The Maine DOE is inviting teachers of grades 6-12 to participate in its 2015 Social Studies Document-Based Question (DBQ) Workshop series scheduled for March 9 and May 6 in Brewer and March 10 and May 8 in Portland.
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Registration is open now for this school year’s Maine Geographic Bee, a competition open to Maine schools with students in grades 4-8.
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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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The Maine DOE is inviting arts educators to participate in a professional development program that will deepen student learning and appreciation for the arts while energizing engagement and motivation.
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Members of the Maine DOE Learning Through Technology Team recently returned from the annual State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) leadership summit. This annual event brings state educational leaders to the Washington D.C. area to participate in a unique professional learning opportunity designed to foster in-depth dialogue coupled with collaborative work.
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A series of new learning guides for families that outline what students in kindergarten through grade five are expected to know and be able to master in mathematics and English language arts at the end of each school year has been developed by Portland Public Schools.
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All students in Maine, including English language learners, will need to demonstrate proficiency of both State learning standards and the Guiding Principles in order to graduate beginning in 2018. As schools plan educational opportunities for English language learners in the eight content areas of the Maine Learning Results and the five Guiding Principles, the Maine DOE is encouraging educators to consider the following strategies which may be helpful. Each are based on research on how best a concept or skill is learned in each of the content areas and the Guiding Principles, and the power of background knowledge to support English language learners.
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The Boston Globe News in Education (NIE) program is offering access to educational resources free of charge to Maine teachers and their students in grades K-12.
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The Maine DOE and the State Board of Education are proposing changes this fall to the rules regarding the qualifying examinations for credentialing purposes for teachers, educational specialists and administrators.
Last week, I had the opportunity to spend two full days at the annual conference of the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM). To say I was impressed and inspired by what I experienced would be an understatement. Maine has long been looked to as a national leader when it comes to integrating technology in the classroom and the energy and expertise I saw in the hundreds of technology educators at the conference proved why.
I was especially impacted by the session I attended entitled “A Day in the iPad Empowered Elementary Classroom.” To see how Maine educators are using technology to change the way they teach students is almost as exciting as seeing how students – including those only in Kindergarten – are responding. Maine kids are being engaged and empowered as leaders in their own learning through these new tools in ways that many adults like me can’t even imagine. It is critical we keep up with their appetite and aptitude by finding innovative ways to leverage technology to continue to improve not just the experience of our students but their academic achievement.
I want to thank Maine’s many technology educators who are doing just that in classrooms across the state every day. Not only are you enhancing the educational environment for our students, but you are better preparing them for success in 21st century college and careers.
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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. | More
Turner Elementary School in MSAD 52 is one of 287 public schools across the country to be named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School for high levels of student achievement. | More
A second public virtual charter school being proposed in Maine was unanimously advanced to the next round of review by the state’s Charter Commission. | More
A panel of district leaders who have experienced the challenges and the success of developing and implementing Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PEPG) systems shared their success strategies at a recent seminar. | More
The board and staff of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance have selected Ruth Kermish-Allen, currently Director of Education at the Island Institute and a resident of Appleton, as the organization’s next Executive Director. | More
Community groups and schools across the state will be conducting activities to raise awareness about alcohol use and abuse throughout Maine’s Alcohol Awareness Week, Dec. 1-5. | More
Maine schools are encouraged to enter the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, a creative and collaborative competition that offers up to $20,000 in grants for winning middle schools and high schools. | More
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