Rule Chapter 124: Basic Approval Standards: Public Preschool Programs has been formally adopted by the Department of Education and took effect Dec. 28.
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Category: Early Childhood
Department seeks public preschool classrooms for observation pilot
The Maine DOE is seeking public preschool classrooms to pilot a research-based classroom observation tool called CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System).
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Clarification of public preschool program requirements
The Maine DOE has received many inquiries from school district personnel seeking clarification on the public preschool legislation passed last spring.
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Maine DOE awarded $14.8 million to expand public preschool access
The Department will pass a majority of the money to 13 school districts to create 33 new classrooms for 4-year-old students and expand 23 others
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Education has been awarded $14.8 million to expand public preschool opportunities in 10 counties.
Over the next four years, the Department will pass 95 percent of the funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to 13 school districts with high percentages of low-income students so they can establish or expand preschool programs in partnership with local early childhood program providers. Continue reading “Maine DOE awarded $14.8 million to expand public preschool access”
Resource available for elementary school principals
The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has released a new resource for elementary school principals that defines new competencies and outlines approaches for providing high-quality early childhood programs.
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Maine DOE proposing rules to public preschool programs
The Maine DOE is proposing rules pertaining to public preschool programs.
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Reminder to superintendents surveys due
The following reminder was sent via Priority Notice to all Maine superintendents on Friday, Oct. 17.
Dear Superintendents,
I am writing to remind you to please complete two surveys that will greatly inform the work of the Commission to Strengthen the Adequacy and Equity of Certain Cost Components of the School Funding Formula, established by the Maine Legislature earlier this year.
In partnership with the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI), the Department is compiling information for the Commission about the current use of instructional coaches and the physical space, facility capacity and operations of districts as it relates to existing and expanding preschool programs. Because the Commission begins meeting this coming Monday, I encourage you to submit your responses today, though surveys completed after this deadline will be provided to the Commission for consideration at its future meetings. Continue reading “Reminder to superintendents surveys due”
Education Commissioner to visit Bangor schools Thursday
Commissioner Jim Rier will see how the high achieving district is working toward graduating students with proficiency-based diplomas starting in 2019
BANGOR – Maine’s Education Commissioner will spend Thursday in the classrooms of the state’s third largest school district to see how proficiency-based education is transforming teaching and learning there.
Commissioner Jim Rier will be in Bangor to tour Vine Street School (preK-3), William S. Cohen School (grades 6-8) and Bangor High School with Bangor School Department Superintendent Betsy Webb.
Bangor schools are among the state’s highest achieving and proficiency levels are well above the state average at the middle and high schools that Governor Paul R. LePage’s Education Commissioner will visit. Both schools earned a B on the report cards released by the Maine Department of Education last spring. Continue reading “Education Commissioner to visit Bangor schools Thursday”
Notice of proposed rule changes: Chapter 101, Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty
The Maine DOE is proposing changes this fall to the rules regarding the provision of child find, early intervention services, and special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities age birth to 20.
Guidance to Maine schools on EV-D68
The following guidance on Enterovirus D68 from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention was distributed by the Maine DOE to all Maine school nurses on Friday, Oct. 3.
Each year, millions of people become ill due to respiratory illnesses. Some of the more common respiratory illnesses in schools may include influenza, pertussis and the common cold. The common cold can be caused by many viruses including enteroviruses, one strain of which (EV-D68) is responsible for several outbreaks in the United States in 2014, including one recent case here in Maine. Schools should be aware of these illnesses, how to prevent them and what is reportable. Continue reading “Guidance to Maine schools on EV-D68”
Maine DOE Newsroom 