Teams advance to Farm to School Cook-off Finals Competition

The Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition office kicked off their 4^th annual Farm to School Cook-off last month. Cook-off teams representing nine school districts from across Maine participated in the event. The teams, consisting of a student and school nutrition staff member, served up tasty and nutritious breakfast and lunch meals within a specific time frame that showcased Maine grown ingredients. Apples donated from Ricker Hill Orchards and dried black beans donated from Fairwinds Farm were used as “challenge” ingredients in the competition. The regional cook-off’s were hosted by the culinary arts programs at the Lake Region Vocational Center, Bath Regional Career and Technical Center and Eastern Maine Community College.

South Portland, RSU 12, and Cherryfield will be advancing to the Farm to School Cook-off finals competition on April 23rd from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Kennebec Valley Community College- Alfond Campus in Clinton. A panel of judges including a student, chef and school nutrition director, will score the dishes based on presentation, taste, creativity, and feasibility to be used in a school breakfast or lunch program. Other criteria will include food safety and time management.

The winning team will be awarded a plaque and have the opportunity to be spokespeople and participate on the judging panel for the cook off in School Year 2020. Recipes used in the cook-off will later be shared with all schools in a Maine farm to school cook-book.

Members of the media are welcome to attend the final cook-off but need to confirm prior to the day of the event.

For more information about the event, please contact Stephanie Stambach at stephanie.stambach@maine.gov, or to confirm media coverage, contact: Kelli Deveaux at kelli.deveaux@maine.gov or 207-624-6747.

Maine’s National Board-Certified Teachers Celebrate at Pinning Ceremony

“The number one reason we do this (National Board Certification) is the students. Educators are about kids and we want our students to have the best teachers possible,” said Tami Fitzgerald, Director of Outreach and Engagement for the National Board of Professional Standards. Fitzgerald, who traveled to Maine from Washington DC for the event, was one of the featured speakers at the March 29, 2019 ceremony: a celebration honoring and recognizing Maine’s new and renewed National Board-Certified Teachers.

Friends, families, and colleagues throughout the state gathered at Cony High School to attend the ceremony, which was co-sponsored by the National Board-Certified Teachers of Maine Network and the Maine Education Association. Also speaking at the ceremony were Grace Leavitt, NBCT and President of the Maine Education Association; Melissa Guerrette, NBCT and Chair of the Maine NBCT Network; and Constance (Connie) Russell, NBCT and 2018 Cumberland County Teacher of the Year.

In achieving National Board Certification, teachers demonstrated that their teaching meets the profession’s standards for accomplished practice through a rigorous, peer-reviewed and performance-based process, similar to professional certification in fields such as medicine. This comprehensive process includes four components: a computer-based assessment to test content knowledge and three classroom embedded portfolio entries which include student work samples, assessment practices, videos of teaching, and in-depth written reflections. Through the four components, teachers provide evidence of their ability to advance student learning and achievement.

Due to the rigorous and personalized nature of this process, a common sentiment expressed by the speakers was the commitment –mental and emotional—that National Board Certification requires. Russell spoke about feelings of vulnerability and insecurity that arose as she shared her teaching samples at the candidate support workshops, “I was putting my teaching on the big screen, out there in front of people” and yet, as uncomfortable as it was, how she benefited from it, “at school we never had the kinds of conversations I was having with my National Board colleagues—I knew the feedback was making me better—I began craving it.” Fitzgerald echoed Russell, “teacher candidates are always asking, ‘how do I keep getting better, how do I reach higher?”

The speakers also reflected on the new lens that National Board Certification gave them: a lens in which to view their students, standards, content, and teaching practice. Russel shared, “I started looking at every lesson, bulletin board, field trip, and guest speaker through the lens of how any of these activities would impact student learning.”

Along with being congratulated and honored for achieving National Board Certification, the speakers told the new NBCTs that this is not the end of the journey. Honorees were encouraged to use their “NBCT-voice” to advocate for their students, schools, and to elevate the teaching profession.

After the pinning was completed, the new NBCTs were given “tapping cards” – invitations for them to extend to their colleagues to begin their own journey toward National Board Certification.

Maine’s new 2018 National Board Certified Teachers:

	First name	Last Name	Employer District	Employer School
1.	Jennifer	Dorman	RSU 54/MSAD 54	Skowhegan Area Middle School
2.	Laura	Phelps	RSU 1	Phippsburg Elementary School
3.	Matthew	Leland		Lincoln Academy
4.	Seth	Anderson		Lincoln Academy
5.	Gayle	Martin	AOS 92	Winslow Elementary School
6.	Kelly	O’Brien-Weaver	RSU 22/MSAD 22	George B. Weatherbee School
7.	Kristin	Lorbeski	RSU 11/MSAD 11	River View CMTY School
8.	Anne	Dalphin	Portland Public School District	Presumpscot Elementary School
9.	Hillary	Hoyt	RSU 22/MSAD 22	Leroy H Smith Elem School
10.	Ryan	Avery	RSU 11/MSAD 11	Gardiner Regional Middle School
11.	Patricia	Forster	Five Town CMTY School District	Camden Hills Regional High School
12.	Michael	Hayashida	RSU 16	Poland Regional High School
13.	Emily	Powers	Lewiston Public Schools	Gov James B. Longley Elem School
14.	Christina	Rich	RSU 55/MSAD 55	South Hiram Elementary School
15.	Courtney	Cole	RSU 19	Etna-Dixmont Elementary School
16.	Rebecca	Humphrey Hanaburgh	Falmouth School District	Falmouth Elementary School
17.	Gordon	Crosby	RSU 16	Poland Regional High School
18.	Angela	McLaughlin	RSU 26	Asa C Adams Elementary School
19.	Toni	Barboza	RSU 19	Etna-Dixmont Elementary School
20.	Emilie	Throckmorton	Bangor School District	Bangor High School
21.	Luanne	Mudgett	RSU 55/MSAD 55	Sacopee Valley Middle School
22.	Rebecca	Maiorano	Portland Public School District	Presumpscot Elementary School
23.	Katie	Dutil	Augusta School District	Lillian P Hussey Elem School
24.	Rebekah	Brockway	RSU 12	Windsor Elementary School
25.	Pauline	Leadbetter	RSU 17/MSAD 17	Harrison Elementary School
26.	Marie	Dickson	Lewiston Public Schools	Thomas J McMahon Elem School
27.	Venise	Philbrick	Lewiston Public Schools	Martel Elementary School
28.	Jennifer	Lunt	Portland Public School System	Portland High School
29.	Dawn	Pendergrass	Biddeford School District	Biddeford High School
30.	Jason	Kash	RSU 22/MSAD 22	Reeds Brook Middle School
31.	Nell	Hermann	Union School Dist 93	Blue Hill Consolidated Elem School
32.	Megan	Markgren	Portland Public School District	Longfellow Elementary School
33.	Sonya	Logan	RSU 55/MSAD 55	Sacopee Valley Middle School
34.	David	Boardman	AOS 92	Mid-Maine Technical Center

For more information about National Board Certification:

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: https://www.nbpts.org/

Tamara Ranger, MDOE Educator Excellence Coordinator: tamara.ranger@maine.gov

Melissa Guerrette, Maine NBCT Network Chair: nbct.melissa@gmail.com

English Teachers Gather at the Summit!

Nearly 200 English teachers from across the state attended the Maine Council of English Language Art’s annual conference at the summit of Point Lookout in Northport last week. The conference began on Thursday with a celebration of poetry headlined by Maine Poet Laureate Stuart Kestenbaum. Kestenbaum read several of his poems, explaining how several started as a list of words handed to him by students, then transformed into moving and vibrant stories in verse.

On Friday, teachers supported teachers by providing 24 different opportunities to learn with and from each other. Topics included Teaching Trauma and Resilience Through Literature, The Dream-Centered Classroom, and Exploring Power, Social Justice, and Other Contemporary Issues Through Book Clubs in Middle and High School Classrooms.

The event ended with Gillian French, author of Grit and several other novels, reading from her works and encouraging place-based writing. A native of Bucksport, French embraces to beauty of Maine, the grittiness of its residents, and the sometimes challenging, sometimes uplifting experiences that come from rural living.

MCELA presented the 2019 Brassil Award, honoring distinguished Maine educators John and Claudette Brassil, to Stephanie Hendrix of Bangor High School. Hendrix teaches English and Humanities, is a doctoral student, integrates technology flawlessly into her instruction, and is quite active in theater. This award recognizes exceptional English language arts and literacy teachers who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, contributed to the profession, and shown a commitment to the community. MCELA is currently accepting nominations for the 2020 Brassil Award. Go to the MCELA Brassil Award page for further details.

Catch up on all the details on twitter with #MCELA2019

Nominations Sought for the 2019 Maine Curriculum Leader of the Year

The Maine Curriculum Leaders’ Association is excited to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Curriculum Leader of the Year.

The Maine Curriculum Leader of the Year is a champion of learning both within and outside his or her district and has held a curriculum leadership role for at least five years. Please see the nomination and selection criteria here, and note that nominations will be accepted until April 26.

Recommendation letters describing the nominee’s leadership of curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be emailed directly to director@mainecla.org.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Maine DOE to Host 2019 Farm to School Cook-Off

What: The Farm to School Cook-off showcases the culinary skills of school food service staff and students, while promoting locally grown products in school meals. Each volunteer team, consisting of one school food service staff and one student, will prepare a breakfast and lunch meal within a specific time frame using at least two ingredients that are grown, raised, caught, or manufactured in the State of Maine and meet National School Breakfast and Lunch Program requirements as well as one USDA food. Local apples and dried black beans will be used as “challenge” ingredients in the competition.

Who: School food service staff and students, representatives from Maine DOE’s Child Nutrition Program.

Where/When:

Thursday, March 21
Lake Region Vocational Center, Naples, ME
10:00am start time (cooking begins promptly at 10:30am)
Teams are representing Auburn, South Portland, Falmouth

Friday, March 22
Bath Regional Career and Technical Center, Bath, ME
10:00am start time (cooking begins promptly at 10:30am)
Teams are representing RSU 38, Yarmouth and RSU 12

Tuesday, March 26
Eastern Maine Community College, Bangor, ME
1:00pm start time (cooking begins promptly at 1:30pm)
Teams are representing RSU 54, RSU 22 and Cherryfield

A final cook-off will be held at Kennebec Valley Community College- Alfond Campus on April 23.

Members of the media are welcome to attend the competition. For further questions, please contact Maine Department of Education by contacting Rachel Paling at rachel.paling@maine.gov or call 624-6747.

Press Release: Nominations Now Open for Maine Volunteer Roll of Honor Awards

Volunteers are the heartbeat of Maine and it is volunteer recognition season. Nominations are currently being accepted for the Governor’s Service Awards, Maine Volunteer Roll of Honor and Young Maine Volunteer Roll of Honor.

Since 1987, the Governor’s Awards for Service and Volunteerism have celebrated and recognized the role of citizen volunteers in the success and vitality of Maine communities. At the same time, the awards seek to inspire others to be active in civic life and follow in the footsteps of those recognized.

Maine Volunteer Roll of Honor nominees must be 19 years of age or older and have volunteered at least 500 documented hours in the prior calendar year.
Young Maine Volunteer Roll of Honor nominees must be 18 years of age or younger and have volunteered at least 50 hours in the prior year.

Teachers and coaches are encouraged to submit nominations for student groups if each member of the group meets the 50-hour minimum requirement. Please note that any hours of volunteer time completed for graduation can also be counted towards the minimum obligation for this award program.

Awardees will be honored at the statewide Roll of Honor Recognition Ceremony that will be held at the Messalonskee High School in the J. Duke Albanese Performing Arts Center on Sunday, April 14, 2019.

Nomination submissions must be sent electronically by or before the deadline date of Friday, March 15, 2019. For information on how to submit nominations, visit the Volunteer Maine website.

This program is administered by the Maine Commission for Community Service, which strives to build capacity and sustainability in Maine’s volunteer and service communities by funding programs, developing managers of volunteers and service-learning practitioners, raising awareness of sector issues, and promoting service as a strategy. For more information about the Maine Commission for Community Service, visit their website.

The Maine Association of School Nurses (MASN) is Seeking Nominations for School Nurse of the Year 2019

The purpose of this award is to recognize the contributions of Maine School Nurses by honoring one school nurse who has demonstrated leadership and excellence in the practice of school nursing. This title recognizes a nurse who has demonstrated excellence and leadership in the following: care provision, program management, health education, professional development, community involvement, and research.

Please consider honoring the excellence of your school nurse. Nomination packets are due April 1. Instructions for nominations and more information can be found on the MASN website, or you may contact Deb Braxton, the coordinator for School Nurse of the Year for MASN: dbraxton@capeelizabethschools.org

Employee of the Week: Sarah Adkins

Sarah Adkins, Student Assistance Coordinator, is the Maine Department of Education’s Employee of the Week. Get to know a little more about Sarah through this brief question and answer:

What are your roles with DOE?

I help schools and families in understanding Maine’s anti-bullying law; provide guidance to schools in regards to Student Behavior data collection – bullying, violent and harmful behavior, and restraint & seclusion; assist schools and parents in understanding Chapter 33 (Restraint and Seclusion); and support Maine’s school counselors in their role of providing academic interventions, social/emotional learning, and college and career readiness to students PreK-12^th grade.

What do you like best about your job?

Interacting with parents, school leaders, and school counselors in finding ways to best support, help, and understand Maine’s students so that school is a safe, welcoming, and encouraging learning environment.

How or why did you decide on this career?

School is essential in providing not only relevant and meaningful academics but also experiential activities that develop well-rounded and happy children and adolescents. I chose to have a career path in the field of education in which hard work and patience in needed in order to make sure all Maine kids are learning, that they are happy, and are provided opportunities to show and demonstrate their talents. Maine kids are great and I am dedicated to the work in education that brings out the best in every Maine kid and those adults who work with them every single day.

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

Skiing, kayaking, shopping at Goodwill, going on family adventures, camping, completing house projects, and attending sporting events for all four of my children

MEDIA RELEASE: Maine Participates in National Cybersecurity Opportunity for Young Women in High School

To help educate more young women about the opportunities in the field of cybersecurity, Governor Janet Mills, the Maine Office of Information Technology, and the Maine Department of Education are promoting ‘GirlsGoCyberStart’, an exciting national program that uses online games of discovery to introduce high school girls to the field.

“Cybersecurity is a growing and critical field. It is more important than ever before to train skilled experts in Maine and across the nation to defend our national and financial security,” said Governor Janet Mills. “This program will help young women pursue the education and training they need for lifelong careers and leadership positions in cybersecurity.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of information security analysts is projected to grow 28 percent from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for information security analysts is expected to be very high, as these analysts will be needed to create innovative solutions to prevent hackers from stealing critical information or causing problems for computer networks.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Maine students to showcase the incredible skills and talent they have acquired from the many computer science initiatives, programs, and curricula happening in schools throughout Maine,” said Maine Education Commissioner A. Pender Makin.

CyberStart was created by the SANS Institute and was first piloted to youth in the summer of 2017. The program enabled 3,500 students nation-wide to discover and demonstrate their aptitude for cybersecurity, yet only five percent of the students who participated were young women. The results of the pilot sparked the GirlsGoCyberStart program, specifically designed to interest young women in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.

This will be Maine’s second year participating in the GirlsGoCyberStart. Last year, nearly two hundred students from all over Maine participated in the event and placed in the top 100 of all participating state teams.

“We are excited to join this wonderful opportunity to expand our talent pipeline by engaging young people interested in learning more about cybersecurity and directing them to the appropriate training and career coaching,” said Ande Smith, acting Chief Information Officer for the Office of Information Technology.

Maine students who participate in GirlsGoCyberStart will be doing so alongside students from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Participating students do not need prior cybersecurity knowledge or programming experience. All that is required is a computer and an internet connection. Young women in high school who excel in the GirlsGoCyberStart game will have the opportunity to win scholarships and other prizes. The website for registration opens on February 18, 2019. More information about the program and eligibility can be found at CyberStartUS.

For more information about Maine’s participation in the program, contact Dr. Kelly Samson-Rickert, Director of Workforce Innovations for the Maine Office of Information Technology at Kelly.Rickert@maine.gov or 207-624-9965.

MLTI T-shirt Design Competition Accepting Entries Until April 12, 2019!

The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) has hosted a design challenge for years. Students were asked to submit original works of digital art that could be used as screensavers. Twenty winners were chosen, and those images were used as screensavers on thousands of student laptops across the state each year. This was a way to celebrate the varied ways students could create with the MLTI technology and share with others across the state.

This year, the MLTI still wants to encourage students to create digital art and share it widely, however instead of a screensaver challenge, we will be hosting a T-shirt Design Competition. A panel of judges will narrow the submissions down to five designs, and then we will ask Maine students and educators to vote for their top choice. The winning T-shirt will be printed for the 1000+ attendees of the 16th Annual MLTI Student Conference, which will be held on Thursday, May 23rd at the University of Maine in Orono. Additionally, based on design submissions, up to 20 students will be selected to receive free registration to the conference.

Eligibility:

Any student who attends an elementary, middle, or high school in Maine during the 2018-2019 school year is eligible to enter the competition.
Students may work in teams, but the design must be an original piece of artwork created only by eligible students.

Submission Guidelines:

All submissions must be an original artwork. Any use of any photo, drawing, images or elements created by any other person (other than the MLTI logo) is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification.
- Please adhere to the guidelines for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regarding copyright and plagiarism: Even if you have permission to use a work or if the work is in the public domain, the work that you submit to this competition must represent a new, original work. Additionally, changing the medium of an original work is not considered transformative. For example, a painting or drawing of a photograph taken from the Internet or a magazine is not considered original and should not be submitted.
Each student or team may only submit one entry.
The artwork should be sized to 8¹/₂” x 11”.
Students may hand-draw or digitally design their artwork.
Digitally designed artwork should be 300 dpi, RGB color, and the fonts must be embedded.
Submitted artwork must incorporate the phrase “MLTI Student Conference” and the year “2019” or “’19”.
Students must incorporate the MLTI logo into their design: downloadable files or by copying and pasting this link: http://bit.ly/MLTI_logos.
The design should reflect this year’s conference theme and include the text: “#Create4ME.” We are celebrating the power of students to create innovative solutions to challenges in Maine or the spirit of entrepreneurism that is found in many Maine communities. Technology often plays a role in that creation, but doesn’t need to be depicted explicitly.
- Optional: Students may submit an artist statement (less than 200 words) with their design to help bring clarity to their adherence to the theme.
Acceptable file types: PDF or JPEG high resolution.
Color: T-shirts are one solid color with one color ink, and the student can suggest the color for each.
The t-shirt design must fit on the front of the t-shirt.
Signed Release: Each student must sign this release and include it in their submission. If the link above doesn’t work, please copy and paste this link: http://bit.ly/MLTI2019T-shirtDesignCompetitionRelease

Judging Criteria

Guidelines: Work clearly adheres to the submission guidelines.
Theme: Work has represented the theme “Create for ME” or “Create4ME”.
Principles of Design: Work incorporated the following elements of art: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety, and unity.

Timeline: