The following Priority Notice was distributed to educators on Monday, July 7.
Dear Educators,
Earlier this year, the Department made clear our commitment to rigorous standards and aligned assessments. To that end, I wanted to let you know we have just selected the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to administer our Smarter Balanced aligned State assessments in grades 3-8 and grade 11 for the 2014-15 school year.
The Governor announced the awards from the Maine Department of Education at the Reiche School in Portland alongside the CEO of LearningWorks, one of 15 grantees who will establish or continue 32 community learning centers that provide students extended learning services
PORTLAND – Governor Paul R. LePage announced today that the Maine Department of Education is giving out $11.3 million over the next five years to support extended learning opportunities for at-risk students.
Continue reading “Governor LePage announces $11.3 million to support at-risk students”
The Maine DOE is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Office of Elementary and Secondary Education for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) Program. The federal IAL grant is aligned with Maine’s Comprehensive Literacy Plan, Literacy for ME, by supporting high-quality initiatives to develop and improve literacy skills of children and students from birth through grade 12 in high-need educational agencies and schools. The Maine DOE is encouraging those eligible to apply to submit an application directly to the USDE by July 17.
Continue reading “Maine DOE announces Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program funding opportunity”
The following Priority Notice was distributed to school superintendents today in advance of the 103rd Annual Commissioner’s Conference for Superintendents:
Dear Superintendents,
We look forward to working with you next week during the 103rd Annual Commissioner’s Conference for Superintendents, scheduled to begin at noon on Monday, June 23 at Point Lookout in Northport.
Continue reading “Materials released in advance of Commissioner’s Conference”
The funding from the Maine Department of Education will help transform the struggling school and increase student achievement, teacher effectiveness and community engagement
SOUTH PORTLAND – A South Portland elementary school will use $1.6 million awarded today by the Maine Department of Education to raise student proficiency in math and reading by 10 percent annually over the next three years. Continue reading “State awards South Portland’s Kaler Elementary $1.6 million for school improvement”
The Smarter Balanced Digital Library preview launched on June 3.These on-demand materials are aligned to the Smarter Balanced assessment targets and will be an important resource for Maine teachers to understand progress in student learning. Continue reading “Maine DOE announces preview period for Smarter Balanced digital resources”
Funding is now available to Maine schools to offer a Teen Trendsetters™ program for their students.
Continue reading “New mentor reading program opportunity for schools”
The Maine DOE is inviting teams of educators to attend the 2014 Summer Literacy Institute to be held August 12-13 at Thomas College in Waterville. The two-day event will feature members of the Vermont Writing Collaborative sharing its book Writing for Understanding. Presenters will explain the Writing for Understanding approach which describes a method of teaching writing that clearly matches the purpose and supports inclusion of strong evidence to support the main ideas.
Continue reading “Maine DOE announces 2014 summer literacy institute”
The rollout of the report cards at www.maine.gov/doe comes as Education Commissioner Jim Rier completes a statewide tour celebrating the many Maine schools that improved by at least one letter grade
AUGUSTA – The 2014 school report cards are out and certificates of achievement signed by Governor Paul R. LePage and Education Commissioner Jim Rier are in the mail for 121 schools that earned an A or B grade.
Dozens of schools that demonstrated high levels of student growth over the past year will also receive a certificate and a letter recognizing their success in better serving all students.
In a few hours, the 2014 school report cards will be made available to the public via the Department’s Education Data Warehouse.
Meanwhile, I am spending the day visiting elementary schools in South Hiram and Gorham that have each seen a two-letter grade gain since last year’s report card was released. The grading system certainly can’t be credited for those increases, but it has helped to surface success stories that can inform the improvement work happening at so many of our schools.
Continue reading “Report cards can provide learning opportunities”
Maine DOE Newsroom 