To shine a light on women in entrepreneurship, the University of Maine’s Foster Center for Student Innovation will be hosting a virtual screening of “SHE STARTED IT” on October 1st at 4PM for high school aged students state-wide.
SHE STARTED IT gives a new face to the popular image of the tech entrepreneur: a female face. Following five young women over two years as they pitch VCs, build teams, bring products to market, fail and start again, SHE STARTED IT takes viewers on a global roller coaster ride from San Francisco to Mississippi, France and Vietnam. Along the way, it weaves in big-picture perspectives from women like investor Joanne Wilson; White House CTO Megan Smith; Danae Ringelmann, Co-Founder of Indiegogo; Fran Maier, Co-founder, Match.com; and Ruchi Sanghvi, the first female engineer at Facebook.
During our virtual screening, students will not only get to watch this powerful film, but Nora Poggi, one of the directors, and two other female entrepreneurs will be discussing the film and the important topic of women in entrepreneurship with the audience during a Q&A discussion.
Thursday, Oct. 1st
4:00PM-5:30PM
Streamed via Zoom (or other similar platform)
The Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) application is now open. Students in grades 10 or 11 (or international equivalent) from all around the world are encouraged to apply!
YYGS invites eligible students to join them this coming July to experience life as a university student at Yale while attending an academic session of their choosing.
Here’s what students and families need to know:
Meet peers from over 130 countries around the world (including all 50 U.S. states), and join discussions where students offer global perspectives.
YYGS provides over $3 million USD in need-based financial aid equally to both domestic and international students, offered as discounts covering up to 100% of tuition costs.
Apply by their Early Action deadline and hear your decision back by late December. If the fee poses a financial burden, submit a fee waiver to make your application fee $0 USD.
YYGS is excited to host on-campus sessions, however, they will notify students by March 5, 2021, if that is not possible. More details are listed on their COVID-19 update page.
Early Action Deadline: November 10, 2020 at 11:59pm ET Regular Decision Deadline: January 12, 2021 at 11:59pm ET
The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) is pleased to announce that the state departments of education nationwide have begun their annual selection processes. Two Maine students will be selected to attend the online Washington Week program March 14-18, 2021 and each will receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship. This year the application process will be completely online with each high school principal able to nominate one student from their high school to be considered.
Students must submit their application and signed nomination via email no later than 11:59pm on December 4, 2020. All form, requirements, and additional information can be found at on the Maine Social Studies DOE Website. More about the program can be found on the National USSYP website.
The USSYP was created by Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 as stated in supporting Senate testimony from that year, “to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationship of the three branches of government, the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and the vital importance of democratic decision making not only for America but for people around the world.”
Each year, this extremely competitive merit-based program brings 104 of America’s brightest high school juniors and seniors from every state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, to Washington, D.C. for an intensive week-long study of the federal government and its leaders. The state departments of education throughout the country select the students through a rigorous nomination and selection process. Each of the 104 student delegates will also receive a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship, with encouragement to continue coursework in history, government and public affairs. The Hearst Foundations have fully funded and administered the program since inception; as stipulated in S. Res. 324, no government funds are utilized.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is committed to providing cutting edge resources so that the many benefits of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), for both students and adults, can be accessed by all Maine schools. SEL speaks to our Maine values, where schools and communities support all children in the development of a healthy sense of self, in learning lifelong skills to regulate and manage emotions, and the development of empathy while building healthy and positive relationships. | More
Maine DOE team member Danielle (Dee) Saucier is being highlighted this week in the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Dee… | More
Camden-Rockport Middle School: Over the past 20 years, 7th grade students at the Camden-Rockport Middle School have designed hand-crafted tiles to decorate the front entry way of their school during art class. The new school year, however, will take place in a new school building, leaving these tiles, and big piece of the school history, behind.
When Maria Libby, superintendent of MSAD 28 (Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport) and former student at, and principal of, the old middle school building heard that the school was scheduled to be demolished in June, she knew something had to be done to preserve the legacy of the tiles. She says that her “attachment to that place inspired me to document every student tile that had been installed over the past 19 years.” Maria could not let them be destroyed without saving a piece of the history.
While the past 7 years of tiles have been saved for the new school, and will be displayed for the incoming classes of Middle Schoolers at CRMS, 13 years worth of tiles, of history, and of community, were scheduled to be demolished along with the old school building. Maria Libby took matters into her owns hands, and photographed all 1,400 tiles adorning the front entry of the old middle school.
All of the photographed tiles have been uploaded and indexed on the Schooner Tile Project website as a way to preserve the legacy of the school, students, and community. Approximately 1,400 tiles are available to view and download from this site. To find a tile, click on the letter of the artist’s last name in the banner above. View the archived tiles here!
This article was written by Maine DOE Intern Aidan Sachs in collaboration with staff at Five Town CSD MSAD #28 as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success Campaign. To submit a story or an idea email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.
Recent COVID-19 community outbreaks in the York County area have inspired Sanford High School Students to create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) this week encouraging their community to, “wear a mask and keep your six”. The creative and well put together video features many students from the high school whose plea is to encourage their community members to adhere to state requirements in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 so that they can get back to doing what they love. Check it out!
Heading into the 2020/2021 school year with cautious optimism, Maine’s amazing educators have rolled up their sleeves and worked together to ensure students have access to high quality learning even during a pandemic – and it the outcome is astounding.
Most schools welcomed students back for in-person and remote learning over the past couple weeks. Despite the collective breath holding (across the world), here in Maine it has gone quite well. Administrators, board members, educators, and staff alike have spent the summer working tirelessly to arrange and re-arrange their back-to-school plans this fall to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements and ensure the safety of everyone at school, while at the same time going about the important business of educating their students.
Jake Langlais, Interim Superintendent of Lewiston Public Schools and the Blue Devil, LPS Mascot (Lewiston High School Guidance Department on Twitter)
Numerous news outlets all over the state reported smooth sailing for the first week of school: a goal that was not an easy feat this year. Check out what re-opening looked like in these news articles from around Maine:
Carolyn Nichols, a biology teacher at Morse High School in Bath, was surprised, but happily so, by how well the first day of school went.
“The kids were respectful and took the coronavirus precautions seriously,” she said. “I haven’t slept in a week, but I’m impressed with how well it went.
“It’s a good challenge,” said Sam Regios, the [Presumpscot Elementary School] fifth-grade English language arts teacher, reflecting on the start of the school year as her students worked quietly from behind their masks. “I think it challenges the creativity of teachers and school districts. (I’m) accepting it with open arms.”
“I am not nervous about starting,” the longtime educator [Roxanne Renwick of Peninsula School] said late last week. “I have been blessed with a strong administration and team of colleagues working together to be prepared the best we can.
“We may not have all the solutions for every situation, but we are ready to be flexible and team-oriented to do the best for our students and our community.”
“Long-term substitute teacher Amie Frake was among the educators greeting students — and making sure they were walking in the correct direction, wearing their masks properly and staying 6 feet apart.
“The kids are doing really, really well,” she said. “It’s exciting for them to be here again. It’s been six months since most of them have been here, so it’s good to see them.”
Among those in cohort A are Millie Rauch’s three elementary-age children, who will be starting prekindergarten, first grade and third grade. Her older daughter, Hannah, is in sixth grade at the middle school.
Rauch walked with her three elementary schoolers Tuesday morning.
“We are looking forward to it,” she said. “I think they have taken all the right precautions. The classes are smaller, and they have the right hygiene techniques in place. We were a little nervous, but mostly excited to return.”
During a walk-through at Bonny Eagle High School Tuesday morning, Buxton-based School Administrative District 6 Superintendent Paul Penna said no major issues had come up at the start of the first day for students.
“It’s pretty organized,” Penna said. “We’ve done a lot of ground work. We’ve been doing Zoom meetings with families all summer. We’ve had ongoing … meetings about what our plan is, what it’s going to look like, what you need to tell your kids when you come to school. None of it is really that new, it’s just a matter of doing it.”
“In a meeting earlier this evening with other administrators, I think that I can speak for all of the elementary school principals in saying that it actually went really well,” Mallett Elementary School Principal Tracy Williams said. “Our kids came to school with masks on, they were happy, there was a lot of laughter seeing their friends, teachers were positive and upbeat. We did all of the things that we usually do everyday except with a lot of cleansing and wearing masks and keeping distances apart.”
Nearby, Jenny McGillicuddy was seeing her son, Leopold, 8, off as well. She said she was “feeling really calm” about the coronavirus threat, citing information the school shared with parents on how it would be encouraging social distancing, wearing of masks, and other precautions.
“From what I’ve heard, I feel confident in the Brown School’s ability to keep kids safe,” she said.
Sometimes it takes a global pandemic to break down the barriers that hold us back from jumping into any situation just to get the job done. From PPE (personal protective equipment) to physical distancing, there is always something to think about to make sure everyone is safe. One solution that many schools have been dabbling with is outside learning: a creative solution that provides students with an environment that is rich with learning opportunities, comfortable, and helps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many schools have set up everything from outdoor learning experiences to complete outdoor classrooms.
(Heather Whitaker, 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year/Gorham Middle School Teacher on Twitter)
The articles below detail what this looks like in just a few schools, but many more have worked quickly and efficiently to set up outdoor learning spaces prior to opening. Thank you to the countless community partners all over Maine who’ve stepped up to help make this possible.
A different type of learning is taking place at East Grand School in Danforth, one that doesn’t happen within the confines of a traditional classroom.
In a wooded area behind the school, children run around freely and build forts out of logs and planks. Kids in pre-kindergarten enjoy the fresh air while working on coloring projects. Older students sit around an outdoor fireplace and learn about social studies.
The [Brunswick] school district is partnering with local organizations like Teens to Trails and the New England Mountain Bike Association to help plan, clear, construct and implement open-air classrooms and gathering spaces in an attempt to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Opening Adams School to face-to-face learning involved much preparation and innovative thinking by faculty and staff. Students were met upon arrival and instructed as to which door to enter to go directly to their classroom. Tented classrooms scattered on campus utilize five Easy-Up tents supplied by the Hatch Fund, which also supplied COVID-responsible physical education games and activities.
We tell our children to look for the helpers in times of crisis, it’s for their physical and mental safety but as adults, we forget that it’s good for us too. Take RSU 14 Superintendent Chris Howell for example. Due to some unforeseen transportation snags during the first week of school, one of his students couldn’t get there one day, so what did Superintendent Howell do? He picked up that student himself. In a world before COVID-19 this may not have been a viable solution, but right now that doesn’t matter. What matters is that everyone is a team player in the effort to get kids to school and learning and this is just one example of the pure heroism happening by school staff around the state.
(Submitted by Kate Leveille, RSU #14 School Board Member)
Along with school staff and educators, community and state partners are also jumping in to help schools, families, and youth complete hybrid assignments remotely, stay connected even when at home, and provide childcare when needed. These selfless acts also help to solidify the relationships that lead to the strong community and state bonds that we take pride in here in Maine, and that we hope to sustain for generations to come.
The clubs, which have been closed for nearly six months, will operate during school hours this fall as remote learning hubs, paid for with federal coronavirus relief funding. They will offer academic support, technology resources, nutritious meals and safe spaces where members can do schoolwork.
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School officials in Portland and South Portland sought the remote learning partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine. Similar agreements are being discussed with the Auburn and Lewiston school systems.
(Portland Public Schools on Twitter)
The Maine Department of Education has also focused efforts toward providing not only guidance on safety protocols, in addition to the latest COVID-19 resources for schools, and a responsive, working Framework for returning to school this year, but there has also been an intensive summer-long effort to launch a library of asynchronous learning modules that are aligned to Maine’s Learning Results through a project called MOOSE (Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education) and coming soon will be an additional library of social emotional learning (SEL) modules to supplement SEL curriculums statewide.
A lot of time, dedication, and planning went into ensuring students could go back to school in person and learn remotely this fall. We owe these heroes an enormous dept of gratitude for this important work. While this is only the start of an extraordinary year, we trust our school leaders, our educators, our fearless school staff members to keep students and staff safe while providing quality education to Maine students. Thank them today and every day.
Are you thinking of someone in particular that has gone above and beyond in your school district? Nominate them for an award!
Information for this article was gathered through recent news articles, social media posts, and communications with Maine schools. To be featured in future articles of this nature, email stories, pictures, and ideas to Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is committed to providing cutting edge resources so that the many benefits of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), for both students and adults, can be accessed by all Maine schools. SEL speaks to our Maine values, where schools and communities support all children in the development of a healthy sense of self, in learning lifelong skills to regulate and manage emotions, and the development of empathy while building healthy and positive relationships. On behalf of Commissioner Makin, we are proud to announce our very own Social Emotional Learning curriculum and resource, SEL4ME.
It is our hope that by offering this statewide, free, and readily available comprehensive SEL PreK-12th grade curriculum, that we will eliminate the financial burden for any Maine school district who wishes to embed SEL into their everyday instruction and school culture. The curriculum accommodates both in person and remote learning. Additionally, our DOE team will continue to develop this curriculum to include free training and professional learning for staff, as well as new modules that will support the use of SEL as a Trauma Informed, Primary Prevention within our schools. Through our statewide instruction, this curriculum can be a significant resource for all Maine students, regardless of age, race, gender, socio-economic status or religion, to recognize self-worth and feel connected and safe within a responsive and caring school community.
The Maine DOE has created a unique opportunity in partnering with Evolution Labs who, with input from Maine experts, has developed our best practice-aligned SEL library of more than 450 modules. These modules are not subject to ongoing license fees but are owned by the State, in perpetuity, ensuring this resource as a reliable foundation for SEL development for generations to come. While this scaffolded curriculum can enable a consistent content approach, within each lesson are built-in supports that include read aloud capabilities and translation into nearly 100 different languages- as well as educator guides and instructions.
We know that research into the use of SEL has long shown that schools who embed SEL into everyday instruction and school culture have a positive impact in the following areas:
Increased school safety
Reduction in bullying and violent behavior
Reduction in negative coping and disruptive classroom behavior
Increase in academic achievement
Student appreciation of self-worth
Healthy connections to others
Development of confidence, optimism
Development of self-compassion in the face of doubt and social challenges
Self-advocacy
Persistence and resiliency in the face of adversity
Responsivity to challenges and change
Embracing all cultures and the individuality of all humans
Solving conflicts and problem solving in a cooperative manner
Demonstrating genuine concern about the welfare of others
Maine has a proud history of promoting Social Emotional Learning in our schools. With some of our educators having used practices in classrooms for decades and districts investing in SEL trainings and programming, many Maine schools have experienced the benefits of providing SEL supports to students. In 2015, the Maine DOE adopted SEL for PreK education, and aligned Health and PE standards with a Social Emotional Learning framework. Now, In 2020, when the need for Social Emotional Supports are more significant than ever, the Maine DOE is excited to offer the SEL4ME curriculum as a way to share the benefits of SEL to all our students, and strengthen its impact as part of our academic success. This curriculum is not a requirement of Maine schools, but a means to supplement and support existing programs, as well as provide new programs with the resources to flourish.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to every educator and school support staff who dedicate their lives to the betterment of all Maine students. Thank you for always teaching from the heart and supporting our students.
The Maine Department of Education Data Team is constantly striving to streamline and simplify required data collections. Recent work has been done to simplify 2019-2020 graduation reporting and processing. These efforts came swiftly and in response to data quality concerns and feedback received from our School Administrative Units (SAUs). | More
To assist those who are responsible for the important task of reporting quarterly attendance data to the Maine Department of Education, the DOE Data Team will be holding a webinar on Wednesday September 16th, from 10am to 11am. | More
The Maine Department of Education is excited to announce the official launch of our MOOSE (Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education) Learning Platform! MOOSE is live today and available as a resource to anyone who is interested.| More
The Maine Kids Rock Initiative, a statewide program that offers professional training to teachers as well as grants for instruments and equipment to schools with identified needs, enters its fourth year with the addition of the following educators to its roster | More
Now, more than ever, as our schools embark on the most extraordinary school year the world has ever experienced, it is important to take the time to recognize the outstanding people who are going above and beyond to serve our schools, the students, and their community as hardworking employees and educators. With that in mind, the Maine Department of Education invites community members, co-workers, fellow educators, parents, friends, families, and students to nominate school employees and educators for the following honors that are now seeking nominations. | More
Maine Administrators of Career and Technical Education (MACTE) has opened nominations for the annual Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher of the Year Award. This is an annual award that recognize teachers who are providing outstanding career and technical education programs for youth and/or adults in their respective fields and communities. Recipients of this award must be nominated by their CTE Director. | More
In an effort to support PreK-12 teachers across the state, Eastern Maine Community College and the Maine Department of Education teamed up to launch a new, free education training program that will allow trainees to work as supervised support staff in PreK-12 classrooms this year. | More
Maine DOE Team member Cristy Osier is being highlighted this week as part of the Get to Know the Maine DOE Team Campaign. Learn a little more about Cristy | More
The Maine Department of Education Data Team is constantly striving to streamline and simplify required data collections. Recent work has been done to simplify 2019-2020 graduation reporting and processing. These efforts came swiftly and in response to data quality concerns and feedback received from our School Administrative Units (SAUs).
While the change may seem ill timed given the current demands on SAUs, we feel the improvements outweigh the interruption to the current reporting and processing cycle. Currently graduation reporting and processing is in Phase Two, which includes confirmation of graduating students who completed requirements over the summer, finalizing submission of 4, 5, and 6-year cohorts, and finalizing transfers-in, transfers-out, and completers. The Phase Two module will be modified, and this phase will now only ask for you to put in completion status for your summer graduates.
At a date later this calendar year, a report will be made available for you to certify your graduates for all 3 cohort years. Going forward, there will be no need for Graduation Phase One module, Graduation Phase Two module, and final submission. The goal is to have you simply validate and certify the students in the adjusted cohort, and whether they graduated the past year or not.
The reports will be more streamlined; there will be no need to validate transfers-in, and the work regarding transfers-out will be significantly diminished with validation and attention to correct usage of exit codes.
Please be on the lookout for a future webinar regarding these new processes. Dates for the new process will be forthcoming as well, as soon as we can schedule the work with our IT partners. The goal is for the new process to be in production prior to the end of this calendar year. We look forward to making this process easier for everyone. If you have questions about these changes, please contact Charlotte Ellis charlotte.ellis@maine.gov 207.624.6696
Maine DOE Newsroom 