Civil Rights Training: Addressing Bullying Behavior, School Culture & Bias

This training is provided through the US DOE, Office for Civil Rights.

Those who should attend: principals, assistant principals, Title IX coordinators, school counselors, and other school staff who are invested in fostering safe and welcoming schools in Maine. 5.5 contact hours given.

Date: June 26, 2018
Time: 8:00am – 2:30pm
Location: Bangor High School, Peakes Auditorium
Cost: FREE

The training will include 3 sessions:

Beyond Bullying
As schools work to successfully prevent and intervene in acts of bullying, they are often challenged by bullying behaviors that cross the line into civil, civil rights, or criminal law violations. Guidance from the US DOE and US DOJ will be viewed and discussed. Participants will examine federal statutes that prohibit bullying and harassment based on protected classes, and receive information relative to possible criminal law implications when bullying behaviors cause mental or physical injury to targeted students. This session will examine the legal ramifications of “deliberate indifference” with regard to failure to address bullying in their schools.
Advancing as Culturally Responsive Educators
Culture plays a role in everything we do – it is an essential part of how we learn. It plays a role not only in communicating and receiving information but also in shaping the thinking process of groups and individuals. Culturally responsive teaching acknowledges, responds to, and celebrates fundamental cultures and offers full, equitable access to education for students from all cultures. As culturally responsive educators, we recognize the importance of including students’ cultural identities in all aspects of learning, thereby enriching classroom experiences and keeping students engaged. Participants will be provided with opportunities to examine culture – their own culture and the cultures of the students they serve.
How to Speak Up at School
Have you ever found yourself in the uncomfortable circumstance where someone, such as a student, parent or colleague, uses biased language or stereotypes in school? Based on Teaching Tolerance’s publication, How to Speak Up at School, this session is designed for educators who want to develop the skills to speak up themselves and who want to help their students ﬁnd the courage to speak up, too. When someone makes a biased statement, we must act quickly! Using video scenarios, participants will learn to use four techniques (interrupt, question, educate, and echo) to respond to biased language in the moment, from any source, in any situation.

Agenda

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Beyond Bullying
10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Advancing as Culturally Responsive Educators
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lunch – on your own
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Advancing as Culturally Responsive Educators (continued from morning session)
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. How to Speak Up at School

Register here.

If you have questions, please contact April Perkins, Director of ESOL/Bilingual Programs at april.perkins@maine.gov or (207)624-6627.

IBPA Bullying Prevention Through SEL and Kindness Summit – August 17 in Augusta

The International Bullying Prevention Association (IBPA) is partnering with the Maine Department of Education to provide a one-day summit to address bullying prevention through social and emotional learning and kindness.

Location: Cony High School
Date: August 17, 2018
Time: 8:00am – 3:45pm.

Cost: $50 (includes breakfast, lunch, a signed certificate of attendance for contact hours)

The summit will have 5 keynote presentations and participants from Maine, and potentially across the U.S., will hear national presenters and be able to network with local professionals.

Topics of the day will cover bullying prevention best practices, including building healthy and positive relationships amongst school staff, talking with youth to address specific bullying behavior, and addressing bias-based interactions. Participants will walk away with tools and strategies that will be useful and meaningful when implementing bullying prevention efforts for the new school year.

Get more information and register for the Summit.

During the Summit, Maine middle and high schools are invited to participate in the inspirED Youth Leadership Conference facilitated by Facebook and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, beginning at 10:00am and ending at 2:30pm with a presentation to the Summit attendees. This opportunity is being offered at no cost to schools and is for a team of 4 students along with 1 or 2 adult allies. Transportation would need to be provided by the district. The inspirED program provides social and emotional (SEL) resources, tools, inspiration and support to empower students and educators to work together to create positive change in their schools and communities.

Please click here for more information and to register for the Youth Leadership Conference. Based on capacity, only 15 schools will be able to participate in the Youth Leadership Conference. Register soon!

In addition to the Summit, there will also be showing of The Fat Boy Chronicles with the author Michael Buchanan on Thursday night, August 16 at 7:00pm in the Viles Auditorium at Cony High School. This event is free and open to the public.

For additional information and questions on the IBPA Summit, the inspirED Youth Leadership Conference or the showing of The Fat Boy Chronicles, contact Sarah Ricker, Maine DOE Student Assistance Coordinator at sarah.ricker@maine.gov

Resources to Support Student Attendance

The Maine Department of Education’s Office of School and Student Supports has compiled a resource guide to assist schools in their efforts to improve student attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism.

Using the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ASCD, the guide provides a comprehensive set of evidence-supported health, school climate, and community/family engagement strategies that address the most common causes of chronic absenteeism. It also includes resources for the development of whole school monitoring and information gathering practices to help schools better understand their attendance challenges.

Download the Comprehensive Attendance Plan Report

The guide will be updated with additional resources as they become available. For further information about attendance and truancy resources, contact Gayle Erdheim at gayle.erdheim@maine.gov or (207) 624-6637.

New ESEA Report Cards & STEM Technology Showcase to be Featured at 2018 Commissioner’s Conference; Register Now

As a reminder, registration for the 2018 Commissioner’s Conference is now open. The conference features an array of sessions catered toward superintendents. This year’s sessions include opportunities to:

Get a sneak peak at the new ESEA Report Card dashboard
Ask questions and talk about ESSA, and School Improvement
Learn more about the budgeting process for Title I/ESEA funds
Learn more about supports and resources available on topics like Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS), trauma, attendance, concussion management, and substance abuse
Learn more about Certification, including updates about the new online system
Learn more about Department initiatives and goals including: pilot programs for early math and literacy, CTE programing and funding, and regionalization opportunities
Participate in open forums on the teacher shortage, and on educator effectiveness
Listen to panels about workforce development, and about workforce needs and CTE
Get hands on experience with current STEM technology at a showcase brought to you by the Maine State Library

See a draft agenda, including session descriptions.

In addition to this year’s breakout sessions, Commissioner’s Conference participants also have the opportunity to enjoy the following celebrations:

The Annual Reception Hosted by Apple, Inc
An Evening Banquet Dinner
Maine School Management Association’s Annual Awards Ceremony

The conference takes place at the Augusta Civic Center on June 27^th and 28^th.

Find additional resources and information including pricing, the draft agenda, lodging options, further details about registration including guest registration, and more on the Maine DOE Commissioner’s Conference webpage.

Register now »

New and Updated Fact Sheets Highlight Key MIYHS Survey Results

There are 6 new and updated fact sheets available that highlight key survey results from 2017 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS). Each topic specific-fact sheet includes, key statistics and data from the 2017 survey, links for “Who Can Help,” and additional resources for schools, community and parents.

New and updated fact sheets include:

Health Disparities faced by Transgender Youth in Maine (NEW!! HS Level Data)
2017 Health and Risk Factors among LGBT youth in Maine (NEW!! HS Level Data)
What Youth in Maine are Eating (MS and HS Data)
Bullying and Harassment in Maine High Schools
Daily Activity and Health Behaviors of Youth in Maine (MS and HS data)
Mental Health among Maine High School Students

The new fact sheets can be found on the MIYHS webpage.

Over 61,000 students from 300+ schools participated in the 2017 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS), including about 80 percent of all Maine middle and high schools, and the 2017 data is now publicly available. For the first time, all Geographic Public Health Districts and County level data are reportable. All results can all be found on the MIYHS website

The MIYHS staff would like to extend many thanks to the principals and superintendents who chose to participate in the MIYHS over the years, to the teachers and school staff who supported the effort, and to the community organizations whose help was vital to the success of the survey. Most importantly, we would like to thank the students and parents who took the time and effort to share their experiences with us. The MIYHS will be administered again in 2019.

For questions or more information, Please visit the website or contact Reid Plimpton at reid.plimpton@maine.gov or Jean Zimmerman at jean.zimmerman@maine.gov

School Nurse of the Year Nominations

This past week the Maine Department of Education celebrated National Nurses Week by hosting school nurses for National School Nurse Day at the Blaine House for tea where the Department and Maine Association of School Nurses honored our current School Nurse of the Year, Ann Bouchard.

Please consider honoring a deserving colleague by putting in a nomination for the 2018-2019 School Nurse of the Year.

This title provides recognition to an individual who demonstrates leadership in 6 areas of their practice: Care provision, program management, health education, professional development, community involvement, and research.

Please take this opportunity to showcase your School Nurse’s accomplishments and nominate! The individual selected will receive a $500 cash award and be recognized at the Maine Association of School Nurses Summer Institute, the Blaine House Tea and at the National Association of School Nurse annual conference.

We are accepting applications now. Below you can find the nomination form and the information necessary to begin this process:

The application deadline is June 1st (please disregard the erroneous date on the forms).

For further information contact Maine DOE School Nurse Consultant, Emily Poland at emily.poland@maine.gov or (207) 624-6688.

Nominations being accepted for 2018 MAHPERD Teachers of the Year

Nominations are being accepted for the 2018 Maine Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD) Teachers of the Year awards.

Maine educators in the following categories are eligible for consideration: Elementary Physical Education Teacher, Middle Level Physical Education Teacher, Secondary Physical Education Teacher, Adapted Physical Education Teacher, Health Education Teacher (All levels), Recreation Teacher/Leader, and Dance Teacher. There are many deserving teachers throughout the State of Maine and MAHPERD would like to be able to recognize more of those individuals.

Click here for more information regarding eligibility, nomination criteria and to access the application.

Nominations are due by June 30 and completed applications are due by August 21. For more information contact Kristen Allen at kallen@rsu10.org, MAHPERD Awards chairperson, before June 30.

The Maine Event: Fostering Equity and Justice for Youth conference, June 28-29 in Bangor

The Positive Youth Development Institute and the Collaboration for Perpetual Innovation has a premiere staff development opportunity for educators, youth serving professionals, and volunteers.

This locally organized, national conference will address education equity and justice issues paramount to adults and students. Presentations will focus on student voice and choice, new approaches to discipline, and school-wide practices of inclusion for all students. The content will be linked school climate, bullying prevention, discipline disparities, and requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Keynote presenters will be Shakti Butler, PhD, President and Founder of World Trust Educational Services, Inc.; Michael D. Clark, MSW, Director of the Center for Strength-Based Strategies; and the cast of Maine Inside Out, in their performance, Love is Alternatives to Incarceration.

In addition, full-day training opportunities are available on June 27, including:

Youth Mental Health First Aid (NAMI: Maine)
Nurturing Social Trust Through Meaningful Dialogue (Cindy Carraway-Wilson, Youth Catalytics)
Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools (Kathleen Guarino, American Institutes for Research)
Programs that Matter: Positive Outcomes Through Proven Practices (Margaret Jones, Maine Afterschool Network & Bolster Collaborative)

A discount provided by PYDI-CPI is available for teams of five or more from the same school district.

For more information about The Maine Event: Fostering Equity and Justice for Youth, visit the conference website here.

For questions related to the conference, contact Donna Duffey, Conference Manager at 800-294-4322 or duffey.donna47@gmail.com, or Sarah Ricker, Maine DOE Student Assistance Coordinator at sarah.ricker@maine.gov or 207-624-6685.

ADMINISTRATIVE LETTER: Guidance on multiple disabilities eligibility category under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Administrative Letter: 14
Policy Code: BGC
To: Public School Administrators and Special Education Directors
From: Robert G. Hasson, Jr., Ed. D. Commissioner
Date: May 7, 2018
Subject: Guidance on multiple disabilities eligibility category under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The Maine Department of Education’s Office of Special Services is providing the following information regarding the identification of “multiple disabilities” as an eligibility category for students with disabilities. This guidance is intended to help Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams correctly identify students with multiple disabilities consistent with the definition in federal law.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B, for a child to qualify under the category of “multiple disabilities,” the following criteria must be met:

The child has impairments that occur concomitantly (two or more disabilities that occur at the same time); and
the result of the combination of the impairments causes such severe educational needs that the child cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments.

Based on these criteria, the category of multiple disabilities requires the presence of severe educational needs, not solely the presence of two or more disabilities. For example, a child who has an intellectual disability and blindness or a child who has an intellectual disability and orthopedic impairment would be categorized as multiply disabled. An example of a child that should not be classified as having multiple disabilities could be child who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and has a speech language disability.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that Maine has much higher identification rates of children in the category of multiple disabilities than the national average. In 2016-17, for ages 6–21, the national multiple disabilities rate (pooling across all states and territories for which data were available) was 2.34 percent while Maine’s rate was 10.77 percent. There are very few states/territories with higher rates than Maine’s.

Maine Multiple Disabilities Identification Rate Compared to National Average

National	2.34%
Maine	10.77%
These values represent the percentages of multiple disabilities out of all children with disabilities, not out of all children both with and without disabilities.

Maine Multiple Disabilities Identification Rate 2014 – 2016

2016-17	10.46%
2015-16	10.04%
2014-15	9.68%
These values represent the percentages of multiple disabilities out of all children with disabilities, not out of all children both with and without disabilities.

Given the significant difference between Maine’s identification rate and the national average, the Department will be working on supportive efforts to ensure that students are being correctly identified in this category. As such, the Maine Department of Education Office of Special Services’ monitoring team will be working with school districts with high identification rates in multiple disabilities as part of the general supervision system of monitoring and supports. It is recommended that this information be shared with anyone who is a part of identification and/or triennial evaluations.

For more information about this topic, please contact the Maine Department of Education Office of Special Services by phone at (207) 624-6713 or via email to Jan Breton, Director of Special Services at janice.breton@maine.gov.

Concussion training program to be held June 22

Concussion training for school staff has been a requirement since 2012 pursuant to 20-A MRS § 1001. The Department of Education has partnered with the Maine Concussion Management Initiative (MCMI) as well as the Maine Principals’ Association to promote policy development, trainings for staff, and increased awareness and improved management of concussions.

MCMI will be holding a training program on June 22 in Waterville at Colby College. It is appropriate for athletic administrators/directors, school nurses, coaches, athletic trainers, physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. More information and instructions for registration can be found at: https://mcmi-colby.org/page-18087

For more information contact MCMI – Membership and Education Committee – Chair Jan Salis at jsalis@aol.com (207) 577-201.