SOUTH PARIS – A day after releasing a new school grading system designed to focus on transparency and continuous improvement in schools, Maine’s Education Commissioner toured three Oxford County schools that are embracing new models for educational excellence.
The visit by Maine Department of Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen to Oxford Hills Middle School and Oxford Hills Technical School in RSU 17 and Mountain Valley Middle School in RSU 10 was the latest in his Promising Practices Tour.
Bowen began the tour on Thursday at the Roberts Farm Preserve in Norway, where he talked with Oxford Hills Middle School seventh and eighth graders about the life science and leadership skills they’re developing by participating in the farm’s experiential learning program.
Today I’ll be at Lewiston High School to talk about some of the targeted education support in Governor Paul R. LePage’s proposed two-year budget. These supports include funding to help districts implement the proficiency-based diploma and teacher evaluation systems; to expand access to college opportunities through five-year high school/associate’s degree programs, dual credit, and Adult Ed transition programs; and to make the kinds of supports and technical assistance that have been available only to Title I schools available to all schools.
Maine DOE Newsroom 