Category: Health and Safety

Maine DOE to Launch Maine Harvest of the Month Program in Schools

The Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Program is excited to announce the launch of Maine’s Harvest of the Month Program. Currently in planning phases, the program is slated to launch in schools in the Spring of 2019. Jenn So has been hired by the Maine DOE as the Harvest of the Month Program Manager and will be leading the development, implementation, and trainings for the program statewide. This program is a collaboration between the Maine DOE Child Nutrition Program and the Maine Farm to School Network.

Program Background

Harvest of the Month (HOM) is a nationwide marketing campaign promoting the use of seasonally available, local products in schools, institutions, and communities. Each month, a different local product is highlighted and participating entities pledge to serve the product and promote it through educational materials and activities. The program launched in California and has been replicated by dozens of other states across the country. With Maine’s participation, all of New England will now have Harvest of the Month programs.

Maine Harvest of the Month Background 

In its pilot year, Maine’s HOM program will develop a unique Maine HOM crop calendar and create corresponding marketing materials and recipes for food service directors and schools to display and utilize. Regional trainings will be delivered to train food service staff and other interested stakeholders on how to best implement the program; support will be provided to schools as needed. The program’s goal is to increase the procurement and consumption of local Maine products in schools (K-12), and thus the total number of meals provided. To participate in the program, schools will sign a  pledge committing to: serve the local HOM product at least twice per month (local being defined as grown or caught in Maine); display HOM materials provided by the Child Nutrition office; and participate in pre-and post-evaluations. Schools are also encouraged to integrate the HOM into educational activities.

If your school or district is interested in participating, please contact Jenn So at jenn.so@maine.gov or 207-624-6639 for more information.

Online Bullying Reporting Program Available to Maine’s Schools Through Optania

Optania has created an online bullying reporting program that is aligned with Maine DOE’s model bullying policy and procedures.  Click here to check out the demonstration.

This online program allows students, parents and others to report allegations of bullying 24/7, with the allegation report (JICK-E1) being sent to pre-determined school staff (ie. principal, assistant principal, school guidance counselor, social worker, superintendent) who will then initiate the investigation procedure using an electronic form (JICK-E2).  The program also includes the remediation form (JICK-E3).  In addition, using artificial intelligence, students can create their own Safety Plan in the moments after reporting an allegation of bullying so they don’t have to wait until the next school day when they can meet with a school staff member.

To learn more about Optania, attend a free, live informational webinar this week.

Sessions are 1 hour in length and will give an in-depth overview of Optania and allow time for questions and comments.

Click on the Zoom link on a day and time that works for your schedule.  There is no need to sign-up or RSVP to this email to attend.

Bullying reporting made easy with Optania (pdf)

Further questions or information about future webinars can be sent to Sarah Adkins, Student Assistance Coordinator at sarah.adkins@maine.gov or by calling her at 207-624-6685

School Safety and Security Bulletin: Emergency Operations Planning

Throughout the 2018- 2019 school year, the Maine Department of Education, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Maine State Police, Maine Sheriffs Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency will provide tips and resource information to Maine schools to help provide some guidance for identifying signs and preventing school violence.

School Safety and Security Bulletin  – December 2018

Further questions and inquiries can be send to Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Administrator at pat.hinckley@maine.gov.

PRESS RELEASE: Maine DOE Awarded $2.88M Grant to Support School Emergency Operations Plan Initiative

Update: Schools will receive an invitation from the Department to participate in grant activities this spring. 

The Maine Department of Education has been awarded a 5-year grant from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education. The funding will go towards an initiative called Maine Grant for School Emergency Management aimed at helping Maine schools by providing training and technical assistance in the development and implementation of high-quality school emergency operations plans (EOPS).

This project is grounded in the belief that multihazard emergency planning for schools helps schools and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from critical incidents. The Maine Grant for School Emergency Management project is the next step of work that began with a Maine School Security Report that was initiated by the Maine Legislature.

The primary goals of the Maine Grant for School Emergency Management project are to:

  1. Provide schools, especially those identified as high need in rural areas, with high-quality EOP training at no cost.
  2. Ensure that local educational agencies have access at no cost to a new customizable EOP template that can be easily updated and includes technical guidance.
  3. Provide high-quality EOP technical assistance clinics at no cost that will be delivered to develop a team of education sector professionals who are committed to work with schools.

The grant allocation is over five years:

Year 1: $614,773
Year 2: $567,920
Year 3: $567,920
Year 4: $567,920
Year 5: $567,920
Grant Total:  $2,886,453

The grant activities, as awarded, are one hundred percent federally funded. No project costs will be financed by non-governmental sources.

The Department of Education takes school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness seriously and is continually taking steps to improve it.

Further questions and inquiries can be send to Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Administrator at pat.hinckley@maine.gov.

Resources to Support the Observance of Alcohol Awareness Day

Alcohol is the most frequently used substance by adolescents in Maine. Almost one of every four Maine high school students used alcohol in the past 30 days, and more than one third of those students reported binge drinking (2017 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey). Alcohol consumption by students is impacted by factors such as low perception of harm, low perception of getting caught, and ease of access.

Schools and community organizations are encouraged to work together to address alcohol issues. In alignment with Maine statute, schools across Maine can raise awareness about alcohol use and abuse by observing Alcohol Awareness Day on Monday, December 3 (or another designated day in December). The statute indicates Alcohol Awareness Day shall be observed by studying for at least 45 minutes, a constructive approach toward the use of alcohol and the problems and dangers of alcohol abuse upon the individual, the family and society.

Consider using one or more of the following resources to prepare a message or lesson to enhance your existing health education curriculum:

It is important for Maine students to receive education and awareness about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use as part of comprehensive school health education, Pre-K through High School, and in alignment with the Maine Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction, Health Education Standards.  Selecting Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Programs: A Guide for Maine Schools Grades K-12 may help determine the most appropriate program for a school community.

There is also a guide to help schools create, update, and enforce a substance use policy. The guide, “Substance Use Policy: A Comprehensive Guide for School Policy Development” provides practical suggestions for a complete policy, based on research and best practices.

For assistance or additional resources, contact the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control Program at 287-8901, TTY 711 or email: TSUP.DHHS@maine.gov.  You can order a limited quantity of free alcohol use prevention pamphlets through the Prevention Store http://www.mainepreventionstore.org./

Webinar: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Education and the Workforce

The Maine School Councilor Association (MESCA) is sponsoring a free professional development webinar called, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Education And The Workforce: Building Resilience In Students. Please find the details below.

Description: National statistics tell us that if a child has experienced 4 or more adverse life events, they are 32 times more likely to have behavior problems in school. There is increasing evidence that early life stressors, such as abuse and/or witnessing intimate partner violence, cause enduring brain dysfunction that, in turn, affects health and quality of life throughout the lifespan. The “stress response” can cause the areas of a student’s brain that control fear to become over developed, overpowering other areas of the brain that are required for positive academic learning. Adverse experiences have the power to undermine the development of language skills, attention to classroom tasks, and the ability to remember new information.

The good news is the presence of a supportive adult or environment provides a powerful buffer to students from the intense stress or anxiety that may occur when they are exposed to violence and trauma. This workshop will introduce participants to the impacts of exposure to adverse experiences, will offer examples of how and why this impact manifests itself as behaviors, and will share resilience building strategies.

Presenter: Allegra Hirsh-Wright, LCSW, RYT, Training Manager/Project Coordinator for Department of Clinical Innovation, Maine Behavioral Healthcare

Webinar Date & Time: December  20, 2018 at 12:00 PM

Register here: https://bit.ly/2PXK5nU

This free professional development webinar sponsored by the Maine School Councilor Association (MESCA) will be recorded and stored on the Reach Higher Maine Google Classroom.

Information and Resources About Maine’s New Tobacco Retail Sales Law

The Maine CDC Tobacco Prevention Program has released information and resources about on Tobacco 21 (T21), Maine’s new tobacco retail sales law.

Tobacco 21 is Maine’s new retail tobacco sales law that went into effect July 1, 2018. A person may not sell, offer to sell, furnish, or give away a tobacco product to any person under 21 years of age unless the person had turned 18 years of age by July 1, 2018. People who were 18-year-olds as of July 1, 2018 can still buy tobacco products. With the passing of the law, it updated enforcement and compliance activities by the removal of all Minor In Possession or Possession Use and Purchase (MIP/PUP) language in state code. By eliminating the MIP/PUP language it concentrates enforcement and compliance activities on the source of tobacco rather than the youth purchasing.

Further questions should be directed to Emily Moores, Tobacco Prevention and Control Manager, Maine CDC at Emily.Moores@Maine.gov or 207-287-3268.

Seeking Maine Schools for Social Emotional Learning Pilot Program

The Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control Program with the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (MECDC), in partnership with the Maine Department of Education (Maine DOE), is seeking interest from Maine schools who would like to pilot the social emotional learning (SEL) program, Second Step, funded by a grant through MECDC.

The grant’s larger goal is to provide primary prevention for substance use and is part of Maine’s State Opioid Response plan. The Second Step Curriculum is research-based and available for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. Many of the skills within the Maine Learning Results for Health Education in elementary school align with goals of Second Step, to nurture skill building and prevent problematic developmental behaviors that are part of the trajectory toward later substance use.

If you are interested in adding Second Step to your school’s curriculum, are already implementing Second Step, or are implementing a SEL curriculum other than Second Step, the MECDC and Maine DOE would like your feedback about your interest and experience.

This brief survey will take approximately 5 minutes.  Your input will be used to assess what programs are currently being implemented, where there are opportunities to pilot Second Step in Maine, and what districts are specifically interested in piloting Second Step.

Maine CDC and DOE will select pilot sites based on best fit and evaluate the program’s success, with the goal of expanding the program to more sites in coming years. Thank you in advance for your interest and feedback.

For more information, contact Hannah.Ruhl@maine.gov at Maine CDC.

School Safety and Security Bulletin: Door Locks and Code Compliance

Throughout the 2018- 2019 school year, the Maine Department of Education, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Maine State Police, Maine Sheriffs Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency will provide tips and resource information to Maine schools to help provide some guidance for identifying signs and preventing school violence.

School Safety and Security Bulletin  – November 2018

Further questions and inquiries can be send to Pat Hinckley, Maine DOE Transportation and Facilities Administrator at pat.hinckley@maine.gov.

2018-2019 Maine School Immunization Report Due December 31, 2018

Maine law (20A M.R.S.A. 6358, Chapters 126 & 216) requires students enrolled in grades K-12 to be immunized against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and varicella (chicken pox). Additionally, all students enrolled in grades 7-12 must be immunized against meningococcal meningitis. Under this law, students are required to have either vaccine administration records, a physician note or laboratory evidence to prove immunity, a physician note indicating the student is medically exempt, or a religious or philosophical objection note from a parent/guardian for each of the required vaccines listed above.

In accordance with this law, each year, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Maine Immunization Program, in conjunction with the Maine Department of Education, sends out the Maine School Age Immunization Assessment Survey to collect immunization information on all students enrolled in Maine public and private schools. The data from this survey is used to measure compliance with this law and also to assess the level of immunization coverage throughout the State of Maine. The survey can be completed online using Survey Monkey through the following web link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/school2018me

Who must report and what is reported:

  • All schools with students enrolled in these grades (K, 7th, 12th) MUST report. If you fail to report by the deadline the superintendent of your school will be notified.
      • Kindergarten – reporting on all required school age immunizations (DTaP, Polio, MMR, Varicella)
      • Seventh grade– Tdap and meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) ONLY – 1 dose of each is required
      • Twelfth grade – MCV4 ONLY – 1 or 2 doses required based on age the first dose was given

Missing immunizations will require follow up. All students must either have an immunization record or exemption on file for each required vaccine. Superintendents will be notified of any non-compliance.

To complete the survey, you will need the number of students enrolled (full or part-time) for grades K, 7th, and 12th. For each required vaccine, you will need the number of students vaccinated, the number of students with either medical, religious, or philosophical exemptions, and the number of students missing records (non-compliant). A pdf copy of the survey is available here:

Complete the survey online
The deadline for completing the survey is December 31, 2018, after which the survey will be closed. This is extended from the usual December 15 deadline.

For additional information or assistance, contact Jessica Shiminski from DHHS at 207-287-3746 or 1-800-867-4775 or email: jessica.shiminski@maine.gov.