The following is a news release from the Governor’s Office.
Education leaders meet with Colombian parents, students
AUGUSTA — Representatives from two Maine high schools and one university met with Colombian parents and students on Thursday night as the State of Maine trade mission, led by Governor Paul R. LePage, continued in Bogota, Colombia.
Continue reading “Governor LePage’s trade mission to Colombia promotes Maine schools”
Improving educator effectiveness is the single most important action we can take for our students. Study after study shows that students who are assigned to effective teachers make noticeably more academic progress than those who are not.
Knowing this, Maine DOE is committed to supporting our state’s school administrative units to ensure there is an effective educator in every single classroom. Earlier this month we named longtime English teacher Mary Paine as our first-ever Educator Effectiveness Coordinator.
In order to implement additional mandates by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published the Smart Snacks in School standards for all foods sold in school outside the school meals programs. These are practical, science-based standards for foods sold in vending machines and à la carte lines — standards that make the healthy choice the easy choice for students.
Continue reading “Prepare for Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards”
The Maine DOE maintains an online collection of frequently asked questions about special education. The Department has added new sets of questions to the Caseload and Adverse Effect Form sections of the FAQs. The Child Development Services section has been removed, and an already-existing question from this section has been added to the IEP Team section.
The Maine DOE Office of Special Services will make an additional $3 million in FY13 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B funding available to school administrative units to help offset financial losses they may have experienced as a result of the federal sequestration. These funds are part of the FY13 amount set aside by the Maine DOE, in accordance with its federally-approved Part B application, for State-level activities.
Continue reading “Additional IDEA, Part B funding for school administrative units”
Beginning in fall of 2014, there will no longer be a fall administration of the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) for third grade students. As a result, as of this school year, Maine no longer requires that second grade students complete the Personalized Alternate Assessment Portfolio (PAAP), which tests grades 2-8 students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are unable to participate in the NECAP.
Continue reading “Alternate assessment no longer required for second graders with disabilities”
Organizations are invited to nominate individuals for the 2014 Lewis Hine Awards for Service to Children and Youth. These awards are presented annually by the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) to 10 recipients – five professionals and five volunteers – for their commitment to the well-being, growth and development of youth through a paid job or volunteering.
Continue reading “Nominate those who serve youth for national award”
As part of the Maine DOE’s ongoing commitment to helping our schools improve, we have launched a completely redesigned gifted and talented section of our website.
Continue reading “Maine DOE unveils new gifted and talented site”
Welcome to the October issue of the Maine DOE Monthly.
Under the leadership of new Acting Commissioner Jim Rier, we’ve made incredible progress this month in moving forward several of the Department’s key initiatives that will ultimately improve student outcomes. We released $2 million in funding and extensive online resources to help districts transition to the proficiency-based diploma, hired our first Educator Effectiveness Coordinator who will support Maine schools in ensuring there is a great teacher in every classroom and refocused superintendent transfer decisions on the best interests of our students.
We also furthered our efforts to improve our Department’s service to you by launching a new autism resource and research institute in partnership with UMaine and a newly-redesigned www.maine.gov/doe. And, we’ve continued to celebrate the success stories in our schools, including announcing Maine’s finalists for the prestigious Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and the state’s improved SAT results that show an increasing percentage of high school students who are proficient in math and reading.
As you can see, a lot happens here in just a few weeks, so please stay tuned to our Newsroom throughout the month for the latest Maine DOE updates.
Last week, we released the statewide results from the 2012-13 Maine High School Assessment (MHSA).
The good news? Proficiency in math and reading is on the rise again in our high schools, suggesting students are better prepared for success in college and their careers.
Most notable was the nearly 2 percent increase in the number of tested students who achieved proficiency or above in critical reading, up from 47.2 percent in 2011-12 to 48.9 percent in 2012-13, with 8.6 percent of those students exceeding proficiency standards. The percentage of students who tested proficient or above in math also showed a positive uptick, from 47.2 percent in 2011-12 to 48.1 percent in 2012-13, with a record high 4.7 percent of those students exceeding proficiency expectations.
