Medomak Valley High School Student Wins Logo Design Contest for Maine Attendance Campaign

The Maine Engagement and Attendance Center (MEAC), a cross-departmental collaborative within the Maine Department of Education (DOE), is excited to announce the winner of its logo design contest, launched earlier this fall as part of Attendance Awareness Month in September.

This initiative invited schools across the state to host their own logo design contests based on the slogan, “Rooted in Learning, Growing Every Day: Be Pine Tree Present!”, which was established earlier this year through a separate MEAC contest, aimed at garnering excitement and participation in Maine’s attendance efforts. Schools that chose to participate in the logo design contest determined the parameters of the contests within their own school communities. Following the local-level contests, winning logos from participating schools were submitted to the Maine DOE for selection of a state-level winner.

Eleven schools, representing grades K-12 in regions from across the state, participated in the logo design contest. The winning logo was designed by Madison, a senior at Medomak Valley High School. Madison’s design will be used to accompany MEAC resources, as the Maine DOE continues to promote attendance and engagement in Maine’s schools. Congratulations, Madison, and thank you for sharing your talent with us!

Winning logo design created by Medomak Valley High School senior Madison.

The Maine DOE would like to thank all participants and the educators who organized the local-level contests, allowing students to participate in this initiative. “Rooted in Learning, Growing Every Day: Be Pine Tree Present!” has become an integral part of Maine’s attendance celebration, highlighting how educators and staff are supporting their learning communities through increased attendance and engagement. The Maine DOE is hopeful that schools across the state will use these words in their own local contexts when supporting students and families with school attendance.

Coming up, please mark your calendar for December 18 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. for the next MEAC Office Hours. These Office Hours are offered in a year-long series of monthly virtual meetings focused on evidence-based practices positively impacting attendance. These Office Hours take place on the third Thursday of each month. The session on December 18 will focus on Tier 1, the foundational practice of using consistent, growth-focused attendance messaging. Please register here to attend.

MEAC is a cross-office collaborative initiative of the Maine DOE. For further information and with questions, please contact Sarah Nelson, Maine DOE Student Engagement Specialist, at Sarah.Nelson@maine.gov or visit the MEAC webpage.

Every Day Counts: SeDoMoCha Students Take Pride in Attendance

At SeDoMoCha Elementary School in RSU 68, showing up matters—and everyone takes notice. This year, students have taken an active role in making attendance a top priority. Each classroom tracks their daily attendance percentage and proudly posts it right outside of their classroom door for everyone to see.

Seventh-grade science teacher Mrs. Kendrah Fisher was one of the SeDoMoCha teachers who started integrating the taking of attendance into her morning routine at the beginning of the school year. Doing so allowed her students to take ownership of tracking attendance.

“They now do it for our class each morning without being prompted,” Fisher said. “Getting students invested in attendance has had a very positive impact by drawing attention to the importance of coming to school for my students.”

“It shows who comes to school and who takes accountability in coming to school, and it also teaches kids percentages,” eighth-grade student Kaydiense Nelson said about the effort. “It shows that kids want to be here to try to succeed and build a good school environment.”

What started as a simple idea has quickly become a source of pride and motivation throughout the school. The visible reminders spark friendly competition, celebrate consistency, and keep the importance of attendance front and center for students, staff, families, and visitors alike.

“My class has been so excited to celebrate when our whole class is here. We have a five-second dance party many mornings to celebrate that all of our friends are here. In addition, when a friend is gone, they show so much care and concern,” second-grade teacher Mrs. Abigail Ziegra said. “We send them love waves from our morning meeting and look forward to seeing them again soon.”

“Tracking attendance has helped to develop a larger sense of community among all students in our homeroom,” Fisher said. “My students recognize when their peers are absent, and I have observed them checking in on each other when they return to school. It makes all of my students feel like they matter and are a valuable member of our classroom because they know that they are noticed and missed when they are gone.”

The effort has been warmly received by the entire community, thanks to the dedication of teachers and students who understand that strong attendance leads to stronger learning and stronger connections. At SeDoMoCha, showing up truly makes a difference.

“Seeing our students and teachers take pride in positive daily attendance fosters a strong sense of community,” SeDoMoCha assistant principal Mrs. Davan Walker said. “It highlights the importance of learning each and every day.”

This story was submitted by SeDoMoCha Elementary School in RSU 68. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.

Deadline Extended for Attendance Messaging Campaign Logo Design Contest; Details on How Schools Can Submit

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is pleased to announce that schools will have additional time to participate in the Maine DOE’s attendance messaging campaign, which launched in September.

Background: In the summer of 2025, the Maine Engagement and Attendance Center (MEAC) held an attendance campaign name and slogan contest. The winning selection was “Rooted in Learning, Growing Every Day: Be Pine Tree Present!” This slogan has become an integral part of Maine’s attendance celebration, highlighting how educators and staff are supporting their learning communities through increased attendance and engagement.

In September, MEAC invited schools across the state to host their own logo design contests based on this campaign name/slogan. Schools may determine the parameters of their contests. Their winning logo must be submitted to the Maine DOE by Friday, October 24, 2025, at 5 p.m. (extended from the original submission date of October 10). This is an excellent opportunity for potential statewide recognition, as we all consider our vital role in increasing attendance in Maine schools.

Submissions should please be sent to Sarah Nelson, Maine DOE Climate Culture Resilience Engagement Specialist, at Sarah.Nelson@maine.gov. When submitting, please consider the following guidelines:

The graphic must be high-resolution (at least 300 pixels per inch).
The graphic must have a transparent background.
The graphic must be saved in PNG format.
The Maine DOE will only accept original artwork. Copyrighted or previously published images are not allowed.
Please include the name of the artist who submitted the winning logo, where they attend school, and the municipality.
Optional: Consider including one to two sentences in student voice about what “Be Pine Tree Present!” means to them.

For continued resources supporting increased attendance, please mark your calendar for the upcoming MEAC Office Hours, a new, year-long series of monthly virtual office hours focused on evidence-based practices positively impacting attendance. These meetings occur on the third Thursday of each month from 3:30-4:30 p.m. The session on October 16 will explore the power of building routine, relationships, and relevance. Please register here to attend.

MEAC is a cross-office collaborative initiative of the Maine DOE. For further information and with questions, please contact Sarah Nelson at Sarah.Nelson@maine.gov or visit the Maine DOE website.

Maine Schools Invited to Participate in Logo Design Contest for Attendance Awareness Month

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is excited to share resources throughout the month of September to draw attention to the importance of attendance and engagement in Maine schools. Our hope is that this will help to set a strong foundation for the 2025-2026 school year.

To help your schools and school administrative units (SAUs) maintain their focus on attendance, we have curated a collection of actionable steps for your consideration:

Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed September as School Attendance Awareness Month in Maine! Please share this information with your school boards and communities at-large. You can find a link to the proclamation here.
Bookmark the Maine DOE’s Maine Engagement and Attendance Center (MEAC) webpage—and encourage an administrator on your team to submit a “good news” story through the linked form. We are hoping to highlight examples of how local schools and SAUs have found success in addressing attendance and engagement among their students.
Involve your school/SAU in our messaging campaign! Over the summer, MEAC held the Maine Attendance Campaign Name and Slogan Contest. “Rooted in Learning, Growing Every Day: Be Pine Tree Present!” was selected as the winning campaign name/slogan and will become an integral part of Maine’s attendance celebration, highlighting how educators and staff are supporting their learning communities through increased attendance and engagement. Now, we invite every school in Maine to host their own logo design contest based on this campaign name/slogan and send the winning logo our way by October 10, 2025! Each school can determine the parameters of their contest; we simply want to offer the opportunity for potential statewide recognition. Please keep an eye out for details at the end of the month regarding where to send the winning entry—and in the meantime, create your contest opportunity.
Check out Maine’s Count ME In! website. Sign up for the monthly newsletter, get data-informed ideas to approach attendance improvement, and learn about ongoing professional development events.
Sign up for the national Attendance Works 2025 Attendance Awareness Campaign.
Mark your calendars for the upcoming MEAC Office Hours, a new, year-long series of monthly virtual office hours focused on evidence-based strategies to support increased attendance. These meetings will occur on the third Thursday of each month from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Please register here.

MEAC is part of the Maine DOE Office of School and Student Supports. Please contact Maine DOE Student Engagement Specialist Sarah Nelson at Sarah.Nelson@maine.gov, if you have questions or would like additional information.

Maine Engagement and Attendance Center (MEAC) to Offer Monthly Office Hours

You are invited to join the Maine Engagement and Attendance Center (MEAC) in a new series of monthly virtual office hours. These sessions will focus on exploring Tier 1 evidence-based strategies to support increased attendance. Sessions will be held on the third Thursday of each month from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., beginning September 18, 2025, and running through May 21, 2026.

Each practice assists in establishing the conditions under which regular attendance can flourish. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, instructional coach, family member, administrator, or community partner, monthly MEAC moments are designed to offer practical insights, the research behind them, and actionable steps for increasing attendance.

Session topics are as follows:

September 18 – Create emotionally and physically safe environments
October 16 – Build routine, relationships, and relevance
November 20 – Establish early warning systems and a team-based response
December 18 – Strengthen school-home partnerships
January 15 – Use consistent, growth-focused attendance messaging
February 26 – Implement positive recognition and motivation strategies
March 19 – Engage families through proactive, supportive outreach
April 16 – Steps to refocus on increased attendance
May 21 – Reflect, recognize, and reset

To join MEAC monthly office hours, please register here.

The Maine Engagement and Attendance Center is part of the Maine DOE Office of School and Student Supports. With questions, please contact Maine DOE Student Engagement Specialist Sarah Nelson at Sarah.Nelson@maine.gov.