As a nurse, Tracy Cloutier the Pre-Nursing Instructor at Mid-Maine Technical Center learned early on that you need to be flexible and be able to shift gears quickly. “Shifting between remote learning and in class environment means we have to think outside the box,” said Cloutier. “I have had to have a plan in place since the return in August and be able to switch, if necessary, quickly from one to the other.”

Like schools around Maine, Mid-Maine Technical Center has been working around the clock to plan for the possibility that they may need to deliver instruction remotely at any time, a task that comes with its own unique set of challenges because of the essential hands-on learning components in Career and Technical Education programing.

“The hardest part for me is the unknown and how quickly everything can change,” said Caitlyn Smith a senior at Waterville Senior High School. “I could go to bed one night, excited for my clinicals the next day, and wake up to be told I need to quarantine.” Caitlyn is enrolled in the pre-nursing classes at Mid-Maine Technical Center and plans to pursue a nursing degree next year at the University of New England.

“This class has been ‘rock stars’ with all the pandemic protocol has brought,” said Cloutier. “They are diligent in keeping a safe distance of 6 feet. They all wear clean scrub jackets, masks, hand wash and disinfect without question.” Cloutier adds that if they are learning in an environment that requires them to be closer than the 6 feet, they are sure to add additional layers of PPE (personal protective equipment).

Cloutier prepared from the beginning of the school year knowing that remote learning was a possibility. Like so many educators have done this year, she set a goal to get students set up with supplies for hands-on remote learning ahead of time, including making sure that each one of her students had a computer or device with an internet connection to use for remote learning.

Students were sent home with a “virtual learning” bag that offered supplies for them to participate in the hands-on procedures of lab work and complete the necessary skills from home if needed.

Below is a list of skills attainable during Remote Learning with the help of the new kits:

• Partial bath- face and peri care
• Foley catheter care
• Applying nasal cannula O2
• Simple wound care
• Suppository application
• Stoma care
• Application of ostomy wafer and drainage bag, how to empty & measure output, collect stool specimen
• Empty/ Measure urinary output from a drainage bag, collect a urine specimen and strain for calculi
• Application of Ted stockings
• Apply a bedpan
• Transfer with a gait belt
• Natural teeth care
• Apply a brief
• Donning and Doffing PPE- gown, gloves, mask, cap, booties, double bagging
• Provide ADL’s for a patient with tracheostomy
• Feed a patient with dysphagia thickened liquids, mechanical soft food, pureed food
  • nutritional supplement
  • “House” diet (regular)
• Nail care
• Special mouth care for an unconscious patient
• Vital Signs (radial and apical pulse, respiration, blood pressure)

“Typically, when working in our lab we review the hands-on procedure from our textbook, I then demonstrate how to do it in the lab and then the students practice and show me in return,” describes Cloutier of her pre-pandemic classroom routine. However, when students are learning remotely, the typical in-person instruction model is not possible. With the help of a new virtual classroom program, the use of a new classroom “Owl” camera, along with their virtual learning kits, students can participate in lab activities and classroom discussion virtually.

The new system allows Cloutier to show the classroom learners at the same time as the virtual learners. The virtual learners can demonstrate their knowledge either by creating a video demonstration talking about all the steps they are doing and why, or they can take photos to show what they have learned.

“The pre-nursing class has faced challenges with having to quarantine and it’s been disappointing that we are behind on our clinical hours,” said Smith. She also said she has felt very fortunate that all of the students in her class, including her, have been provided with the take-home nursing kids to practice their skills at home when they have to quarantine.

“Being part of the Mid Maine Technical Center during this pandemic has been extremely beneficial for me,” said Smith. Thankful that she is able to focus on something that she is passionate about, Smith has kept herself motivated through her pre-nursing work knowing that it gives her something to look forward to each day. “Through it all, with the leadership of our instructor, we have stuck together like a family,” she added.

Cloutier says the silver lining in all of this is her students. “The students are fantastic and resilient young people. I am continuously amazed at their ability to adapt to changes and still stay engaged. I am so proud of them all and how much they have had to overcome and sacrifice to get their education this year and yet they are doing it, and well!”

Information and images for this story were provided by Mid-Maine Technical Center as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit a story or an idea, email it to Rachel at Rachel.Paling@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Team member Dwight Littlefield is being highlighted this week in the Get to know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Dwight in the question and answer below.

What are your roles with DOE?

I am the State Director for Career and Technical Education (CTE).

What do you like best about your job?

It’s rewarding to know that we are providing students in CTE with skills that will help them for a lifetime. Many of the students will take those skills and go on to very successful careers where they will be contributing members of their communities. It’s nice to know that you are having an impact on the next generation.

How or why did you decide on this career?

It was a passing comment that my industrial arts teacher from high school, Bill Freudenberger, made to me at basketball camp the summer after I graduated from high school. I was off to UMFK to major in criminal justice with a goal of being a Maine State Trooper. He walked by me one day after running a drill together and he said, “Have you ever thought about being a teacher?” Of course, I immediately responded, “No, not interested.” However, as I went off to college and began to work with young people through coaching and volunteering, I really enjoyed the interactions I was having. It was always such a rewarding experience every time I spoke with students. I then began to think about all the incredible teachers that I had at Hartland Consolidated School, Hartland Jr. High and Nokomis Regional High and I realized that I, too, could have that same impact. Therefore, I transferred to UMPI and changed my major to Health Education. My journey in education started in 1990 and has taken me to some great places and it continues to do so today.

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

Traveling and spending time with my family. My wife, Kristie, and I have had the privilege of following our daughters,  Autumn and Addison, as they pursue their passions — Autumn to Boston College where she plays field hockey and Addison to Lawrence University Conservatory of Music where she is an aspiring opera singer.

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is seeking school employees and educators to host Virtual Communities for Maine teens as an important part of a new Maine DOE initiative, WAVES. The Virtual Communities will help deliver on the vision “every week every Maine teen safely engages socially with a community of peers,” be housed on the WAVES website and will be open to all Maine teens. The purpose of a WAVES Virtual Community is to provide an opportunity for teens across Maine to connect safely and socially around a shared affinity.

Virtual Community host applicants are encouraged to be creative and consider their own interests, teens’ interests, and their own experiences around how teens connect with adults and to each other when creating a virtual community. Examples of Virtual Communities below are only provided to support creative thinking, and not to hinder or restrict other ideas:

• Poetry Club
• Citizen Science group
• Knitting Circle (hosts may request materials to be sent to participants)
• Use any of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife resources to host a Scavenger Hunt or Sound Mapping community, for example.
• Theater group
• Environmental Activism community
• Yoga and Mindfulness
• Film Society

As a Virtual Community Host, you’ll be expected to host regular virtual meetings (at least monthly) outside of traditional school hours, support ongoing communication among the virtual community, and meet other expectations to protect the safety of all Virtual Community members. Please see the FAQ for prospective hosts for additional information.

We are committed to supporting our hosts and making sure our virtual communities are safe and inclusive. To this end, WAVES will provide a $150 stipend/month for Virtual Community hosts, provide access to a zoom account for virtual meetings, and be responsive to your Virtual Community’s needs and feedback.

If you’re interested in hosting a Virtual Community, please submit the Virtual Community Host application and you’ll hear back shortly so we may work collaboratively to start your virtual community and invite teens to join!

Please contact Project Director Sarah Woog (sarah.woog@maine.gov) with questions or feedback. Thank you for all you do for Maine youth!