The GEM reimbursement system has undergone several recent changes to help strengthen monitoring procedures designed to ensure compliance with federal sub-recipient monitoring requirements.
Continue reading “New changes start in September to DOE reimbursement system”
The revised Rule for Qualifying Examinations for Teachers, Educational Specialists and Administrators, Chapter 13, is now effective.
The changes to Chapter 13 stem from the regular regeneration (revision) process employed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Each Praxis exam undergoes regeneration every five years. ETS conducts a multi-state standard setting study designed to assemble two separate groups of current practitioners who work for two to three days to review the validity and reliability of the test being regenerated. Continue reading “Rule Change Adoption: Chapter 13, Qualifying Examinations for Teachers, Educational Specialists and Administrators”
Department of Labor responds to federal mandate with free online training video
AUGUSTA – All employees in the state of Maine—in both the private and public sectors—must be trained in the federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) new Global Harmonization System Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) by Dec. 1. As part of this federal mandate, schools and districts are responsible for training their staff on GHS and must be able to demonstrate compliance upon inspection.
Continue reading “All districts and schools must train staff in Global Harmonization System”
The U.S. Department of Education has re-opened its Request for Information (RFI) on Native American English learners. The purpose of the RFI is to gather information pertaining to the identification and placement of Native American students who are English learners in language instruction educational programs. The U.S. DOE developed this RFI to help State and local educational agencies, schools, tribes and other interested entities identify, share and implement practices for accurately identifying Native American students who are English learners.
Continue reading “U.S. DOE requests information on Native American English learners”
The Maine DOE’s school transportation software, Transfinder, is undergoing a server improvement and will be temporarily unavailable to the public starting Friday, July 12 at 9 p.m. and ending before 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 13.
Continue reading “Scheduled downtime for school transportation software”
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 21st Annual Model Schools Conference down in Washington, D.C. Put on by the International Center for Leadership in Education, this year’s conference provided teachers and educational leaders, including many from Maine, with practical ideas for increasing student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness in an age of declining resources and higher standards.
Continue reading “Successful schools use data to focus improvement efforts”
Congratulations on completing another successful school year.
I was honored to spend much of the past week connecting with many of Maine’s education leaders at the 102nd Annual Superintendent’s Conference in Northport. For those who attended, I hope the transformational leadership development combined with the transitional support to help your schools move to a proficiency-based diploma energized you as much as it did me. Just as our potential to graduate every student prepared is great, so are the stakes – as was made quite evident by the CEOs who spoke during Sunday’s session about the core competencies the opportunities of Maine’s future will demand.
We continue to get positive feedback on the Data Warehouse we unveiled last month in conjunction with the Maine School Performance Grading System. Educators and administrators like having multiple years of their key data – including individual student growth models – in one place, and that they can export it to use and share. The also appreciate the ability to run comparisons of like schools and districts to determine best practices and opportunities for collaboration.
Continue reading “Data Warehouse proving valuable new resource”
When the Maine DOE released the state’s School Performance Grading System last month, the agency also unveiled the Data Warehouse, a powerful tool that can help educators improve student achievement and the public learn more about Maine’s schools. In addition to hosting the state’s school report cards, the warehouse offers accessible, understandable data on test scores, school spending, student and staff populations, and much more. The Department wants to make using the Data Warehouse as easy as possible for educators, administrators, students, parents and the public.
When you enter the warehouse, you will be prompted to choose one of the following pathways: Snapshots, Data Tables or Growth Model. Continue reading “Navigating the Data Warehouse”
Schools and other educational entities covered by Department of Education Rule Chapter 33 are required to report annually on the use of restraint and seclusion of students. This reporting requirement took effect on July 1, 2012, as part of the comprehensive revision of Rule Chapter 33.
Continue reading “Report annual use of restraint and seclusion”
Maine DOE Newsroom 