Author: Maine Department of Education

The Maine State Board of Education has renewed leadership and new members

For Immediate Release  Monday, April 4

AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage has reappointed Martha Harris to the State Board of Education for a second five-year term.  She has served on the Board since 2010, including one year as vice chair and as chair of the Board since July of 2015.

Harris is an accomplished lawyer practicing in Bangor since 1977 with a wealth of expertise in family law and mediation which are closely related to the work she does with the State Board of Education. Her involvement in education spans from her 20 plus years of service on the RSU 22 School Board to her involvement in the National Association of State Boards of Education.

“I have observed there are few people in Maine who have a busier schedule than Martha Harris,” said Governor LePage. “Despite her packed schedule of mediations, court appearances and professional obligation, Martha always makes time for the important work of the State Board of Education, and I appreciate her dedicated service.”

Joining the Board are John Bird of Rockland and Wilson Hess of Freedom for five-year terms, as well as student representative Elise McKendry of Jackman for a two-year term.

Bird spent 29 years as an educator and administrator. He has been an education consultant to 268 schools and organizations in 41 states and five other nations or territories as through the President Educators’ Collaborative.

In addition to his long career in the field of education, Bird currently serves on the boards of the Strand Theater, the Penobscot Bay YMCA and the Island Institute, and he is a member of the Maine Charter Schools Commission.

Bird is a graduate of Rockland High School class of 1955. He holds BA in political science from Bowdoin and a Masters in School Administration from George Washington University.

Former President of the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Wilson Hess joined the Board. During his tenure at UMFK, Hess was an advocate for expanding access to college courses for high school students throughout the state, perhaps best known for his success in expanding early college access through the Bridge Year program and AP4ALL.

Hess was also once a history professor at Unity College; he also served as registrar and an assistant dean before being named President 13 years later, a position he held for over a decade.

Outside of the educational arena, Hess has coached and refereed lacrosse, served on boards such as the Maine Conservation School in Bryant Pond, the Maine Children’s Alliance, the Maine Charitable Foundation’s Waldo County Fund, the Town of Freedom’s Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee, the Northern Maine Development Council Aroostook Partnership for Progress and the Mitchell Institute.

Student Elise McKendry is a sophomore at Forest Hills Consolidated School and student representative to the community’s School Board, which has allowed her to embrace and demonstrate her true leadership qualities.

McKendry is a member of one of the first classes that will graduate through a proficiency-based system at Forest Hills Consolidated School, giving her a valuable perspective on proficiency that she can bring to the State Board of Education. She is involved in a number of extracurricular activities including Speech and Debate, Math Team, Book Club, Jackman Youth Leadership, golf among many others.

While the State Board receives some staff support from the Maine Department of Education, it is an independent body. For more information, visit the State Board of Education.

-END-

MEA Science large print orders requested

The following Priority Notice was sent March 17

With much focus recently on the Maine Education Assessment Math & ELA/Literacy eMPowerME test starting next week, we must be reminded that next month we have our required MEA Science for grades 5, 8 and third year high school.

The same as previous years, this assessment is from Measured Progress and is a paper-pencil test. The test window is two weeks and runs from April 25 – May 6.

If there are any requests for LARGE PRINT versions of this assessment, now is the time to notify Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov or call 624-6775.

Revised and Updated FY 2017 State Subsidy printouts (ED 279) now available

The following Priority Notice was sent on March 17

The FY 2017 (2016-17 school year) State subsidy printouts, known as ED 279s, are now available here on our website: http://www.maine.gov/doe/eps/.

These printouts are based on PL 2015, Chapter 389 which provides an additional appropriation of $15 million dollars to General Purpose Aid for Local Schools for FY 2017.

The printouts also reflect corrections for data quality issues identified after the January 29 publication of the printouts, as well as adjustments for Adult Education course counts and debt service adjustments for those school units which were impacted by recent debt refinancing.

We hope the publication of the ED 279s is informative to your local budget preparations.

If you have any questions as you review these printouts, contact our School Finance team via email: tyler.backus@maine.gov, paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov or joanne.allen@maine.gov.

REVISED Preliminary FY 2017 State subsidy by school administrative unit information now available

The following Priority Notice was sent on March 15

Following the initial publication of the preliminary FY 2017 (2016-17 school year) state subsidy printouts (ED 279) on January 29, 2016, data quality issues were detected. During the time in which the Department has been working to correct these issues, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, PL 2015, Chapter 389 which provides an additional appropriation of $15 million dollars to General Purpose Aid for Local Schools for FY 2017.

In order to provide school administrative units with timely information needed for budgeting purposes, the Department has produced several spreadsheets which illustrate the changes to each school administrative unit’s subsidy allocation, beginning with the preliminary ED 279 published on January 29, to the impact of the additional $15 million appropriation enacted this week. The following spreadsheets are available here:

  •  FY 17 preliminary State Subsidy compared to FY 16 by SAU
  • Comparison of Original Preliminary ED 279 State Subsidy to Corrected State Subsidy to Additional Appropriation by SAU
  • FY 17 Education Subsidy Information for Property Tax Bill by SAU and Town

In addition to corrections for the identified data quality issues, amounts in the spreadsheet include adjustments for Adult Education course counts, replacing the estimated counts originally used with actual counts, as reported on the EFM 39 reports. Also included are debt service adjustments for those school units which were impacted by recent debt refinancing.

Work is continuing to correct systemic issues which impact the actual ED 279 report. As soon as those issues are corrected and the detailed reports posted, school units will be notified.  In the meantime, these spreadsheets will assist school units in moving forward with their FY 2017 budget work.

Please direct questions regarding these printouts to the School Finance team via email: tyler.backus@maine.gov, paula.b.gravelle@maine.gov or joanne.allen@maine.gov.

Preparing Test Administrators and Proctors for grades 3-8 eMPower™ ME testing

The following Priority Notice was sent on Monday, March 14

To best prepare Test Administrators and Proctors for a successful administration of this spring’s Maine Educational Assessment in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy for grades 3 through 8, the following resources are provided.

Prior to testing, Test Administrators and Proctors must be familiar with the Test Administration Manual found here.

Two required webinars include:

All Test Administrators and Proctors are required to sign the TA Test Security and Data Privacy Agreement which can be downloaded here.

In addition, Maine DOE recommends two segments of the eMPower™ ME Accessibility: Tools, Supports & Accommodations webinar (25 minutes). The first segment is at 4:40 minutes in to 8:05, and the second segment is 11:02 minutes in to 20 minutes. These segments will familiarize TAs with the embedded tools, testing taking aids, and basic navigation of the test environment. They are ideal for TAs who wish to work through the practice tests with their students but are short on time.

Questions may be addressed to Maine DOE’s Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov or call 624-6775.

More updates re: 2016 MEA

The following Priority Notice was sent on Saturday, March 12

The following updates are available regarding 2016 Maine Educational Assessment:

Student Data loaded into the iTester portal – This enables School Test Coordinators to begin the work of loading student accommodations and creating classes for testing sessions.

Test Security Webinar- This training is required for all School Test Coordinators, Test Administrators and Proctors who will be involved in the administration of the eMPowerME assessment of mathematics and English language arts/literacy at grades 3-8.

https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/training/

Test Security & Data Privacy Agreements- Agreements must be signed by each School Test Coordinators, Test Administrator and Proctor and maintained by the District Assessment Coordinator. http://www.maine.gov/doe/assessment/math-ela/administration/stc-testsecurityagreement-eMPowerME.docx http://www.maine.gov/doe/assessment/math-ela/administration/ta-testsecurityagreement-eMPowerME.docx

School Test Coordinator Manual- This manual provides guidance for the School Test Coordinator related to preparation for a secure administration of the 2016 eMPowerME assessment.  It is required reading for School Test Coordinators.

https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/03/eMPower_ME_School_TCM_FINAL.pdf

Test Administration Manual- This manual provides instructions for Test Administrators and Proctors regarding preparation for and the actual administration of the 2016 eMPowerME assessment, including the script to be used during the test administration.  It is required reading for Test Administrators and Proctors.

https://maine.onlinehelp.measuredprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/03/eMPower_ME_TAM_FINAL.pdf

For more information, contact Assessment Coordinator, Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.

Important update from Measured Progress

The following Priority Notice was sent on Wednesday, March 9.  

President and CEO of Measured Progress Martin Borg has provided the following important update regarding preparations for the 2016 MEA assessment for grades three through eight. This message is in keeping with Measured Progress’ agreement with Acting Education Commissioner Bill Beardsley to maintain the current schedule for test administration.

Continue reading “Important update from Measured Progress” →

Updates regarding 2016 MEA testing

 The following priority notice was sent on Wednesday, March 9.

The following updates are available regarding 2016 Maine Educational Assessments:

2016 Operational Procedures for the Maine Educational Assessments – This document assists schools with participation, enrollment, and administration issues. The Operational Procedures should be used in conjunction with each MEA’s Test Coordinator/Administration Manual.

Sample Parent Letter template regarding 2016 MEA (eMPower™ME and SAT)

eMPower™ME 25 minute webinar webinar regarding Accessibility: Tools, Supports & Accommodations

With the availability of paper-based, browser-based, and kiosk-based practice tests/sample items, the following documents outline the Directions for Administration (DFA) of Paper-Pencil and Online Sample Items for eMPower™ME Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy.

For more information, contact Assessment Coordinator Nancy Godfrey at nancy.godfrey@maine.gov.

 

Maine high school students compete in national poetry contest

The 2016 Maine State Finals for Poetry Out Loud, a National Poetry Recitation Contest, will be held on March 15 at 3 p.m. at the Waterville Opera House. The competition is free and open to the public.

Continue reading “Maine high school students compete in national poetry contest” →