd.org.

Professional Learning Opportunity: Deepen Your Knowledge and Skills to Better Support Students who are Multilingual Learners

The Maine Department of Education is excited to announce an excellent opportunity for all Maine educators to deepen their knowledge and skills for supporting students who are English learners (ELs) (also referred to as multilingual learners [MLs]).

Organized by UCLA Center X Northeast Region, the ExcEL Leadership Academy provides teachers with free professional learning through a program of micro-credentialing. Through a project called ExcEL 2026: Improving Outcomes for EL Students in Rural Areas there are two micro-credential pathways: Essential Support for Working with Multi-Lingual Learners and Advanced Support for Working with Multi-Lingual Learners.

ExcEL 2026 makes professional learning accessible to teachers wherever they are located, and ‘the work’ is embedded in their teaching so it aligns with their immediate learning needs. Teachers also become part of the ExcEL network and substantially improve outcomes for students who are ELs. There is NO cost to participate. Participants receive stipends for successfully completing micro-credentials as well as support for classroom materials and supplies.

Visit the ExcEL Leadership Academy website to learn more and apply. Maine educators are also invited to join project director Laureen Avery on December 13th from 3-4pm for more information! Contact Laureen Avery at avery@gseis.ucla.edu if you have any questions about how ExcEL 2026 can support you and your colleagues in improving programs for ELs.

Topic: Maine ExcEL 2026 Info Session
Time: Dec 13, 2021 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/3300361098
Meeting ID: 330 036 1098

Stacey Turkington Named MAHPERD Richard H. Bartlett Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year

Stacey Turkington, Adapted Physical Education at RSU 14 serving the Sebago Lakes communities of Windham and Raymond has received the the Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) 2021 Richard H. Bartlett Adapted Physical Education (APE) Award.

Stacey has been providing adapted physical education for students for 17 of her 22 years with RSU 14. In these years she has thoughtfully prepared appropriate modification of traditional physical education (PE) activities and equipment adjustments for those with a disability so they can partake in the traditional PE classroom. Stacey has provided these services with genuine care and concern, all the while putting the student first.

Her nurturing approach was recently recognized when she was nominated anonymously for the annual Dr. Richard H. Bartlett Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award. Between the anonymous recommendation and a letter of endorsement by Principal Dr. Kyle Rhoades of Windham Primary School, Stacey was chosen as this year’s winner.

“Countless learners from our district have benefitted from Stacey’s hard work and gentle touch,” Dr. Rhoades said in his letter. “When observing her with children, you know they want to work with her because of how she presents herself. Learners feel this confidence and grow from the safe feeling created.”

Stacey believes that being physically active is imperative to a student’s overall health and it is for this reason she puts heart and soul into her work – and into the students she works alongside.

To develop quality programs for her students, Stacey starts with observing a student ideally in their regular Physical Education class, at recess, with PT/OT therapists, and/or in their classroom. After reflection on the data collected, she shares her results with the student’s IEP team to determine the best program for each student. Stacey continually checks in to ensure the program developed is meeting the student’s needs and completes an assessment at the end of the year. While Stacey’s focus is quality APE programming, she doesn’t take credit for all her learners’ success because in her words “in the long run, it is actually a team approach.” Working with learners with disabilities involves so much more than just teaching. It involves a lot of human development research and medical advancements. Stacey is constantly learning new techniques and adding more and more tools to her toolbox.

“Running from school to school can take its toll and I must admit that there are challenging days,” says Stacey. “But it is the passion that keeps me going – that and the love for the kids. What I love the most about my job is that I have the pleasure of working with students from primary school to post-graduation. I get to work with most students from the age of 5 and watch them grow until the age of 21 when they age out of the program. It is an honor to work with these students and it is the most rewarding job EVER!”

American Translators Association Announces the 2021 Winner of the School Outreach Program Award

The American Translators Association (ATA) announced that Majlinda Mulla-Everett – an Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian and Serbian interpreter based in Portland, Maine – has been chosen as the winner of ATA’s School Outreach Program Award.

“We are delighted to present this award to Ms. Mulla-Everett for her weeklong presentation series at Portland High School in June 2021,” said Ted Wozniak, President of the American Translators Association. “Now in its seventeenth year, ATA’s School Outreach Program raises awareness of the role that translators and interpreters play in business, education, government, healthcare, technology and society at large. In today’s global economy, companies and other institutions are realizing the importance of using skilled professional translators or interpreters to communicate their message effectively and successfully to international audiences, avoiding potentially costly and embarrassing mistakes.”

ATA launched the School Outreach Program in 2004 to educate students about translation and interpreting and to interest them in these rewarding career fields. Through the program, professional linguists speak to students of all ages, highlighting the career benefits of studying another language and the increasing potential for exciting work with foreign language skills. Using a variety of model presentations and activities available on ATA’s website, presenters outline the requirements for becoming a professional translator or interpreter, emphasizing that these careers demand far more than simply being bilingual.

“The School Outreach program focuses on educating the public about exciting career paths in translation and interpreting and their wide range of applications around the world,” said Meghan Konkol, coordinator of the School Outreach Program.

In order to receive this award, participants must belong to ATA or an ATA-affiliated organization and must present to a school of their choice. Entrants must also submit photos or screenshots of themselves presenting to the students.

A legal and medical interpreter with over 10 years of experience, Ms. Mulla-Everett was honored to be asked to offer a weeklong class titled “Explore Community Interpreting as a Career” to students at Portland High School in Portland, Maine. Tackling the class as she would an interpreting assignment, Ms. Mulla-Everett engaged the students by giving them information, tips and encouragement using roleplay and memory games.

Seeing the students participating enthusiastically in the exercises and answering quiz questions correctly made her realize how important they viewed the language professions. Ms. Mulla-Everett also invited guest speakers to present their own experiences as in-person and remote interpreters. The bilingual students came out of the class understanding the value of knowing another language and the potential to help their community and make a living while doing so.

As winner of the award, Ms. Mulla-Everett received free registration to ATA’s 62nd Annual Conference, taking place October 27 through 30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She will be presented with the award at an awards ceremony before more than a thousand of her colleagues in the translation industry.

To learn more about the American Translators Association and the School Outreach Program, visit http://www.atanet.org or call 703-683-6100.

Becki Belmore Receives MAHPERD Distinguished Leadership Award

Becki Belmore is this year’s recipient of the MAHPERD Distinguished Leadership Award. Becki teaches Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education at Greely Middle School in MSAD 51, serving students in Cumberland and North Yarmouth. Nominated by a peer, the Distinguished Leadership Award recognizes a person’s excellence in their profession and commitment to the MAHPERD association.

Her administration speaks very highly of Becki and says that she is student focused and a fierce advocate for our students with special needs and their programming. She has an extensive understanding of the continuum of motor skill development and successfully engages with families and community partners.

Becki has been awarded two MAHPERD Teacher of the Year awards in the past, Elementary Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education and she is a National Board Certified Teacher, one of a very small cohort in Maine.

Here are just a few of her many accomplishments:

She is an active member of the Maine APE Task Force serving as the liaison to the MAHPERD board.
Highly involved in APE advocacy – working with the Maine Parent Federation, and directly with Maine’s Director of Special Education, National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID)
Collaborator on the Adapted Physical Education information document
Collaborator on the State of Maine DOE Q & A document for APE
MAHPERD conference presentations
- APE sessions
- Physical education sessions
- Member of the Steering Committee for Update of Maine’s Physical Education Standards

REMINDER: Maine’s State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (APR)

As a reminder, the Office of Special Services has released important informational videos to gather feedback from stakeholders on Maine’s State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (APR).

Please access the full collection of videos that relate to the APR indicators here.

Indicators are specific reports that are required by the federal government. Alerts will be sent out as new videos are released. Please complete the survey associated with each indicator video.

The indicators include:

Graduation rates
Dropout rates
Parent involvement
Educational environment
Dispute resolution
Preschool outcomes
Post school outcomes

Your input is essential in establishing targets for each indicator and in helping determine special education initiatives in Maine.

For further information contact the Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Services.

Start a Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine (SLAM) Club

Are you looking for a way to engage with your students? And for ways for your students to engage safely with other students throughout the state?

Checkout this free, interactive, student leadership opportunity that requires no prior experience for students and staff.

Weekly chances for students to win prizes and opportunities to earn tech tools (mics, webcams, 3D printers) for your school!

The newly imagined MLTI 2.0 (Maine Learning Technology Initiative) invites interested educators and students to join others from around the state and start a SLAM, Student Leadership Ambassadors of Maine, club in their school. This initiative will be guided by Kern Kelley, who, along with his trailblazing Tech Sherpas, has been a national leader in student agency. Once a week, each SLAM group will virtually join other SLAMmers from across the state. During these meet-ups, students will learn presentation and tech skills and will produce a livestream tech help show on our youtube channel.

MLTI 2.0 hopes to have SLAM clubs in every school in Maine. To help you get started, MLTI will provide your club with either a live-stream webcam or recording microphone. There will be more opportunities to earn additional equipment for continued participation.

We hope you will consider starting a SLAM club at your school or that you will forward this to someone in your school who might be interested. To register your SLAM club please complete this form.

To check out our weekly SLAM show, visit our youtube channel, or watch our introductory video here.

To learn more about MLTI 2.0 SLAM visit our webpage.

For more information on SLAM or other MLTI 2.0 initiatives, contact Beth Lambert, Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning at beth.lambert@maine.gov.

LD 313 Career and Technical Education Work Force Group to Meet Nov. 23rd

On Tuesday, November 23, 2021 from 8:00-10:00 am the Work Force Group for LD 313 will hold its second virtual meeting, hosted by the Department of Education.

LD 313 was passed in the 130th legislature and is focused on several topics regarding Career and Technical Education (CTE). If you would like to join as an attendee and listen to the discussion, you can use the following link.

Link to join Webinar as Attendee: https://mainestate.zoom.us/j/81283687048

If you have any comments on the discussion, you can send email them to; cte.doe@maine.gov .

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

In celebration of National Apprenticeship Week, the Maine DOE would like to highlight the industry-driven, high-quality career pathways offered through the Maine Department of Labor Maine Apprenticeship Program and foreshadow the work underway to build the Maine Pre-Apprenticeship Program.

Currently, there are 1126 active apprentices and 191 active employers in the Maine Registered Apprenticeship Program and between September 2020 to September 2021, 117 apprentices completed their apprenticeship. Sponsors play a key role in the Maine Apprenticeship Program and currently there are 119 active sponsors and 58 new potential sponsors of apprenticeships in Maine.

To view the list of current sponsors by occupation, click here.

To view the list of current sponsors by Maine county, click here.

Recognizing Maine’s workforce needs in high wage, in-demand jobs, the Maine Department of Labor is working to increase the number of employers, sponsors, and apprentices in the Maine Registered Apprenticeship Program. A Request for Applications (RFA) process will be used to allocate federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the expansion of the Maine Registered Apprenticeship Program and the creation of the Maine Pre-Apprenticeship Program. The unique qualities of each of these two programs is highlighted below.

Maine Pre-Apprenticeship Program:

Pathway to begin apprenticeship training for high school juniors and seniors who are 16 years of age or older.
Pre-apprenticeship programs may also be established for out-of-school youth (at least 16 years old) or adults.
Collaboration and formal agreement approved among the school, the employer, the student, Maine DOL Apprenticeship Program staff, and in some cases the parent or guardian.
Student must be full-time student, in good academic standing who works part-time for a registered employer/sponsor and is interested in becoming a registered apprentice after graduating from high school.

Maine Registered Apprenticeship:

Registered Apprentice must be at least 16 years of age (except when a higher minimum age standard of 18 years is otherwise fixed by law or a sponsor) and employed to learn in an occupation approved by the Maine Department of Labor, Maine Apprenticeship Program.
Employers, employer associations, and joint labor-management organizations, known collectively as “sponsors”, provide apprentices with paid on-the-job learning and academic instruction that reflects industry needs.
Individual apprentices obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, mentorship, and a portable, industry credential.
Length of time of an apprenticeship is dependent on the specifics in the formal agreement and ranges from 1-5 years. Apprentices are expected to make a long-term commitment to the apprenticeship.

As Maine high schools and Career and Technical Education schools implement the Maine Learning Results Life and Career Ready Standards and design, develop, expand, and refine career exploration and development pathways for high school students, they are encouraged to engage in the Maine Apprenticeship Program’s RFA process and connect current extended learning career exploration programs, Co-op programs, and Maine Career and Technical Education programs as on-roads to the Maine Pre-Apprenticeship Program or Maine Registered Apprentice Program. These partnerships will create more options and career development pathways for students that will lead to industry credentials and employment.

For more information on the Maine Pre-Apprenticeship Program or Maine Apprenticeship Program contact Joan Dolan, Director of Maine Apprenticeship Program at joan.dolan@maine.gov and Kristine McCallister, Maine Department of Labor, Career Center Consultant-Apprenticeships at kristine.mccallister@maine.gov

For more information on Maine Career and Technical Education, contact Dwight Littlefield, Maine DOE State Director of Career and Technical Education at Dwight.littlefield@maine.gov

For more information on developing high school extended learning career exploration opportunities contact Diana Doiron, Maine DOE Life and Career Ready Education Specialist at diana.doiron@maine.gov and Rick Wilson, Maine DOE Distinguished Educator for Career Exploration at rick.wilson@maine.gov

For more information about the foundations and bridges the Maine Learning Results Life and Career Ready Standards lay to support career exploration and career planning contact Diana Doiron, Maine DOE Life and Career Ready Education Specialist at diana.doiron@maine.gov